Investigators have tracked down relatives of the last unknown victim of the “Happy Face” serial killer, inching closer to identifying the woman named “Claudia.”
Keith Hunter Jesperson, who admitted to killing at least eight women in various states, met a hitchhiker he called “Claudia” in Victorville, California, and asked for a ride to Los Angeles.
He drove her to Southern California, where a heated argument at a rest stop escalated to murder, and Jesperson abandoned her body on the side of a road in the city of Blythe in eastern Riverside County, where she was killed in August 1992. She was discovered there on the moon.
It is unclear whether “Claudia” is the victim's real name, but the Riverside County District Attorney's Office has traced her living relatives through DNA, but none are a biological match for her mother and her father is unknown. He passed away a few years ago.
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Keith Jesperson, now 68, told police in 1996, a year after he was arrested for seven other murders, that in August 1994 he killed an unknown woman named “Susan” or “Suzette.” , who stated that he had abandoned the body near the exit. Just off Interstate 10 in Florida. (Okaloosa County Sheriff)
Prosecutors have released an updated sketch and description of “Claudia” in hopes that new tips will lead to her identification.
“This woman is the last of the victims whose identity has not been determined,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a video posted to YouTube. “Our goal is to identify this victim and bring closure to her family wherever they may be.
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“We hope that someone who hears these details will remember something that will help reunite this woman with the family she may have been searching for for over 30 years.”
“Claudia” was probably between 20 and 30 years old, approximately 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighed approximately 140 to 150 pounds. She was of medium build, had shaggy blonde hair that may have been dyed brown, and was said to have often hitchhiked and smoked cigarettes.
She was found wearing a shirt with a picture of a motorcycle printed on it and had a tattoo of two small dots on the left side of her right thumb.
This is the latest sketch of “Claudia”, the last unknown victim of serial killer “Happy Face” discovered in Riverside County, California. It is unknown whether “Claudia” is her real name. (Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
Investigators said the victim had a tattoo of two dots on his thumb. (Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
The “frequent hitchhiker,” as prosecutors called her, likely lived in Southern California, possibly in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside County areas, and possibly had ties to Las Vegas and the southern Nevada area. The prosecutor's office says there is.
Jesperson, now in his late 60s, was originally arrested in 1995 in connection with the murder of a woman in Washington state.
One of 'Happy Face' killer's eight victims identified after nearly 30 years
His case became infamous when he eventually confessed to killing eight women in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming between 1990 and 1995.
He is currently serving four life sentences without the possibility of parole in an Oregon prison.
Keith Jesperson was known as the “Happy Face” serial killer because he sent letters to the media detailing the crimes he committed as a long-haul truck driver across state lines, with a smiley face signature at the bottom of each bill. He was given the nickname “Kin''. (Okaloosa Sheriff's Office)
This is where “Claudia's” body was discovered in August 1992 in Bryce, California. (Riverside County District Attorney's Office)
About two years ago, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office identified one of the victims, nicknamed “Blue Pacheco” because of the color of her clothes, as Patricia Schipple, an Oregon mother.
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Jesperson was known as the “Happy Face” murderer because he sent letters to the media detailing the crimes he committed while crossing state lines as a long-haul truck driver, with a smiley face signature at the end of each bill. Now you can.
In a taped confession, he casually told investigators, “After killing so many people, it's easy to do,'' as if to explain how easy it is to boil tea. '' he said.
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Anyone with information is asked to call the Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567 or email coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.
