Keith Hunter Jesperson

Keith Hunter Jesperson Net Worth 2025: Earnings & Career

Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the "Happy Face Killer," is a Canadian-American serial killer famous for his crimes in the 1990s. Born on April 6, 1955, Jesperson is known for his brutal murders and taunting letters to authorities. This article delves into his personal life, career, and financial status, providing insights into his notoriety and the impact it has on his family.

Personal Profile About Keith Hunter Jesperson

Age, Biography, and Wiki

Keith Hunter Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, making him 70 years old as of 2025. He is a notorious serial killer known for murdering at least eight women between 1990 and 1995. Jesperson's modus operandi included strangulation, and he gained notoriety by sending anonymous letters to authorities and media outlets, often signed with a smiley face.

Occupation Serial Killers
Date of Birth 6 April 1955
Age 70 Years
Birth Place Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
Horoscope Aries
Country Canada

Height, Weight & Measurements

There is limited information available about Jesperson's current physical measurements, such as height and weight. However, his physical appearance during his arrest and later court appearances is documented in various news sources.

Height 2.03 m
Weight
Body Measurements
Eye Color
Hair Color

Dating & Relationship Status

Jesperson was married to Rose Hucke, and they had three children together, including Melissa G. Moore, who has written extensively about her experiences growing up with a serial killer as a father. The couple's marriage ended due to Jesperson's arrest and subsequent imprisonment.

After the body of Jesperson's first victim, Taunja Bennett, was found, media attention surrounded Laverne Pavlinac, a woman who falsely confessed to Bennett's murder with the help of her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske. Upset that he was not getting any media attention, Jesperson drew a smiley face on a bathroom wall hundreds of miles from the scene of the Bennett killing and wrote an anonymous letter confessing to the murder, providing proof. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities.

Jesperson's daughter, Melissa, wrote a 2009 memoir, Shattered Silence, about growing up with a serial killer as a father. In 2018, she adapted her book into a podcast entitled Happy Face: A Family of Monsters, which formed the basis of a TV series starring Dennis Quaid as Jesperson.

His father was a domineering alcoholic; according to Jesperson, his paternal grandfather was prone to violence. Jesperson's father denied being an abusive parent; however, other family members corroborated the abuse claims to author Jack Olsen.

Jesperson was the black sheep of his family, and he was teased by other children for his large size. After moving to Selah, Washington, he had trouble fitting in and making friends, again because of his large size. Jesperson's brothers did not help or sympathize with him; instead they nicknamed him "Igor" or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his school years. Because of this, Jesperson was a shy child, content to play by himself much of the time. He would often get into trouble for misbehaving, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock.

At a very early age—as young as five—Jesperson would capture and torture animals. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. This continued as he grew older. Jesperson would capture birds and strays around the trailer park where he lived with his family, severely beating the animals and then strangling them to death, something for which he claims his father was proud of him. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human being.

That desire manifested in two attempted murders. The first occurred when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. The two would often get into trouble together, and Jesperson claimed he was often punished many times for things Martin had done. This led Jesperson to violently attack Martin until his father pulled him away. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. Sometime later, at a public pool, Jesperson attempted to drown the boy by holding his head under the water until a lifeguard pulled him away.

Jesperson reported that he was raped at age 14. He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. Although Jesperson was not successful with girls in high school, having never even attended a school dance or his prom, he did enter into a relationship after high school. In 1975, when Jesperson was aged 20, he married Rose Hucke, and the couple had three children: two daughters, Melissa and Carrie, and a son, Jason. Jesperson worked as a truck driver to support his family.

Several years later, Hucke began to suspect Jesperson was having affairs when strange women would call. Tension in the marriage increased, and after 14 years, while Jesperson was on the road, Hucke packed up her children and belongings and drove 200 miles (322 km) to live with her parents in Spokane, Washington. Jesperson continued to spend time with his children when he was in town. The couple divorced in 1990.

Early in the investigation of Bennett's murder, Laverne Pavlinac read the news reports surrounding Bennett's death and saw it as an opportunity to force an end to the long-term abusive relationship she had been in with her live-in boyfriend, John Sosnovske. Pavlinac set up a meeting with investigators and gave a false confession, using the details she had read in the newspaper to give a detailed story of how Sosnovske forced her to help him rape, murder, and dispose of Bennett's body. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were both arrested on 5 March 1990 and both were convicted of the murder on 8 February 1991. To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored.

In November 2008, Jesperson's daughter, Melissa G. Moore, appeared on Dr. Phil to talk about her father. She was also featured on an episode of Evil Lives Here, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Lifetime Movies network series Monster in My Family, and a 20/20 special on ABC. She was a correspondent for Crime Watch Daily.

In 2008, Moore published a book titled Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. Their house bordered an apple orchard, and Jesperson killed stray cats and gophers that wandered nearby. One day, she watched, horrified, as he hanged stray kittens from the family's clothesline. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens were dead on the ground. He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.

In March 2018, she was featured in an episode, titled "Put on a Happy Face", of the Investigation Discovery true crime series Evil Lives Here. In September 2018, podcast network HowStuffWorks began releasing a show called Happy Face featuring interviews with Melissa about her childhood and her father. The series had 12 episodes.

Parents
Husband Rose Hucke (m. 1975-1990)
Sibling
Children

Net Worth and Salary

As a serial killer serving life sentences, Jesperson does not have a personal net worth in the conventional sense. His financial situation is managed by the state, and he does not earn a salary. His notoriety has led to various media productions being made about his life, but he does not benefit financially from these projects.

Career, Business, and Investments

Before his arrest, Jesperson worked as a truck driver, which allowed him to travel extensively across the United States and commit his crimes. He does not have any notable business or investments. His notorious career as a serial killer and his subsequent imprisonment are the defining aspects of his public persona.

At age 35, standing 6 ft and weighing approximately 255 lb, Jesperson began working toward the goal of joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but an injury suffered while training ended this endeavor. He then sought work again as a truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected.

Social Network

Jesperson is not active on social media platforms, as he is currently serving multiple life sentences in prison. His family members, particularly his daughter Melissa, have been more visible in media and social platforms, sharing their experiences and perspectives on Jesperson's actions.

Following Bennett's murder, as all the attention was going to Pavlinac and Sosnovske, Jesperson wrote a confession on the bathroom wall of a truck stop and signed it with a smiley face. When that did not create the attention he desired, he wrote letters to media outlets and police departments confessing to his murders, starting with a six-page letter to The Oregonian in which he revealed the details of his killings. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer".

* Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of the Daughter of a Serial Killer. Cedar Fort. ISBN 978-1-59955-238-5.

Education

There is limited information available about Jesperson's educational background. His life was marked more by his criminal activities than by any notable educational achievements.

Jesperson was arrested on 30 March 1995 for the murder of Julie Winningham, who was killed near Washougal, Washington. He had been questioned by police a week before, but they had no grounds to arrest him after he refused to talk. In the days following, Jesperson decided that he was certainly going to be arrested, and after two suicide attempts turned himself in hoping it would result in leniency during his sentencing. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. A few days before his arrest, he wrote a letter to his brother in which he confessed to having killed eight people over the course of five years. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson.

* Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). "Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer" (PDF). Radford University Department of Psychology. Retrieved 21 August 2010.

Conclusion

Keith Hunter Jesperson's life is marked by his heinous crimes and the impact they have had on his family. His notoriety has led to numerous media productions, but he does not benefit financially from these. As he continues to serve his life sentences, his personal life remains largely behind prison walls.

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