Throughout the early 1990s, Keith Hunter Jesperson embarked on a cross-country killing spree, taking the lives of at least eight known victims, though he later claimed his true body count was much higher. His reign of terror began in 1990 with the murder of Taunja Bennett in Oregon; this initially went unsolved thanks to a false confession from a couple who had nothing to do with Bennett’s death. Like most serial killers, Jesperson (known as the Happy Face Killer) was a strategist, often strangling his victims before disposing of their bodies in remote areas. This ensured that their disappearances would go unnoticed for as long as possible, allowing his twisted games to continue. Although Jesperson was convicted of eight murders, he has hinted at many more, leaving the extent of his crimes shrouded in mystery. For those hoping to learn more about his haunting story, Happy Face on Paramount+ is bringing the true story of the criminal case to life through the eyes of Jesperson’s...
