The Happy Face Killer

Taunja Bennett (The 1st identified victim
In 1990, Taunja Bennett, 23 years old, met a man in a Portland-area bar, and agreed to go back to his home with him. He was hoping to have sex with her, and a physical altercation ensued. The man repeatedly struck Taunja in the face, then strangled her with a rope out of fear of going to prison for assault. “I meant to kill her to cover up the assault,” he later told a reporter. He showed no remorse, adding, “It is matter of fact ‘cause that’s what it is.” Her body was discovered at the edge of a woods. Laverne Pavlinac reported her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, had killed Taunja, and she had witnessed it. After her first two descriptions of the homicide weren’t believable, she told investigators that she pulled the ligature around Taunja’s neck, while Sosnovske had sex with her. When asked, 'Why is she dead?'" Pavlinac told investigators during a recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. "He says, 'Because I choked her'… I said, 'I think we need to take her to a hospital. We need to report this, John.' [He said,] 'No, no.  I'll go to the pen.  I'll go to death row.’” Laverne Pavlinac Conflicting evidence. The front of Taunja’s jeans had been cut out. Investigators thought the killer kept it as a souvenir. When they searched Sosnovske’s home, they found the cut-out front of a pair of girl’s jeans. Sosnovske claimed he didn’t know how the cut-out part of a girl’s jeans got into his home. The case seemed resolved. However, when the lab report came back, the fabric wasn’t a match to Taunja’s jeans. This simply didn’t make sense, so the investigators re-interviewed Laverne Pavlinac. She admitted she had planted the jean material, with the hope of getting Sosnovske convicted because she was certain of his guilt.  Frustrated, the investigators began to question Sosnovske’s guilt. So, they asked Laverne to take them to the exact location of where they dumped Taunja’s body.  She did. Laverne pointing to the site of the body. John Sosnovske denied committing the murder but accepted a guilty plea to avoid being executed.  As she and Sosnovske began to serve their life sentences, the actual killer continued his murder spree. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. When she recanted, Pavlinac said she falsely confessed because she was stuck in a volatile relationship with Sosnovske. She was desperately seeking a way out and wanted him in prison. In the process, she also falsely implicated herself. She was able to lead investigators to the site where the body had been discovered, as she had learned of the location from people in the community.
Laverne’s daughter shared, "I think what happened to mother was she was in an abusive relationship, and she was desperate, and desperate people do desperate things, not to say that it was right, but that's what I think happened." Laverne and John Sosnovske "The greatest human tragedy is that Laverne Pavlinac derailed the investigation in 1990, and in four years, Keith Jesperson killed more women," said Jim McIntyre, the Multnomah County, Oregon, prosecutor who handled the cases.
Taunja Bennett was the first identified victim of 5 victims. Ironically, Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske were ultimately released because the actual killer was envious of the attention they received. Keith Jesperson drew a smiley face on a bathroom wall hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime and wrote an anonymous letter confessing to Bennett's murder. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities.  Investigators did not believe Jesperson initially, and viewed him as someone who simply wanted a lot of attention. He finally told them exactly where he discarded Taunja’s driver’s license. Years had passed, and the area was now grown over with brush. Searchers were unable to find the license which confirmed to them that Pavlinac and Sosnovske were the killers. However, a group of boy scouts went through the area weeks later and cut away the brush. They found Taunja Bennett’s driver’s license, confirming Jesperson was the killer. 

Keith Jesperson came to be known as “Happy Face Killer”. Keith was an over-the-road truck driver. ​Keith Hunter Jesperson. Born: April 6, 1955, in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Serving 3 life sentences.

Keith Jesperson was raised in a violent household. His father and grandfather physically abused their families. Keith was bullied by his brothers and then by classmates. He attacked a friend in school, and later attempted to drown a boy, leaving the boy unconscious.  He strangled animals and reported being raped at age 14.  Keith with family. Keith at 6’6”, was a large strong man. He married Rose Hucke and they had 3 children. When Jesperson was unable to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he began working as an interstate truck driver. Rose started to suspect he was cheating on her and divorced him. His daughter remembered Keith torturing her cats while she begged him to stop. Jesperson was a disgusting individual.  
 
VictimsOn January 23, 1990, Jesperson took Taunja Bennet home from a bar and murdered her. It is estimated he punched her in the face 20 times and then strangled her.​
On April 12, 1990, Daun Richert-Slagle, 21, was abducted by Jesperson. After an argument with her husband, she took her baby and went to the store. Jesperson began talking to her in the parking lot and he seemed friendly. Once they were in a vehicle talking, Jesperson attempted to sexually assault her. The baby started crying. He attempted to break her neck, but ultimately released her. Daun would later sue Lifetime movies for depicting her as a prostitute in their portrayal of the incident. This clearly wasn’t the case.
Daun Richert-Slagle 3.  It was August 1992 (2 ½ years later) when Keith Jesperson killed his next victim, Claudia. (She hasn’t been identified.) Claudia’s body was discovered in Blythe, California. Jesperson reported picking her up at a truck stop and offered her a ride. He duct taped her hands and mouth before raping and killing her.  

​4.  Cynthia Lyn Rose, age 32 was found raped and strangled in Turlock, California in September of 1992.  Jesperson reports she came to his truck when he was sleeping.  5.  In November of 1992, Laurie Ann Pentland, age 26, was murdered in Salem, Oregon. Jesperson claims she was a prostitute was tried to double charge him for sex. 

​6.  California Jane Doe. Jesperson thought her name was “Carla” or “Cindy.” He claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he can’t recall anything about her. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California in July of 1993.

A facial recognition recreation of “Carla” or “Cindy.” 7.  Florida Jane Doe. This victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida, in September of 1994. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as “putting her out of her misery.” A facial recreation of “Susanne.”
8.  Angela Subrize, 21. Jesperson met her in a bar in January 1995 and agreed to give her a ride from Spokane, Washington to Indiana. Jesperson raped her and strangled her. He then strapped her body to the undercarriage of his truck face down, with the idea that he would “grind off her face and her prints” as he drove across the country. Her body was discovered in September of 1995 along a freeway in Nebraska. 

9.  Julia Ann Winningham, 41, was the victim that got Jesperson caught. Jesperson had dated her before before killing her on March 3, 1995 because he believed she was after his money. Because of their relationship, authorities connected her death to him. Jesperson said he had gagged her with duct tape, raped her in the sleeping cab of his rig and strangled her.  Jesperson sent a letter to her brother where he admitted having killed her. Julia’s brother sent the letter to the police. Jesperson attempted suicide twice but failed.
Julie Winningham, Jesperson's fiancée and last murder victim. Her body was discovered along the highway. In order to avoid the death penalty, Jesperson cut a plea deal to serve multiple concurrent life sentences. In November 2007, Jesperson reflected on his murders while speaking to Duquesne University forensic science and law students via conference call. “When I did it, it was done, over with.” “I did not cherish murder. I basically looked at it as something I had to do to get it over with and keep going. I didn’t intend on holding [the killings] hostage in my mind or in my grip for any more of a length of time than I had to.” He went on to describe his nickname. “You can imagine, I walk the track out here with other convicts and they're saying, ‘If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!’” he said. “How would I pick a better name than that?”

Laverne Pavlinoc died in 2003 of heart failure. John Sosnovske died in 2013.  Keith Jesperson is serving 3 life sentences in the Oregon State Penitentiary for the murders of Taunja Bennett, Julie Winningham and Laurie Ann Pentland. I would have included more victim pictures, if I had access to them. This is a sad case of women who needed guidance who lost their lives to self-centered and cruel narcissists, and 2 lives ruined by a false confession. 
Black and Blue
Thank you for your feedback on the pictures! Most of the story takes place in this area.
The cover pictures were taken by Trisha Spencer from Little Falls of Xperience photography. 
The front cover model is Matthew Greene, my nephew, Albert and Dorothy’s son. Matthew is an outstanding blues guitar player.  The back cover model is Kloe Kapsner, an architect college student.
In Black and Blue, you will see some old familiar names such Agnes Schraut and Mia Strock from Lying Close. Once again, I’ve decided to include maps and a list of characters. This is a great True Crime story!

Thanks for listening,


Frank
December 8, 2021, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Forensic Psychologist, Frank Weber, will be at Cherry Street Books in Alexandria. Frank will speak on the writing of True Crime, forensic work and his latest book from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.  Frank has profiled cold case homicides for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and narrated an investigative show on the Oxygen channel titled Murdered by Morning. His newest True Crime novel, Burning Bridges, examines the life and demise of a psychopath in central Minnesota. Frank will demonstrate a lie detector test (volunteer a friend). Cherry Street Books is located at 503 Broadway Street, Alexandria, Minnesota, 56308.