Cold-case investigators ask for help identifying 'Happy Face Killer' victim found near Blythe
Riverside County investigators are asking the public to help identify a woman who was killed in 1992 near Coachella. Her body was dumped near Blythe by a man who later was convicted in a series of killings.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office reported Monday that its Regional Cold Case Homicide Team has identified some of the woman's family members with the help of new genealogical technology. Those relatives are either no longer alive or were unaware they were related to the woman, the department reported.
Now, investigators are asking the public if they have more information about the woman based on her physical description, a digital rendering of her and the areas of the country she likely had relatives in.
The woman was between 20 and 30 years old, about 5'7" and weighing maybe 140 or 150 pounds, the department reported. She had shaggy hair, either blond or brown, and was found wearing a t-shirt with a motorcycle on it. She had a tattoo of two small dots on the left side of her right thumb, was a cigarette smoker and said to be a frequent hitchhiker.
Keith Hunter Jesperson, referred to as the "Happy Face Killer," was convicted of her killing in January 2010 and was sentenced to 15 years to life, which he is serving in a prison in Oregon. She, referred to as "Claudia," is the last of his suspected victims yet to be identified.
"Our goal is to identify this victim and provide closure to her family, wherever they may be," said District Attorney Mike Hestrin. "We are hopeful someone hearing any of these details may remember anything that could help us reunite this woman with the family who may have been looking for her for over three decades."
Jesperson said that he met the woman at a brake check area on Interstate 15 south of Victorville. She asked to be taken to Los Angeles, but agreed to ride with him toward Indio. He said the two of them argued about money and he killed her in his purple semi-trailer before driving from Coachella to Blythe. Her body was found on Aug. 30, 1992, along Highway 95 about seven miles north of Blythe.
Jesperson said he believed she lived in or at least was familiar with the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside County areas, as well as Las Vegas and southern Nevada.
Investigators used genealogical technology to identify her father, who has since died, and several half siblings who did not know her. Her father was from Cameron County, Texas, but traveled widely from Santa Barbara County to Washington and Oregon states. Investigators believe that the woman had familial ties on her maternal side to the Louisiana or southeast Texas area.
The DA's office is asking anyone who might recognize her to contact them at 951-955-5567 or at coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Investigators ask for help identifying 'Happy Face Killer' victim found near Blythe
