Investigators seek to identify last remaining victim of the Happy Face Killer

Haleigh Kochanski, Eugene Register-Guard
·3 min read
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A visual sketch of "Claudia," the last remaining unidentified victim of Keith Jesperson
A visual sketch of "Claudia," the last remaining unidentified victim of Keith Jesperson

Officials with the Riverside County District Attorney's office in California are asking for the public's help in identifying the last remaining unidentified victim of the Happy Face Killer, Keith Jesperson.

Jesperson, now 68, was convicted of the victim's murder 14 years ago, on Jan. 8, 2010, in Riverside County, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

He has been incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem since 1995 where he is currently serving multiple life sentences without parole for murders in Oregon, California, and Wyoming.

His earliest release date is March 1, 2063.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office provided a sketch of the victim known as Claudia. Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the Happy Face Killer, was convicted of her murder Jan. 8, 2010, but the victim was never formally identified.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office provided a sketch of the victim known as Claudia. Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the Happy Face Killer, was convicted of her murder Jan. 8, 2010, but the victim was never formally identified.

Jesperson gained notoriety in the 1990s for preying on multiple women throughout the Pacific Northwest. He worked as a long-haul truck driver and is connected to eight strangulation murders of women in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

He is known as the "Happy Face Killer" for drawing happy faces in letters in which he boasted of committing five murders on the West Coast. Four of the five cases have been solved.

The last unidentified victim

In court documents, Jesperson refers to the unidentified victim as "Claudia."

Claudia was described as a "frequent hitchhiker" of the southern California region. Her body was found on Aug. 30, 1992, along U.S. 95 near Blythe, California.

Numerous sketches of "Claudia" have been made using a combination of DNA technology, her remains, and a description by Jesperson himself.

Jesperson described "Claudia" as a white woman between 20 and 30 years old. She was around 5-foot-7 and had brown or dyed blonde shaggy hair. She had a tattoo of two dots on the side of her right thumb and was found wearing a t-shirt with a skeleton on a motorcycle that said, "Ride me, Ride free."

In Aug. 1992, officials suspect that "Claudia" caught a ride with a grocery store truck driver traveling from Las Vegas along Interstate 15 near Cajon Junction. She was believed to be hitchhiking to get to the Los Angeles area.

At 9 a.m., "Claudia" was allegedly dropped off at a brake stop south of Victorville, California by the unknown driver. There, she approached Jesperson while he was working on his purple 1989 Peterbilt truck and asked him for a ride to Los Angeles.

Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, 40, right, listens to his attorney Tom Phelan, left, moments before pleading guilty to murder charges Wednesday Oct. 18, 1995, at the Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver, Wash.
Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, 40, right, listens to his attorney Tom Phelan, left, moments before pleading guilty to murder charges Wednesday Oct. 18, 1995, at the Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver, Wash.

According to investigators, Jesperson told "Claudia" he was headed to Arizona but the closest he could take her to Los Angeles was Cabazon, California. She took the ride. Once reaching Cabazon, Claudia continued to drive with Jesperson traveling east on Interstate 10, stopping once at a diner in Indio where Claudia and Jesperson got lunch.

After eating, the two reportedly had a heated argument in Jesperson's truck where he eventually killed her. He continued to travel east along Interstate 10 and turned onto Highway 95 near Blythe where he left Claudia's body on the side of the road.

"Thanks to advances in DNA technology, we are now the closest we have even been to learning who this woman was, and reuniting her with her family," said the DA's office in a statement.

Investigators and genealogists have determined some of "Claudia's" familial relatives, including her biological father, who is now dead. The victim's father was from Cameron County, Texas, but traveled all over the country, including Washington State, Oregon, and California.

Several half-siblings were also identified but unfortunately were not biological matches to the victim's mother and could not assist with her identification.

"Even though this killer is behind bars and never going to get out, this victim has an identity, is a real person and we want to make sure we give her back her identity and give closure to these families," said Mike Hestrin, Riverside County District Attorney.

If you have any leads, no matter how insignificant they may seem, contact the Cold Case Hotline at (951)-955-5567, or by emailing coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Public's help needed to identify victim of Happy Face serial killer