The Chilling True Story of the Happy Face Killer

LOS ANGELES, California — The new Paramount+ series ‘Happy Face’ dramatizes the chilling true story of Keith Hunter Jesperson, infamously known as the Happy Face Killer, and his daughter, Melissa G. Moore, as they navigate the harrowing legacy of his crimes. Jesperson, a long-haul truck driver, murdered at least eight women between 1990 and 1995, with suspicions that the number of victims could be higher.

In the eight-episode series, Annaleigh Ashford plays Moore, who must confront her father’s horrific past after years of no contact when he unexpectedly reaches out to her. ‘After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life,’ reads the synopsis. ‘Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed.’

Moore, now an author and victim’s advocate, revealed the trauma of her father’s actions in her 2009 memoir, ‘Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter,’ and serves as an executive producer on the series. It chronicles her efforts to grapple with her father’s dark legacy and to provide a voice for his victims.

Jesperson’s gruesome criminal history began with his first known victim, Taunja Bennett, whom he raped and strangled in January 1990. He later confessed during a phone interview in 2010, saying, ‘I feared going to prison for slugging her in the face and causing her bodily injury and so I killed her.’

In March 1995, following the murder of his girlfriend, Julie Winningham, Jesperson was apprehended, and he subsequently confessed to multiple murders, identifying six other victims whose names remain largely unknown. As recent as October 2023, authorities confirmed his last known victim as Suzanne Kjellenberg, found in Crestview, Florida, in 1994.

‘He became notorious for sending confession letters adorned with smiley faces, hence his nickname ‘Happy Face Killer,” noted his character portrayal by Dennis Quaid. In one letter, he wrote, ‘I am sorry that I turned out this way. I have been a killer for five years and have killed eight people.’

Fascinated by the father-daughter dynamic, Quaid remarked, ‘What made me do this — it’s about the relationship between a father and his daughter. They had a loving relationship until everything crashed down when the truth was revealed.’

Melissa Moore described witnessing her father’s violent tendencies at a young age, recalling, ‘I think I caught a glimpse of the sociopath, the part of where he felt in control over me and that he enjoyed it.’ After her father’s arrest, Moore sought answers, immersing herself in trial reports while struggling with her identity.

To this day, she maintains no relationship with her father, who remains incarcerated in Oregon and is serving multiple life sentences. Jesperson has expressed regret for his upbringing but continues to deny the true nature of his actions, referring to his murders as ‘errors in judgment.’

Moore has expressed her commitment to assist families impacted by her father’s actions and receives messages from relatives of other serial killers. She shared, ‘If I wanted to delude myself about what he had done, I couldn’t anymore. I couldn’t live in la-la land.’ The first episodes of ‘Happy Face’ premiered on Paramount+ on March 20, with new episodes releasing weekly.