Keith Jesperson: The Happy Face Killer

Keith Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer, is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least 8 women in the United States in the 1990s. Growing up, Jesperson lived with his parents Leslie and Gladys Jesperson, and was the middle child of two brothers and two sisters. Jesperson did not grow up in a pleasant environment as a kid. He had a violent and troublesome childhood, as he lived with an alcoholic father, who would severely punished him for his troublesome habits. Jesperson was not only treated as an outcast in his family, but he was also treated as an outcast at school as well. As a child, he was very large for his age, and the children at school would tease him for his size. Due to the constant judgement he had to deal
A forensic psychologist would classify Keith Jesperson killings as disorganized because he picked his victims up either enroute, or in a resting point, as his career gave him the perfect opportunity to make it possible, therefore, he had no plan as to where he was going to kill his victims, he just killed them in a location that was convenient for him. Once he would strangle his victims, he would leave their bodies on the side of the road, or left them in the same location that he killed them. He had no plan to hide the bodies of his victims, and he left them intact, as he liked the attention from the public that he received after he left them out in the open and they were found. Jesperson was not socially adequate not only as an adult, but throughout his childhood. He attempted to kill humans twice at the age of 10, and he showed socially bizarre signs by beating and strangling animals that approached his home. Later in life, Jesperson was able to build a family, but soon after they left him because of his horrifying behavior, and his need to torture live animals. A serial killer classified as disorganized lives alone, and Keith Jesperson lived alone for the majority of his adult life. A forensic psychologist would also consider Jesperson’s mobility as transient because he seldom stayed in one spot for every murder that took place. Jesperson was a truck driver, which he originally became in order to support his family before they left him due to his strange behavior. Soon after his family left him, he realized that his career gave him the perfect opportunity to kill. He traveled continuously, and ended up murdering victims in California, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Finally, a forensic psychologist would classify Keith Jesperson as a power-oriented. Jesperson