(NewsNation) — Authorities have released a sketch of the last unidentified victim of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the “Happy Face Killer.”
The woman was killed in 1992, and Jesperson, who was convicted of the murder 14 years ago, referred to her as “Claudia,” though it’s unclear if that was her real name.
Jesperson claimed to have met Claudia at a brake check area near Victorville, California, while she was hitchhiking. He told investigators he strangled her after an argument. He described her as having shaggy blond hair and between 20 and 30 years old in 1992. Claudia was around 5’6″ and medium build with a tattoo of two dots on the left side of her right thumb.
Police believe Claudia had ties to the Los Angeles, San Bernadino and Riverside County areas in California as well as Las Vegas. Using familial DNA, investigators determined her father was from Texas but is now deceased. She has several half-siblings, but none could identify her.
Jesperson became known as the Happy Face Killer for the smiley faces he left in notes to media and law enforcement. He claimed he killed as many as 160 people while working as a trucker, but only eight victims were confirmed.
Although Jesperson committed his murders in the 1990s, some of his victims have only recently been identified. A woman he called “Carla” or “Cindy,” who was killed in 1993, was identified as Patricia Skiple in 2022, and a woman he referred to only as “Suzanne,” killed in 1994, was identified as Suzanne L. Kjellenberg in 2023.
Anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant, is being asked to call the Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567 or email coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.