Behind the Smile: Inside the Mind of the Happy Face Killer
10 Minute Murder | Bingeable True Crime Stories
Joe Kuner
4.8 • 614 Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2025
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Keith Jesperson, known as “The Happy Face Killer,” left a trail of devastation that began with a childhood shaped by violence and escalated into a five-year spree of murder across the United States. This episode unpacks how Jesperson’s early exposure to cruelty shaped his path to becoming a notorious serial killer. From his first violent impulses at the age of five to his manipulative confessions that taunted law enforcement, we’ll explore the darkness behind his calculated murders, the tragic lives of his victims, and the people wrongly convicted in his place.
Through detailed accounts, discover how one man weaponized his freedom as a long-haul trucker to commit heinous acts while evading capture.
This is the story of control, destruction, and a desperate need for recognition, culminating in a series of crimes that left authorities scrambling for answers.
#KeithJesperson #HappyFaceKiller #TrueCrimePodcast #SerialKillerStories #UnsolvedMurders #CriminalConfessions #DarkHistory
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following is for mature audiences only. |
| 0:03.0 | So if you aren't cool with dark, disturbing, and depraved, |
| 0:06.0 | you might want to keep it moving. |
| 0:08.0 | Welcome to 10-minute murder. Ten Minute Murder |
| 0:23.6 | Life didn't exactly deal Keith Jesperson the best hand. |
| 0:28.6 | Growing up in the 1950s, Washington, he had two options. |
| 0:32.6 | Be the shy, awkward kid everyone picked on, or become the violent monster his father actually would applaud. |
| 0:40.3 | Guess which route he took? By age five, Keith already discovered his favorite extracurricular |
| 0:45.6 | activity, killing animals, and his dad was practically handing him gold stars for it. Fast |
| 0:51.8 | forward a few decades, and Keith's twisted need for control wasn't limited |
| 0:55.9 | to stray pets anymore. With a truck driving job that gave him access to the open road and |
| 1:01.2 | no shortage of opportunities, he left the trail of devastation that stretched across the country. |
| 1:06.4 | But here's where things get really messy. Wrongful convictions, bathroom stall confessions, and a calling card that was, let's just say, |
| 1:15.0 | unconventional. |
| 1:16.4 | Today, we're diving into how Keith Jesperson went from being bullied to one of America's |
| 1:21.2 | most notorious serial killers. |
| 1:23.5 | But before we get into that story, if you like your true crime brief and bingeable, |
| 1:28.1 | you have found the right podcast. |
| 1:30.4 | Tap the follow button now for access to at least two episodes per week. |
| 1:34.5 | And now, let's get into it. |
| 1:43.4 | In the 1950s, Cila Washington wasn't just a small, picturesque town. It was a battleground for |
| 1:49.7 | young Keith Jesperson, towering over his peers and burdens with a quiet, shy demeanor, |
... |
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