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Serial Killers & Murderous Minds

SERIAL KILLER: The Happy Face Killer Pt. 2

Serial Killers & Murderous Minds

Crime House

True Crime

4.5712 Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As his body count grew, Keith Jesperson left more than victims behind—he left smiley face graffiti, taunting letters, and a desperate need for attention. In Part 2, we unravel the psychology behind the Happy Face Killer's sadistic murder spree, his chilling confession, and the moment his own ego brought him down.

Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. For ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi, Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson. Looking for another Crime House original podcast to add to your rotation, you will love Clues with Morgan Absher and Kalyn Moore.

0:12.8

Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kalin dig into the world's most notorious crimes, clue by clue, from serial killers to shocking murders.

0:21.5

They follow the trail of clues, break down the evidence, and debate the theories.

0:26.3

It's like hanging out with your smart and true crime-obsessed friends.

0:29.8

Listen to clues on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

0:47.3

Music. or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Crime House. We've all been in situations where we know we're doing something wrong, but just can't seem

0:55.3

to stop ourselves.

0:57.1

For most of us, this is usually something pretty harmless, like eating chips when we're

1:01.5

on a diet or engaging in some harmless gossip.

1:05.5

But Keith Jesperson's bad habits were far from harmless.

1:10.5

From a young age, Keith was compelled to commit violence.

1:13.6

It started with torturing animals, but eventually, that wasn't enough.

1:19.6

In 1990, when Keith was 34, he sexually assaulted and murdered a woman named Tanya Bennett in Portland, Oregon.

1:29.3

Keith was aware that he'd done something horrible, but he also hate. But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Killer Minds, a

2:05.1

crimehouse original. I'm Vanessa Richardson. And I'm Dr. Tristan Ingalls. Every Monday and Thursday,

2:11.5

we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes the killer.

2:16.4

Crimehouse is made possible by you.

2:18.3

Please rate, review, and follow Killer Minds.

2:22.3

To enhance your listening experience with ad-free, early access to each two-part series and bonus content,

2:28.3

subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.

2:32.3

A warning, this episode contains discussions of sexual assault and murder.

2:37.9

Listener discretion is advised. Today we conclude our deep dive on Keith Hunter Jesperson, otherwise known as the Happy Face killer.

...

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