LOS ANGELES, CA – After over 30 years, Riverside County investigators are on the verge of identifying a woman who was brutally murdered by the notorious “Happy Face Killer.” The serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, admitted to killing the woman in the early 1990s but her identity remains a mystery. The Riverside County district attorney’s office is seeking the public’s help to finally provide closure to the victim’s family.
Jesperson, who is currently in custody, confessed to meeting the victim in August 1992 while working as a long-haul truck driver. He offered her a ride, which tragically led to her death in a dispute about money. Her remains were found along Highway 95, seven miles north of Blythe on August 30, 1992. Despite Jesperson’s incarceration, the woman’s identity has yet to be confirmed.
According to authorities, the victim was described as a woman in her 20s, approximately 5-foot-6, and weighing 140 to 150 pounds. She had shaggy blond hair and a distinctive tattoo on the left side of her right hand. Recent efforts by forensic investigators using DNA evidence and genealogists have revealed her biological ties to Cameron County in Texas. However, her mother’s identity remains unknown, possibly hailing from Louisiana or southeastern Texas. Several individuals believed to be the victim’s half-siblings have been contacted, but they were unable to provide any information about her.
The Riverside County district attorney’s office has urged anyone with potential leads to come forward by contacting the cold case hotline at (951) 955-5567 or emailing coldecaseunit@rivcoda.org. The hope is that with the public’s assistance, the victim will finally be identified, bringing closure to her family after decades of uncertainty.