Throughout the early 1990s, Keith Hunter Jesperson embarked on a cross-country killing spree, taking the lives of at least eight known victims, though he later claimed his true body count was much higher. His reign of terror began in 1990 with the murder of Taunja Bennett in Oregon; this initially went unsolved thanks to a false confession from a couple who had nothing to do with Bennett’s death. Like most serial killers, Jesperson (known as the Happy Face Killer) was a strategist, often strangling his victims before disposing of their bodies in remote areas. This ensured that their disappearances would go unnoticed for as long as possible, allowing his twisted games to continue.
Although Jesperson was convicted of eight murders, he has hinted at many more, leaving the extent of his crimes shrouded in mystery. For those hoping to learn more about his haunting story, Happy Face on Paramount+ is bringing the true story of the criminal case to life through the eyes of Jesperson’s daughter, Melissa Moore.
First Two Episodes of ‘Happy Face’ Are Now Streaming on Paramount+
More often than not there are movies, documentaries and even podcasts about killers themselves or even their victims. However, it’s less common to get a deep dive into the families of known killers. Although their experience can never be compared to that of the families of victims, there is something to be said about what they go through as well. Feeling as if you know someone and then discovering that they committed a horrendous act can not be easy. That is what the new Paramount+ series sheds light on.
The narrative follows Melissa Moore (Annaleigh Ashford) as she reconnects with her father after years of estrangement. When Jesperson (Dennis Quaid) claims knowledge of an unreported victim, Melissa, accompanied by a true crime producer, visits him in prison. This encounter leads her to investigate whether an innocent man is on death row for a crime her father committed. It prompts a personal journey to confront her father’s dark legacy, which she has kept secret from even her own family.
The Happy Face Killer’s Harrowing True Story
The Paramount+ is based upon the story of the real Happy Face Killer, shown from his daughter’s point of view, as told in her 2009 memoir, “Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter.” As Moore tells it, she had a relatively happy childhood and loving relationship with her father – up until the age of 15 when she discovered he was a murderer, only because he got caught.
“I think he is going to be upset at some things in the fact that he’s not glorified. He’s not the hero in this story, obviously. So watching it, I think he’s going to feel a sense of betrayal that he’s not the hero of this story,” Moore told Parade in an exclusive interview. “This is my story,” she continued, “And I think he’ll be upset that I’m victorious in this storyline. Victorious in the sense that I get closure for another case. These are just assumptions. I have no idea really how he’s going to react. But based on what I know about him, I think that will be the truth.”
In real life, Moore eventually reached out to the families of her father’s victims and the families of other perpetrators which helped her to cope with the shame and complex emotions she dealt with. “There’s no way I could share my story or even give the floor for the victims’ families to speak without inadvertently giving attention to my father. So there’s just no way around it. I wish there was, but there isn’t,” she told the outlet.
Despite the tough emotions she had to navigate, the true crime podcast host ultimately feels empowered from the work she’s doing. “I feel like seeing these memories play out too, gave me a sense of appreciation for what I went through and that I’m here to tell the tale. It really summarized what it felt like emotionally to go through it,” Moore shared. Her courage and inner journey is what inspired Happy Face. It provides a new perspective for fans of true crime to explore, but not without taking audiences on a rollercoaster of emotions and shocking revelations.
