The Doe Network:
Case File 497UFCA

1
Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Female

Vital Statistics

  • Estimated age: late 30's or early 40's
  • Approximate Height and Weight: 63"; 130 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Most probably she was White. She may have looked Hispanic. She'd never given birth. She had a 5 inch scar on her abdomen, likely the result of a gall bladder surgical operation.
  • Dentals: She had dental work but her teeth had deteriorated, probably as the result of a long period of inattention.
  • Clothing: Her clothing was typical of a transient, homeless person.
  • Other: Possible first name of Karla/Carla or (Cindy - according to Jesperson in "I: the Making of a Serial Killer" by Jack Olsen"). She had "track marks" on her arm from drug abuse. She may have been a prostitute.

Case History
The victim was located June 3, 1993 in Santa Clara County, on westbound State Route 152 (the Pacheco Pass highway) near Casa de Fruita. The woman's body was found by a trucker who stopped at the turnout to urinate.

On June 13, 2006, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office filed murder charges against Keith Hunter Jesperson for the 1993 killing. Jesperson wrote authorities the letter in 1997 describing the murder, the truck driver was already in prison for other murders. Jesperson, who earned the nickname "Happy Face Killer'' because he drew happy faces on letters to an Oregon newspaper in which he talked of his crimes, is currently serving two life sentences for murders in Oregon and Wyoming.

In his letter, Jesperson claimed that he met her at truck stop on Interstate 5 in Corning, about 20 miles south of Red Bluff and gave her a ride. In Williams, they had sex and he strangled her, before driving on toward Gilroy. Along the way, he stopped at the Pacheco Pass on Highway 152, and tossed her body off the berm.

In his guilty plea in Santa Clara County, he said he met the woman at a truck stop off I-5, bought her lunch, gave her a lift, had sex with her and then killed her. He said he drove for several hours with the body in his cab before dumping it. He gave as much information he could about her in return for a life sentence. He said she claimed to have relatives in the Sacramento, California area. He got 3rd life term for this killing.

Jesperson often preyed on prostitutes or the down-and-out, people at truck stops, wanderers without luggage. Jespersen, a long-haul trucker who authorities believe murdered 10 to 12 women.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department
Detective Ron Breuss
408-808-4500
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

NCIC Number:
Not Entered
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Santa Clara County
"I: the Making of a Serial Killer" by Jack Olsen
The Mercury News
Earth Times 7/29/07
Inside Bay Area 6/25/07

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