(NewsNation) — Keith Hunter Jesperson, commonly known as the “Happy Face Killer,” has been a prolific letter-writer from behind bars. Among those receiving his notes are NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield and Laura Ingle. But Ingle got something more than a letter in the mail from Jesperson this week.
“It was a total shock,” Ingle said when she received a large, flat package from the Oregon State Penitentiary. “I opened it up. I had no idea it was coming. I was just simply stunned here in the newsroom opening these up.”
What Ingle found were four large, colorful drawings of The Beatles — individual portraits of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Each was signed, and included the date Jesperson drew them, his inmate number and “OSP” for Oregon State Penitentiary.
Ingle says the attached note from Jesperson said he made them “because I wanted to. They are colored pencil drawings. Enjoy.”
“I couldn’t help but notice that the eyes all looked the same,” Ingle told Banfield. “I have wondered if the eyes were meant to be Jesperson’s. They all look similar in shape and they look like his” eyes.
While Jesperson is serving three consecutive life sentences in Oregon, he was also convicted of another killing in California and was confirmed to be responsible for four other deaths. Jesperson, however, has claimed to have killed nearly 200 people from 1990 to 1995 in six states.
He became known as the “Happy Face Killer” for the smiley face next to his signature on confessions he wrote to news media outlets and police departments before he was captured.