‘Happy Face Killer’ victim ID’d as Oregon woman after 29 years

Keith Hunter Jesperson is serving several life sentences in Oregon for the 1990s murder of eight women.

The Associated Press, Kelly Doyle, Nexstar Media Wire

Updated: Apr 21, 2022 / 05:09 AM CDT

GILROY, Calif. (AP/KOIN) — A victim of the serial murderer dubbed the Happy Face Killer has been identified nearly 30 years after her body was left near a California highway.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office says genetic genealogy was used to match DNA to Patricia Skiple — an Oregonian. She was found dead in 1993 on the side of California State Route 152 in the Gilroy area.

According to the SCCSO, Skiple was a long-term resident of Colton, Oregon. She was a mother who was known as “Patsy” to her family and friends.

Skiple would’ve been about 45 years old at the time of her death.

Keith Hunter Jesperson is serving several life sentences in Oregon for the 1990s murder of eight women in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska and Wyoming.

He was dubbed the Happy Face Killer because of smiley faces on letters he wrote to police and the media.