I: the creation of a serial killer - jack olsen

With access to interviews, diaries, court records, and the criminal himself, Olsen offers a look into the mind of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, a truck driver known as The Happy Face Killer who was convicted of murdering eight women.

photos.

Martins Press.

In The Killers Own Words.

I killed Tanya Bennett.

I beat her to death, raped her and loved it.

Yes Im sick, but I enjoy myself too.

People took the blame and Im free.

Look over your shoulder.

I may be closer than you think.

-Keith Hunter Jesperson, the Happy Face Killer In February 1990, Oregon State Police arrested John Sosnovke and Laverne Pavlinac for the vicious rape and murder of 23-year-old Taunja Bennet.

Pavlinac had come forth and confessed, implicating her boyfriend and producing physical evidence that linked them to the crime.

Authorities closed the case.

There was just one problem.

They had the wrong people.

Keith Hunter Jesperson was a long haul truck driver and the murderer of eight women, including Taunja Bennet.

He began a twisted one-man campaign to win the release of Sosnovke and Pavlinac.

To the editors of newspapers and on the walls of highway rest stops, Jesperson scribbled out a series of taunting confessions.

At the end of each confession, Jesperson drew a happy face, earning for himself the grisly sobriquet The Happy Face Killer.

Based on access to interviews, diaries, court records, and the criminal himself, I: The Creation of a Serial Killer is Jespersons chilling story.

Edgar Award winner Jack Olsen lets the killer tell his story in his own words, offering unprecedented insight into the twisted thought process of a serial murderer.