West
‘Happy Face’ serial killer nearly confessed brutal murders to teen daughter: ‘You’ll tell the authorities’
Melissa G. Moore was having breakfast with her father, Keith Jesperson, at a diner when he almost exposed his secret double life.
The high school student, who was gearing up to get her driver’s license, was gushing about getting her freedom. She was also excited to spend time with her father, a trucker who, at that point, was divorced from Moore’s mother.
“I was on the verge of turning 16,” Moore recalled to Fox News Digital. “He made an unannounced visit and asked my siblings and me if we wanted to go have breakfast with him before school started. My siblings had other commitments, so they couldn’t join us. … We talked about what would be my first car. I remember he said he would buy me a Pontiac, and I debated with him.
INVESTIGATORS FIND RELATIVES OF ‘HAPPY FACE’ SERIAL KILLER’S LAST UNKNOWN VICTIM IN MISSION TO IDENTIFY HER
Melissa G. Moore is the daughter of Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the “Happy Face” serial killer. (Storm Santos)
“Then the topic started to turn to the next time I would see him,” Moore shared. “He was looking forward to seeing us during the summer break. But the way he spoke, it sounded like it was wishful thinking. … Then he started to say, ‘I need to tell you something, but you’ll tell the authorities.’ It stopped me.
Melissa G. Moore said there were signs early on that something wasn’t right with her father, Keith Jesperson. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
“At first, I thought, ‘It must be the rumors my mother had told me about, that he had been fired for stealing from his employer.’ Did he steal? I kept pressing it, saying, ‘You could tell me.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, I can’t tell you.’ I started to feel sick to my stomach. I went to the bathroom, and when I returned, our food was there. He was ready to change the subject.
“Looking back on that conversation, I feel he knew that his crimes were catching up to him.”
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“Happy Face” is inspired by Melissa G. Moore’s story. She wrote the autobiography “Shattered Silence.” (Paramount+)
Moore was 15 when Jesperson, a prolific serial killer infamous for drawing smiley faces in letters to the media and prosecutors, was captured. The case is now the subject of a Paramount+ true-crime drama, “Happy Face,” starring Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid.
Moore previously shared her story in the bestselling memoir, “Shattered Silence” and the 2018 “Happy Face” podcast.
Dennis Quaid and Melissa G. Moore attend Paramount+’s “Happy Face” New York premiere at Metrograph March 18, 2025, in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
“I’m proud of this series because I think the family members of victims will feel seen, and so will family members of perpetrators,” she explained. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this. When you watch a show about a serial killer, they don’t show the complex nature of the relationships that they have with their own family.”
This is a Clark County Sheriff’s office booking photo of serial killer Keith Jesperson, circa 1995. (AP Photo)
Moore described her childhood as “pretty normal” in rural Washington. Her father, who stood at a towering 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, worked as a long-haul truck driver. Her mother stayed at home with the couple’s three children.
“I grew up in the countryside where we had the freedom to roam,” said Moore. “When my dad would come home from his long-haul truck drives, he was very doting. He was very loving.”
WATCH: HAPPY FACE SERIAL KILLER ADMITS TO MURDERING AN EIGHTH VICTIM IN INTERVIEW WITH FLORIDA OFFICIALS
“He used to love riding his bike, and he always wanted us kids with him,” she shared. “He was a very hands-on father. He would read us bedtime stories. He would play games with us. He would hang out with us as much as possible.”
Dennis Quaid as Keith Jesperson in “Happy Face.” (Katie Yu/Paramount+)
But there were signs that her home life wasn’t so idyllic. Moore said that when she was 5 years old, she witnessed “animal abuse on our property.”
“My dad would kill animals for sport,” she explained. “He would kill cats. He would kill dogs. That was something that, as a young person … you just feel that’s not right. But it wasn’t something that was really discussed. It was just Keith being Keith. It’s not that we accepted it, but nobody really wanted to acknowledge it.”
WATCH: ‘HAPPY FACE’ STAR DENNIS QUAID REFLECTS ON PLAYING REAL-LIFE SERIAL KILLER KEITH HUNTER JESPERSON
Jesperson was arrested in 1995 on suspicion of killing his girlfriend in Washington state. He eventually confessed to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska and Wyoming. The victims, who included his girlfriend, acquaintances and sex workers, were sexually assaulted and strangled.
Keith Hunter Jesperson, 40, right, listens to his attorney, Tom Phelan moments before pleading guilty to murder charges Oct. 18, 1995, at the Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver, Wash. (AP Photo/The Columbian, Troy Wayrynen)
He was arrested just before Moore’s birthday.
“I found out through my mom,” said Moore. “In the series, it’s depicted accurately. I came home from school, and my mother called us siblings together. She had something she needed to tell us. She informed all of us that our dad was in jail and that he was charged with murder. She didn’t give any more details.
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“As an adult looking back, I imagine that … she probably didn’t feel comfortable discussing those details with us.”
Melissa G. Moore doesn’t have a relationship with her father, Keith Jesperson. (Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images)
News quickly spread in Moore’s hometown. Her friends described seeing Jesperson on TV while watching the news, wearing an orange jumpsuit and chained up. He was called the “Happy Face Killer.”
“I was mortified about going to school and deeply ashamed,” said Moore. “Whenever I turned on the TV, there was my father’s face, flashing across. My friends told me that their parents had seen the news, and they didn’t want them to hang out with me.
For the series, Melissa G. Moore provided unread letters from her father. (Amy E. Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images)
“I internalized it,” Moore admitted. “I took it like maybe there was something wrong with me. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It was the beginning of this deep descent into struggling with my own identity. I internalized his crimes in a way that it wrapped up with my own identity.
Don Findlay (far right), son of murder victim Julie Ann Winningham, and Keith Jesperson (orange jumpsuit) before sentencing Dec. 19, 1995, in the Clark County Courthouse, in Vancouver, Wash. (AP Photo/The Columbian, Jeremiah Coughlan)
“It’s taken me years to reconcile with that,” the 47-year-old added.
Today, Jesperson, 69, is serving several life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“He has never explained why,” said Moore. “I am still curious why he chose the life that he did and chose to commit these crimes. I believe he felt a deep insecurity within himself and wanted to have control. I would say it was about power and control. … It made this perfect monster.”
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Kate Maree as Melissa G. Moore and Dennis Quaid as Keith Jesperson in “Happy Face.” (Ed Araquel/Paramount+)
In the show, viewers will see a letter from Jesperson mailed to Moore. She said the scene was accurate.
“He’s written to me from day one since he entered jail, and [those letters] go unanswered,” she said. “I don’t write him back. I’ve collected them, and I’ve given all the letters over to [executive producer] Jennifer Cacicio. She used the letters for dialogue in the series.
“Sadly, her house was among those lost in the California fires. Those letters were burned. They’re gone.”
Keith Jesperson was nicknamed the “Happy Face” serial killer because he sent letters to the media detailing his crimes, which he committed across state lines as a long-haul trucker, with a smiley face signature at the bottom of each note. (Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office)
Today, Moore has a family of her own. In sharing her story, Moore was able to create a network of more than 300 people who are related to killers, speaking with them on the phone and in person for support, People magazine reported. She previously told BBC News that that project gave her “life meaning and direction.”
Over the years, Melissa G. Moore connected with others who are related to killers and struggling to cope. (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
“I’m not proud of who my dad is, but I no longer feel the need to hide,” said Moore. “I’m no longer attributing his crimes to who I am as a person. And I’m not alone in dealing with these unique issues. … There is no support group for family members of perpetrators. There isn’t really a support group for families of victims. We’re left to ourselves to find other people like us. … They don’t need to be alone in navigating this.”
Speaking out has also helped Moore come to terms with her painful past.
Melissa G. Moore said she’s no longer afraid to share her story in hopes it will help others. (Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty Images)
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“My father gave me my greatest sorrow, which is the trauma of growing up with him as a dad,” she said. “I would say the series does a really good job of showing this deep desire within me to have the father who no longer exists, the father of my childhood. He’s no longer here. Maybe he never really existed.”
New episodes of “Happy Face” will drop Thursdays on Paramount+. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Broncos QB Bo Nix is one of an projected four quarterbacks the Cardinals have never faced previously.
The Arizona Cardinals will take on the Denver Broncos in Week 7, facing them at State Farm Stadium. The Broncos’ starting quarterback is Bo Nix.
It will be the first time that the Cardinals face Nix in a regular-season game.
Bo Nix through 2 NFL seasons
Nix enters this third NFL season. He has led the Broncos to the playoffs twice.
He is 24-10 as a starter and 1-1 in the playoffs.
Through two seasons, he has completed 64.8% of his passes for 7,706 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He has rushed for nine touchdowns in two seasons.
Nix is one of four projected starting quarterbacks the Cardinals will face for the first time ever this season. The others are:
- Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
- Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
- Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
The Seattle Seahawks are the defending champions following a fantastic run in 2025 which resulted in the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Despite this, they’re not the favorites to win their division in 2026.
Instead, the Los Angeles Rams are the hot team, thanks in large part to the addition of Myles Garrett. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year does give them a huge boost, but the Seahawks know they can still win their division once again.
Here we dive into three reasons to believe that will be the case for Mike Macdonald and his team.
3. Passing attack will be improved
With Klint Kubiak leaving to take the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Fleury is set to take over as the offensive coordinator in Seattle. Fleury spent the past seven years with the San Francisco 49ers and was most recently their run game coordinator and tight ends coach.
He’s expected to feature a run-heavy offense once again, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks aerial attack won’t be a problem for opposing teams. With Sam Darnold entering his second season with the team, he’s going to have far more comfort with his teammates. As Seahawks On SI’s Russell Baxter wrote, he’s also unsatisfied with his performance in the Super Bowl and wants to improve in 2026.
His motivation, along with the presence of Jaxson Smith-Njigba is enough for the offense to be as dangerous as they were last year. Rashid Shaheed having a full offseason with the team is a reason to believe they can be even better.
2. The run game will be a strength once again
Losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency was a blow, but the Seahawks made sure to enter the new season with just as much firepower in the ground game. Even with Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL, the Seahawks have a strong unit.
Led by rookie Jadarian Price, Seattle also has Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. There might not be many proven options, but as Seahawks On SI’s Michael Hanich writes, the coaching staff trusts this unit.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury had success leading the rushing attack in San Francisco last year and his defensive background has him favoring a more violent and punishing rushing attack. That will allow the Seahawks to wear teams down with the ground game, even without Walker.
1. Mike Macdonald continues to build the defense to fit his vision
During his first season as head coach, Mike Macdonald led Seattle to the 11th best scoring defense, which was a massive jump from 25th the prior year. They shot up the leaderboard again in 2025, finishing with the No. 1 scoring defense, which is what led the way during their title run.
Macdonald made those improvements by building the defense to his preference. They have trusted veterans on the defensive line and have built a strong nickel defense with defensive back Nick Emmanwori as one of his key pieces.
This offseason, he added another versatile defensive back in Bud Clark, a speedy pass-rusher in Dante Fowler Jr., and a big-bodied cornerback in Julian Neal. Macdonald also allowed Boye Mafe to leave while putting Derick Hall in position to take on a larger load. All these moves have given them a defense that Macdonald can turn into an even better one than we saw last year.
— Enjoy free coverage of the Super Bowl champions from Seattle Seahawks On SI —
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Alaska
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan’s primary challenger who has the same name is eligible for ballot, judge rules
A man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible to challenge the senator in the August primary, a judge ruled Friday.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews’ ruling overturns a June 15 decision by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher to disqualify the challenger and keep him off the primary ballot. Matthews’ ruling can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Attorneys for the state have said Tuesday is the deadline for a final ruling so that ballots for the Aug. 18 primary can be printed.
The judge ruled that the division’s decision to exclude Dan J. Sullivan because his candidacy was not “in good faith” was not based on the Constitution, Alaska law or the division’s own regulations. The retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg filed to challenge the incumbent.
“Instead, the decision was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good faith’ criteria,” the judge wrote.
The division is appealing the decision, Sam Curtis, a spokesperson with the state Department of Law, said by email Saturday. Jeffrey Robinson, an attorney for Dan J. Sullivan, said in an email he expected the division to appeal and couldn’t comment until the Alaska Supreme Court rules on the case.
The controversy over the two Dan Sullivans has underscored the stakes involved in the incumbent’s reelection campaign. The Alaska race is one of about half a dozen U.S. Senate races expected to be highly competitive in the fall, and the seat is one Democrats are trying to flip in their efforts to try to regain the majority. But it’s expected to be an uphill battle in a state that President Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
The senator and allies, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have condemned the challenger’s efforts to join the race, arguing his presence could confuse voters. Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom earlier this month opened an investigation into the non-Senator Sullivan’s candidacy.
Under Alaska’s election system, the top four candidates from the primary, regardless of party, move on to the ranked-choice November general election.
The senator has accused the challenger Sullivan of working with Democrats and the campaign of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola — who is considered the senator’s main opponent — to cause confusion and boost Peltola’s chances. The sitting senator brought the situation to reporters’ attention at the Capitol earlier this month, accusing Democrats of being “complicit in trying to trick Alaskans” to “rig an election in their favor.”
Peltola’s campaign and state Democrats have denied the allegation, as has the challenger.
Sen. Sullivan and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates in the crowded race and the only ones to report raising any money.
Beecher has said she determined the challenger Sullivan is not eligible to run because his candidacy was not filed in good faith and instead was done with an intent to confuse voters. She said he had registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and, in conjunction with his candidacy, changed his party affiliation to Republican. She also cited similarities between his campaign website and the senator’s, and his work with a consultant whose clients have included some Democrats. She did not mention finding any evidence of alleged coordination.
In arguing to keep the challenger disqualified, attorneys for the state pushed back on suggestions the ballot could be designed in a way to reduce voter confusion over two candidates with the same name and party running for the same office.
“The Constitution does not require States to place a sham candidate on the ballot and then attempt to mitigate the damage through design choices,” attorney Rachel Witty, with the Alaska Department of Law, and outside attorneys Christopher Murray and Michael Francisco wrote in court filings.
Attorneys for the challenger Sullivan argued that the Constitution lays out three exclusive qualifications for the Senate, addressing only age, citizenship and residency. They said Beecher lacked the legal authority to boot their client off the ballot.
The challenger Sullivan has said that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent gave him “an instant megaphone.” But the 69-year-old retired teacher and former U.S. Forest Service employee said he had considered a run for some time and had grown frustrated with the senator.
He initially was certified on the state’s candidate list as Dan J. Sullivan, with the senator listed as Dan S. Sullivan and identified as the incumbent.
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