In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, published on March 10, 2025, Melissa G. Moore, daughter of notorious serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson—the “Happy Face Killer”—shared a haunting revelation: her father nearly confessed his murders to her, putting her life at risk. Jesperson, convicted of strangling eight women between 1990 and 1995 and claiming up to 160 victims, sent letters with smiley faces to authorities, earning his chilling nickname. Now 46, Moore’s story is the focus of the upcoming Paramount+ series Happy Face, premiering March 20, 2025, starring Annaleigh Ashford as Moore and Dennis Quaid as Jesperson.
Daughter of ‘Happy Face’ Serial Killer Remembers His Near-Confession: ‘I Have Something I Need to Tell You’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/OYxHlGNB4b
— People (@people) March 10, 2025
Moore, who has spent decades grappling with her father’s double life, recalled a pivotal moment in high school when Jesperson, then a truck driver estranged from her mother, hinted at his dark secret during a diner lunch. As they discussed her excitement about getting her driver’s license and his offer to buy her first car, the conversation took a sinister turn. “He said, ‘I have something I need to tell you, but you’ll tell the authorities,’” Moore told PEOPLE. Though Jesperson didn’t elaborate, she now believes he was on the verge of confessing his murders—and feared the consequences if she knew. “Had he told me and I was alone with him, I don’t think he would’ve driven me back to school. I think he would’ve regretted telling me and would’ve had to resolve the problem, which would be to end my life,” she said.
This chilling realization adds a new layer to Moore’s advocacy for families impacted by crime—both victims and perpetrators. Living in Spokane, Washington, with her mother and siblings when Jesperson’s arrest was revealed, Moore has since written a 2009 book, hosted a 2018 podcast, and now sees Happy Face as a way to highlight the ripple effects of such atrocities. “It shows how so many more people are affected when a crime happens,” she noted, despite the personal toll, including the impact on her own adult children.
Moore’s story, now a Paramount+ series, offers a rare glimpse into the psychological toll of living with a serial killer’s legacy—and the terrifying possibility she could’ve been his next victim.
