True crime fans have a haunting new drama to watch. Available to stream on Paramount+, Happy Face recalls the moment that Melissa G. Moore – then a high school senior – found out her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, was in prison for murder.
Harrowingly played by Dennis Quaid in the two-part drama, the real Keith Hunter Jesperson was charged with the murders of eight women, though he has confessed to as many as 160. Dubbed the 'Happy Face Killer' by police, Jesperson – who shared three children, including Melissa, with his ex-wife Rose – had spawned the moniker after drawing smiley faces on his horrifying letters to the media and authorities.
How did Keith Hunter Jesperson get caught?
It was in 1995 that Jesperson was questioned and later arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Julie Winningham. Following the discovery of her body, police had spoken with the long-haul trucker, prompting a disturbing confession. "I am sorry that I turned out this way. I have been a killer for five years and have killed eight people. Assaulted more," he wrote in a letter to the authorities. "Seems like my luck has run out."
After revealing the extent of his crimes, Jesperson received multiple life sentences with no chance for parole.
Where is Keith Hunter Jesperson now?
Jesperson remains incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. He is estranged from his daughter, Melissa G. Moore and her children.
As he continues to serve his sentences, the serial killer has taken part in several interviews and attempted to share his artwork in the media.
Where is Melissa G. Moore?
In a recent interview with TIME, Melissa G. Moore opened up about the moment her mother took her and her two younger siblings aside to tell them that their father was in prison. "I had a cot and a cellar area that I designated as my bedroom. I just remember going in there, throwing myself on the cot, crying and trying to picture what happened," she recalled in March 2025.
Melissa, who notes that the plot of Happy Face has been fictionalised for dramatic effect, added that she had visited her father in prison shortly after his arrest, which is when Jesperson advised her to change her last name. "That's when I knew hands-down that he was guilty, because he was advising me to basically go into hiding," she said.
Deciding to speak openly about her father's crimes, Melissa went on to share her experiences in the 2009 autobiography Shattered Silence, the podcast Happy Face Presents: Two Face, and most recently in Paramount+'s Happy Face.
In a 2015 interview with Marie Claire, Melissa explained why she had chosen to be so open. "I'm always going to be a daughter of a serial killer, and I have to choose how that's going to affect me. I'm always having to make that choice: Do I want to hide today, or do I want to live today?" she mused.
Melissa, who is now married with children, has also dedicated her time to counselling hundreds of family members related to killers.
