Riverside County, California – In the early 1990s, long-haul trucker Keith Hunter Jesperson embarked on a killing spree that spanned the United States. His brutal acts claimed the lives of at least eight women, and to gain notoriety, he sent anonymous confession letters to journalists and investigators, many of them signed with smiley faces.
Since Jesperson’s arrest in 1995, authorities in at least six states have diligently worked to unravel the identities of his victims. On Monday, Riverside County, California, authorities unveiled a sketch of what they described as the final unidentified victim in his killing spree, which also spanned Nebraska, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and Florida.
Keith Hunter Jesperson, now 68, confessed to killing the women and is serving four life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary. However, investigators have encountered difficulties in identifying some of his victims, particularly those who were drifters or sex workers not in regular contact with their families.
One of his victims, whom Jesperson referred to as Claudia, remains unidentified. Her body was found on August 30, 1992, along Highway 95 near Blythe, California. But Claudia may not be her real name, and her identity, along with that of her family, remains unknown.
Authorities are hopeful that by identifying Claudia, they may provide closure to her family. The goal is to give this victim back her identity, said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin in a video statement.
Advances in forensic genetic genealogy have been instrumental in identifying some of Jesperson’s victims in recent years. In April 2022, authorities used genetic genealogy to finally identify Patricia Skiple, 45, and in October, Florida authorities identified a woman he killed in 1994 as 34-year-old Suzanne Kjellenberg.
Investigators interviewed Jesperson in a renewed effort to find out Claudia’s identity. He described meeting the woman in August 1992 after she approached him for a ride at a brake-check area in Victorville, California. The two later stopped to eat at a rest stop in Indio, after which an argument about money led to his decision to kill her.
After a sketch aided by DNA technology and the killer’s description, investigators are now the closest they have ever been to learning Claudia’s identity. Jesperson pleaded guilty to the Riverside County murder on Jan. 8, 2010, and now, investigators hope the public can help put a name to the woman’s face. They urge anyone who may recognize her to contact their Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567 or email them at coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.