Final victim of 'Happy Face' serial killer is identified 30 years after she was murdered

Investigators have identified the final victim of the Happy Face Killer over 30 years after her remains were found along a California highway.Keith Hunter Jesperson, 71, is serving multiple life sentences after he confessed to killing at least eight women across the United States in the 1990s.He garnered his nickname 'Happy Face Killer' after often putting smiley faces on letters to investigators and reporters.Almost 34 years after her body was found, Jesperson's last known victim has been identified using DNA and genetic genealogy, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.The woman, who investigators previously referred to as Claudia, has been identified as Lydia Jane Wade McWhorter.Her body was found on August 30, 1992, along Highway 95, about seven miles north of Blythe, California, the DA's office said.After Jesperson, who is Canadian, was arrested in connection to another case, he eventually admitted to killing McWhorter along with the other women.He pleaded guilty to McWhorter's murder in Riverside County in 2010, and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, but she had never been formally identified. The final victim of the Happy Face Killer has been identified as Lydia Jane Wade McWhorter, who went missing from Texas in the early 1990s 'Happy Face Killer' Keith Hunter Jesperson, 71, is serving multiple life sentences after he confessed to killing at least eight women across the United States in the 1990sIn 2023, Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide investigators interviewed Jesperson about McWhorter at the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he is serving his sentence.He told investigators he met McWhorter, who he referred to as Claudia, at a brake check area on the I-15 south of the Victorville area around August of 1992 while he was working as a long-haul truck driver, police said.She asked to be taken to the Los Angeles area, but he declined and drove her to Cabazon in his purple semi-trailer truck instead and then the two continued on to a rest stop in Coachella, according to Jesperson. They ended up arguing about money and Jesperson told police he killed her in his truck, then drove to Blythe and dumped her body.Jesperson described her as 20 to 30 years old at the time, about 5'6" to 5'7," and of medium build, around 140-150 pounds. It is unclear what her exact age was at the time. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office said McWhorter disappeared from Texas in the early 1990s.She was found wearing a T-shirt printed with a motorcycle and had a tattoo of two small dots on the left side of her right thumb, according to the DA's office.In the years since her death, police were able to identify the victim's biological father and several half-siblings, however, they could not find her biological mother and therefore were unable to properly identify her. Jesperson told police he met McWhorter, whom he referred to as Claudia, at a pit stop in California while he was driving his purple semi-trailer truck in August of 1992 McWhorter was finally identified after one of her maternal sisters submitted a DNA swab this week Jesperson admitted to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska and WyomingThis week, a DNA swab from McWhorter's maternal sister, Brenda Burks, finally confirmed her identity.'I wanted to do [the test] because I knew if I did the swab that it would prove whether or not the lady that they found was actually my little bitty sister that’s been missing,' Burks told the Los Angeles Times.Other members of McWhorter's family praised investigators for their work.'My Aunt Janie (Lydia Jane Wade) has finally been identified after our family looking and wondering for 35 years,' her niece, Adrienne Lehman, wrote on Facebook.'She is my mom and my aunts' sister. She has been missing since 1992. It was not a happy ending for our family.'This isn't just a news article for us. It's sleepless nights, loss, love, and grieving. We have been able to thankfully grieve privately for a bit but there is a lot of healing to go.'Jesperson admitted to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska and Wyoming and is currently serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon.