The childhood memories are filled with camping trips, laughter, and a father who seemed larger than life. For years, Melissa Moore held onto the image of Keith Jesperson as a devoted dad. The reality, which she discovered as a teenager, was a nightmare: her father was the notorious “Happy Face Killer,” a long-haul trucker who murdered at least eight women and taunted authorities with his signature smiley face.
Now, decades after Jesperson began a life sentence, his daughter is speaking about the profound and complex legacy of growing up in a serial killer’s shadow. The recollections are a painful mix, she describes, where happy family moments are forever stained by the horror of his crimes and chilling personal behavior she witnessed.
“The shame was overwhelming,” Moore has said of the period after her father’s arrest, a time she tried to escape by building a new life and burying the secret of her lineage. That silence was broken by an innocent question from her own young daughter about a school family tree project. The moment forced a confrontation with a past she could no longer outrun.
That reckoning became a catalyst for healing. Moore channeled her experience into writing, publishing a memoir that explored the unique trauma of being a killer’s child. This path later led to a podcast and has now inspired a television series, all focusing on the devastating ripple effects of violence on the families left behind.
While she once communicated with her imprisoned father, Moore has since cut off all contact, a conscious decision to protect herself from his manipulation. “I guard my heart,” she has explained, choosing not to read the letters he sends.
Finding no existing support system for people in her situation, Moore has sought connection with others who share this unimaginable burden. She has formed a bond with the daughter of another infamous serial killer, creating a space for mutual understanding. Her empathy has also extended to action; she has helped raise funds for the family of an accused murderer, seeing in his wife a reflection of her own mother’s plight.
Her mission, she states, is not defined by her father’s crimes but by her own choices. “I’m just choosing every day to be the best person I can be,” Moore asserts, transforming a story of inherited notoriety into one of resilience and advocacy for those silently bearing a similar weight.
