Riverside, California – Riverside County officials are renewing efforts to identify the last known victim of the “Happy Face Killer,” hoping to provide closure to her family after more than three decades. The victim, known only as “Claudia,” was murdered by convicted serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson in the early 1990s.
Jesperson confessed to killing Claudia and seven other women. Despite his conviction in 2010, the victim’s true identity was never formally established. Her body was discovered in August 1992, along Highway 95, about 7 miles north of Blythe.
DNA and genealogy have linked the victim to her deceased father, Alfonso Sandana Gonzales, who had ties to Santa Barbara County, Oregon, Washington, and Texas. Riverside County officials are urging anyone with information related to Sandana Gonzales or Claudia’s mother to come forward. They believe the woman’s mother may have been living in Santa Barbara when Claudia was conceived and may have ties to Louisiana or southeast Texas.
Circumstances indicate that Sandana Gonzales may have been dating Claudia’s mother in the 1970s or ’80s. The authorities hope that information about this relationship could help connect the victim to her maternal family and ultimately lead to her identification.
Jesperson, now 68, is serving multiple life sentences without parole in Oregon for murders committed in Oregon, California, and Wyoming. Anyone with information about Claudia is urged to contact Riverside County’s Cold Case Hotline at 951-955-5567 or via email at coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org. The officials hope that renewed interest in her case will bring forth new leads in the ongoing effort to identify the victim and bring closure to her family.