EP 90 - Get Eaten by a Shark

Explicit content warning

07/17/20 • 104 min

Welcome back to Death by Champagne, the podcast here to keep you up at night! Hope you guys are ready to buckle up because Mack has brought a detailed dive into the Happy Face killer, aka Keith Hunter Jesperson. She briefly covers his childhood and then gives us an incredibly detailed story surrounding his crimes as a serial killer. Major content warning up front for this one, it’s pretty gruesome, but don’t worry she gives you enough time to skip if you choose.
This episode contains foul language, animal abuse, rape, murder, torture, and really graphic descriptions of body mutilation. We’ll do our best to stay on track, but the bottles are popped!
Sources
“I, The Creation of a Serial Killer” Jack Olsen, C 2002
“Serial killer’s sole survivor tells story after 19 years”, Toni Scott, Oroville Mercury-Register
“Happy Face Killer Keith Jesperson's surviving victim sues filmmakers for defamation”, Bryan Denson, OregonLive, The Oregonian, January 10, 2019
“Touching Evil: Students hear 'friendly' voice of a serial killer”, Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Part 3 of the 3-part series
“The Happy Face Killer and His Unidentified Victims”, Kim Pasqualini, Medium, March 24, 2020
Radford University Dept. of Psychology Assessment, Peggy Krueger, Kendra Justice, & Amy Hunt
“Happy Face Killer' Describes Killing First Victim”, ABC News
Happy Face Podcast with Melissa Moore

Previous Episode

EP 89 - Nobody Cared

Welcome back to Death by Champagne, the podcast here to keep you up at night! Mack starts us off this week with an unbelievable case. Without giving too much away we will just say she covers a semi-local case from Kansas City, MO. The murder of infant Lorelai Sims. Liv takes us to New Jersey and cover a solved cold case known primarily as “Baby Bones”.
This episode contains foul language, major trigger warning for this episode regarding discussions about child abuse, child murder, and specifically infant deaths. We’ll do our best to stay on track, but the bottles are popped!
Sources
Paula Sims
Forensic Files - Season 3, Episode 6: Similar Circumstances
“Paula Sims trial: Either a maniacal killer on the loose, or Sims was lying, prosecutor says”, Charles Bosworth Jr., St. Louis Post Dispatch, December 31, 1990
“Paula Sims claims daughter kidnapped by armed stranger”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 17, 1986
“Twisting path continues for Paula Sims, who killed two daughters in the 1980s”, Pat Gauen, St. Louis Post Dispatch, December 14, 2015
“Mom Killed 2 Baby Daughters 3 Years Apart”, Chris Harris, People Magazine, November 15, 2019
“Gauen: Another Mother's Day for Metro East mom who murdered daughters”, Pat Gauen, St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 18, 2017
“Child murder by mothers: patterns and prevention”, Susan Hatters Friedman and Phillip J Resnick, World Psychiatry, October 6, 2007 “After Alton couple claim second infant daughter abducted, baby's body found”, Charles Bosworth, St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 4, 1989
“Sims Baby Buried; Hand Caused Death” Macon Chronicle-Herald, May 11, 1989
“Bits and Pieces of Simses’ Troubled Lives” St. Louis Post Dispatch, reprinted in the Macon Chronicle-Herald, May 12, 1989
“Jury Selected, Opening Remarks Scheduled” Macon Chronicle-Herald, Jan 11, 1990
Encyclopedia of Kidnapping, Michael Newton, p280-281
Women and Crime: A Reference Handbook, Judith A. Warner, p56-57
PEOPLE v. SIMS, No. 5-90-0287
Jon-Niece Jones
Wikipedia
The NY Times Article by J. David Goodman
LA Times Article by Tina Susman
The Star Ledger Article by Bob Considine
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Article by Rob Spahr
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Article by Ashley Peskoe

Next Episode

EP 91 - Girl has no Chill

Welcome back to Death by Champagne, the podcast here to keep you up at night! We are back to our regular format this week with two stories. Mack starts us off with an old but still very tragic slew of arsenic murders all committed by the one and only Bertha Giffords, dubbed America's first female serial killer. Liv brings us something light-hearted and discusses the origins of Ursula Shipton, aka Mother Shipton, her notorious prophecies and possible proof of her existence.
This episode contains foul language, discussions about murder (including child murder), witches and some lore. We’ll do our best to stay on track, but the bottles are popped!
Sources
Bertha Giffords
Missouri’s Murderous Matrons, Victoria Cosner, Lorelai Shannon, Arcadia Publishing
Poison was weapon for 'Missouri's Murderous Matrons', Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 14, 2019
World Health Org on Arsenic
http://www.berthagifford.com/
https://www.morsemillhotel.com/
STL Post-Dispatch, Oct. 26, 1993
Mysterious Heartland Blog
Republican Tribune (Union, Missouri), Aug 28, 1928
Tainted Legacy, S. Kay Murphy - Bertha Gifford’s great-granddaughter explores her family history
S. Kay Murphy Blog - Article on the case, and how impossible it is to know the truth.
Mother Shipton
The Legend of Mother Shipton by Sharon Bennett Connolly
The Eerie Prophecies of Mother Shipton that Terrified all of England by Nancy Bilyeau
Wikipedia: Mother Shipton
Wikipedia: Thomas Wolsey