The Happy Face Murderer – Keith Hunter Jesperson –8. Cindy

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Cindy
It was another four months before Keith Jesperson found himself on the brink of murder. At the time, he was out on a job, driving south on the I-5. It was a cool, rainy evening in March. He made the decision to pull into a diner in California for some refreshment. The police, to this point, were none the wiser about the various killings. There was not even any suggestion that they had been linked at all. Aside from the first murder, which had already seen a conviction, the others were scattered across the country, the bodies dumped where they had been difficult to find. All this time, Keith had continued to crisscross the country, driving wherever he pleased. No one questioned why a trucker might be travelling so far, so frequently. It was almost the perfect cover story, a fact which was incredibly prevalent in Keith's mind. As he arrived at the truck stop, he wiped the rain droplets from his trousers and spotted the thick fog rolling in off the wide ocean. Not wanting to stop long, he decided to leave the engine idling while he stepped inside. This way, the cab would keep its heat for the journey ahead.

Inside was busy. People seemed to have rushed inside to escape the wet and the cold. As ever, Keith was watching his weight, determined to keep any fat from his hefty frame. This meant a diet heavy on Slim Fast, but a craving for fruit meant a change. Despite the crowds, one girl in the truck stop caught his eye. She was wet from the rain, like most of the other clientele, and seemed to just be sitting and staring at her food. Sipping a hot mug of coffee, she seemed to be half starved. To Keith, she seemed like something of a drifter, someone who almost certainly was spending some time on the streets for whatever reason. Her long hair and thick glasses hid a lot of the scarlet complexion from the rest of the world, but Keith had the instinct that she was hoping to score her dinner from someone.

In that instant, Keith Jesperson decided that he would need to have this woman. She reminded him a little of his schoolteachers, of other motherly women who had scolded him. These considerations were pushed out of his mind as he focused on his sudden urges. Thanks to his career as a truck driver, he felt, he was once again presented with the perfect opportunity to exercise his most base desires. Summoning the waitress, he pointed out the sodden girl and told the waitress that anything the girl wanted to eat, he was happy to cover the cost. Don't tell her who bought the food, Keith informed the serving girl, as the last thing he wanted was someone to start following him around hoping for more. In reality, he just hoped that the waitress wouldn't be able to make the connections between the two clients should the police come to call.

The girl ate, and Keith watched her. Looking up at one point, the hungry youngster seemed to offer a thankful glance in Keith's direction, seemingly aware that he was her mysterious benefactor. Motioning her over, she stood up and then sat down again, this time in front of the trucker. And then she talked. Keith let her talk, while she explained her name was Cindy. She tried to pry more information about the man sitting opposite her. Ducking all of the big or personal questions, he let her talk, aware that all the girl probably wanted was a warm, dry bed for the night. Keith was more than happy to oblige.

As time rolled on, conversation turned to where Keith was heading. Revealing that he was heading for Salinas, Cindy begged him to take her along. Drop her in Sacramento, she pleaded, where there was a sister who could offer her somewhere to stay. After Keith played coy, the girl began to beg. This sealed her fate in the killer's eyes. He hated when they begged. All women, Keith thought, seemingly just wanted something from him. He agreed to give her a lift. By the time he had paid for the meals and picked up some orange juice for the trip, the girl was already waiting outside the cabin. Everything she owned was with her, and it wasn't much.

On the road, Keith turned up the heat in the cabin to give her a chance to dry her hair. It also had the side effect of encouraging her to take off her heavy rain coat, allowing him to get a better idea of the body beneath. After the pair stopped in a gas station to use the restroom, Keith could tell that she had spent a little bit longer inside than she needed. Cindy was now wearing makeup, had combed her hair, and had undone the top three buttons on her blouse. They made one more stop and, returning to the cabin, Keith reached over and kissed his passenger. This time, his victim kissed back. Moving back into the bunk, the two had sex for the next few hours.

It was so warm in the cabin, Cindy suggested to Keith as they lay next to one another that they just spend the night there. Keith assured her that they would, though added that she probably wouldn't enjoy herself. Sitting up, the girl asked him what he meant. It meant, Keith revealed, that he was going to kill her. She could only seem to stare back in disbelief. He raped her once more, easily overpowering the smaller victim. Once again, he played his game whereupon he choked the girl until she lost consciousness, allowed her to wake up, and then choked her again. She only lasted five times before she was strangled to death.

By this time, Keith Jesperson was well aware of what he needed to do next. He still thought long and hard about how best to dispose of the body. First, he put Cindy's clothes back on her body and placed her next to the cabin door. Travelling as he was across the country, hiding the body wasn't even that essential. Thanks to the nature of interstate and even intercounty investigations, especially concerning the types of girls who were normally Keith's prey, the threat of investigation was minimal. However, he didn't know this yet. He still spent a good amount of time picking out the right spot, hiding her body, and then covering it in rocks and vegetation. By the time he reached his destination and dropped off the load on the back of the truck, the rain had cleared.