In January of 1995, 21-year-old Caucasian female Angela Subrize was looking for a ride from Spokane, Washington, to see her father in Colorado. She met a truck driver, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who agreed to give her a ride. Their journey together took a dark turn as they traveled through a blizzard in Wyoming. The weather forced them to stop at a truck stop just east of Cheyenne.
It was there, in the confines of his semi-truck, that a fatal altercation occurred.
According to Jesperson's account, he became enraged when Subrize would not let him sleep, insisting that he continue driving despite the hazardous conditions. In a fit of anger, he strangled her to death in the sleeper cab of his rig. Afterward, he went back to sleep for several hours with her lifeless body nearby. Upon waking, Jesperson drove into Nebraska. He pulled off at a rest area where he bound her body with rope and secured it underneath his truck.
For approximately ten to twelve miles, he dragged her body along the highway, a gruesome act intended to obliterate any identifying features. He then untied what remained of her and discarded it in a ditch off Interstate 80, about 250 miles from where he had killed her. For months, Angela Subrize's fate remained a mystery, as her transient lifestyle meant she was not immediately reported missing. It wasn't until September 1995 that her badly decomposed remains were discovered in the tall grass by a Nebraska highway patrolman, acting on specific information. Investigators were able to identify her through pelvic x-rays and a distinctive tattoo of the cartoon character Tweety Bird on her ankle.
The information leading to the discovery of her body came from the killer himself. Keith Hunter Jesperson, who would become known as the "Happy Face Killer" for the signed confessions he sent to the media, was arrested for the murder of another woman in March 1995. While in custody, he began confessing to a string of other murders, including that of Angela Subrize. He provided details about the crime, including the specific tattoo on her ankle, that left investigators with little doubt of his guilt. Jesperson later pleaded guilty to her murder and is serving a life sentence for his numerous crimes.
