ABC’s ‘20/20‘ brings viewers a gripping account of how a bizarre false confession led authorities astray in the investigation of the first murder committed by Keith Hunter Jesperson, infamously known as the “Happy Face Killer.” This two-hour program, airing on Friday, August 25 from 9:01 to 11:00 p.m. Edt, delves into the chilling story of how Laverne Pavlinac’s fabricated confession diverted attention from Jesperson, enabling him to remain at large and claim the lives of at least seven more women before his eventual arrest.

The False Confession That Derailed the Investigation

In 1990, after the discovery of Taunja Bennett’s body in the Columbia Gorge, 57-year-old Laverne Pavlinac confessed to police that she and her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, had committed the crime. Her detailed and convincing account led to their convictions and life sentences. However, Pavlinac’s confession turned out to be a web of lies concocted to escape an abusive relationship with Sosnovske.