Eventually he won an acquittal, and went on to serve four terms as Portlands mayor. I dont believe in it as firmly anymore. Its an imperfect system. McIntyre seethed and paced about. There had, of course, been that one peculiar moment midway through Pavlinacs trial. McIntyre reviewed all they had. All during the negotiations, hed been telling Meisenheimer they were giving away too much. Laverne Pavlinac paged him late last night, Ingram reported. In 1990, when authorities were trying to solve Bennett's murder, Pavlinac came forward with a story implicating her boyfriend at the time, Sosnovske, in the crime. This is a waste, the detectives insisted. This discovery at the Sandy River put Jesperson in, he told himself. Yes, she overheard him at JBs Lounge, mouthing off to a man she didnt know. When do you ever see two different people confessing to the same crime, both with facts only the killer could know? And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. I dont know what those letters are about, he told his boss. To find out, McIntyre examined defense attorney Tom Phelans notes from his earliest conversations with his client, before the press contacts began. Before long, her claims began to implicate herself in the murder as well. Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed. Cant you see this is all bogus? Same old bull, McIntyre thought. A series of strange confessions Police brought. Her daughters are still trying to understand why their mother did what she did, and why she didn't see another way to end the relationship. Nor, for that matter, did Ingram. He was late, he was busy. That had seemed proper to McIntyre. In mid-February, the cases two lead investigators, Al Corson and John Ingram, came to brief them. That took precedence for McIntyre. We have the wrong people in jail, he told Schrunk. How can you ever know for sure? Hed been lead prosecutor on that case; hed put two people in prison for killing that young woman. Sosnovskes release was relatively easy: Libscomb ruled that his constitutional rights had been violated because Pavlinac, while wired for sound by the police, had tried to get him to admit guilt. Following the news of Pavlinac and Sosnovske's arrests, authorities found another confession written on a restroom wall in a Montana Greyhound bus station. I feel helpless. At this news, eyes opened wide all over the Multnomah County district attorneys office. Sosnovske commanded Pavlinac to drive to the Vista House monument, overlooking the gorge. A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 8, 2003, in Valley Christian Church. On Sept. 25, Phelan met in the district attorneys office with McIntyre and his second chair, Keith Meisenheimer. In 1990, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was beaten, raped, and strangled to death not far from Portland, Oregon, and Laverne Pavlinac started down the bizarre road of false . . Why on Gods earth? Pavlinac had confessed to helping kill Bennett in 1990, then recanted, testifying that she had lied in an attempt to escape her abusive relationship with Sosnovske. 2 RELEASED IN HAPPY FACE' MURDER - The Washington Post Laverne claimed to have then tied a rope around the womans neck while John allegedly sexually assaulted her before strangling her to death. This case hasnt made him gunshy about his job. She hadnt been able to see the odometer. For the good part of a month, prosecutors and defense attorneys, scrambling to find a solution, wandered through a legal Twilight Zone. After Keith Jesperson on Nov. 2 pleaded no contest to the murder of Taunja Bennett, drawing a life sentence, Oregon officially had two separate parties in jail for the same homicide--put there under two entirely different theories about the crime. He needed an income; the Multnomah County district attorneys office was offering a $13,000-a-year internship. Keith Jesperson was at the bar where Taunja Bennett was the night before her murder. These people did the right thing., Only occasionally does someone point out that but for a serial killers bizarre scribblings, there never would have been recognition of this whopping mistake. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - March 7, 2003 Deceased Name: Laverne Brown Pavlinac A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, March 7, 2003, in Apiary Cemetery in Rainer, Wash., for Laverne Brown Pavlinac, who died March 4 at age 70. Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. . Some details were incorrect, others you could glean from old newspaper articles. She hadnt bailed them out, she hadnt convinced them. Whered you put her?, The detectives shifted in discomfort. Not until the spring of 1995, almost a year after the Happy Face Killer letters arrived, did McIntyre once again hear about a serial murderer. As she drove, she heard him cutting Taunjas jeans. The Craziest False Confessions In History - Grunge She recanted her confession and said that she had made it up to escape from Sosnovske. Pavlinac, who was then 57, told police she had helped her partner John Sosnovske rape and kill the young woman. November 4, 2021 Examined Impact x Nightline The Murders Before the Marathon The Ivana Trump Story: The First Wife I have information about the Bennett murder, he told Schrunk. She then described how she watched Sosnovske have sex with Bennett while he directed her to hold a rope around her neck, and that she believed she pulled the rope too tight, killing Bennett. At the booking counter, before being led away, Pavlinac turned and gave both detectives big hugs. We need to report this, John.' If the defense arguments were so strong, they reasoned, why then was Wendell Birkland, one of the best in the state, making noises about a possible deal? According to Laverne, the couple then dragged the young girl into the Vista House Museum in Multnomah County, Oregon. Both insisted they didnt know each other; neither showed any indication of deception. In February 1990, the police thought they had a massive breakthrough in Taunja Bennetts murder investigation when Laverne Pavlinac called them and implicated her partner, John Sosnovske. She went on to say that all three were in Johns car when he suddenly punched Taunja unconscious. As the initial investigation was relatively slow, the police decided to make the details of the case public, hoping for a tip or lead. Dad always has worried about me because of what I have gone through in the divorce finances etc, hed written in various letters. Keith Hunter Jesperson - more widely known by his nickname - turned himself in after committing a further six murders. Weve received some reports, his boss, the Multnomah County district attorney, was murmuring on his voice mail. Right or wrong, the district attorney was saying, this is a problem. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. Basically, McIntyre told Schrunk, I just know that a detective up there is shooting his mouth off. So they ran Sosnovskes name on the computer, saw he was on probation. I beat her to death, raped her and loved it. He drove the body out to Crown Point, leaving it in the woods. Laverne Arlyce Johnson Brown (1932-2003) - Find a She had been beaten, raped and strangled. . It had never been an obvious or uncomplicated murder case, but then, few are. She was a victim. By then authorities knew something about Jesperson. She tells this to her own daughter.. . We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations. This case, after all, could be read as a tremendous error on McIntyres part. You want to deal before your client has even been charged?, It seemed weird to Phelan, too. They drove east from Vista House, then stopped. Whats more, Pavlinac now was telling an entirely new story. Glenn Youngkin rules out presidential campaign while in California, 7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens, US to lift most federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates next week, Multiple fatalities on Illinois highway during a blinding windstorm. . I'llgo to the pen. Talking about some dead girl. Pavlinac would plead guilty and testify against Sosnovske; in return shed get just six to eight years. Laverne used those details as well as what she could gather from the news and concocted a story. In January 1991, a jury had convicted Laverne Pavlinac of felony homicide; two months later, her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, had pleaded no contest to the same charge. Why Did Laverne Pavlinac Come Forward? Shes been convicted legally, Libscomb declared. When he walked into the B&I;, Bennett hugged him. information about the Registry. Go tell them to put it back, he joked. I didnt plan to kill her, Pavlinac sobbed. People took the blame and Im free.. Pavlinac's conviction remained, although she was also released. Ill check it out, but right now, I gotta go., McIntyre slammed the phone down so hard, the police detective with him started. As she started to fall asleep that night, Jesperson told her that while she was gone, hed met a girl at the B&I; Tavern, brought her home, then killed her. He was not skeptical about the Bennett murder case, though. On January 21, 1990 the body of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was found in a remote area of the Columbia Gorge, just outside Portland, Oregon. . When Jesperson finished, McIntyre considered. Pavlinac was credible, McIntyre decided. Shes 18 years his senior, shes an enabler, she wants to be free of him. Once you make that decision, you cant entertain the possibility of being wrong. Knowing Taunjas jeans had been cut, she produced a replica--a replica that closely matched the real patchs shape. She was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 10 years. Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. At 39, he folded laundry and washed dishes most nights now, rather than join colleagues for drinks in downtown Portland. Especially when the police dont want to admit they are wrong., Mike Schrunk decided to take things up a notch. The first time she publicly said her real age, Cox revealed, was at a speaking engagement in January of 2019. By then inundated with briefs and investigative documents, he conceded that Pavlinac and Sosnovske indeed were innocent. The judge insisted, "Pavlinac has selfishly engaged in an obsessive and persistent obstruction of justice which deflected the investigation at an early stage, causing it to focus on her boyfriend, Sosnovske, while the real killer remained free to kill and kill again". False confession - Wikipedia . Why did she confess? She made it all up, she said, to escape Sosnovske. On Oct. 11, he began preparing to write his final report. McIntyre knew the region well; it was his favorite spot to fish for steelhead. On Oct. 14, 1995, after checking with McIntyre, Peterson ordered the Explorer Scouts back out to Sandy River. Most of what Jesperson related, hed already told the news media. But it was all a lie. . At present, both Laverne and John have left for their heavenly abode. He claimed to have victims in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon. Likewise, following conviction and sentencing, the prosecutor loses nearly all power to cause any verdict to be set aside.. Holding a trident, she stood bent over, with one hand cupped. By then, it was clear theyd been pursuing nothing but a divorced couples bitter dispute. Do you believe that by pulling that rope tight that you caused the death of Taunja Ann Bennett?, Yeah, Pavlinac said. I killed a woman in my truck . He was divorced, with two children. When Jesperson began talking, McIntyre thought he sounded ill-educated, but not stupid or delusional. Pavlinac told police she had helped her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, kill Bennett and move her body. For various reasons, his ex-wife couldnt function correctly; all involved in the settlement conference had recommended he take the kids. Ingram and Corson, they told her there was insufficient evidence to hold Sosnovske. He described Bennetts underwear and shirt incorrectly. McIntyre still remembered the detectives expressions that gloomy afternoon. Police interviewed Sosnovske, who denied Pavlinacs claims. At one point during the conversation, the icon shared her . Keith Jesperson proved even more eager than Pavlinac to confess. Then she dropped her guard. Just days before, hed won custody of his three children after one final, brutal hearing. Punched her, slapped her. As reported by the New York Daily News, Laverne Pavlinac confessed to the murder of Taunja Bennett in January 1990. The Truth About Keith Jesperson's First Murder - Grunge . It was true, Pavlinac said, that Sosnovske called her from JBs that night. He liked to think he moved cautiously while deciding what to believe. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. The experience shaped him. Its terrible to live your life in jeopardy, Pavlinac explained. No, no, Sosnovske cried. With the statement remaining as shed previously told it? Laverne Pavlinac - Wikipedia With Laverne implicating herself in the crime, both she and John were arrested and charged with Taunjas murder. McIntyre listened as that tape now unwound in an Oregon State Police conference room. He wanted newspapers to print his letters in full. We were concerned for her health.. I want to be released.. Even their fiercest opponent, Pavlinacs defense attorney, Wendell Birkland, thought them men of good will. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske were released from prison two months after the real killer confessed. Id give them accolades. Returning to get a piece of rope from the car trunk, Sosnovske told Pavlinac to come watch. She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. Not unlike his own deal, he thought. Once at the gorge, he carried the body into the woods, then threw the shower curtain from the car window. It looked obvious to him. Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. . The pair were convicted in 1991 for the murder of Taujna Bennett, 23, of Portland.. Clark County hadnt called him, Clark County had talked to the press instead. . It appeared to McIntyre that she was making cow eyes at her former roommate. Thats how she figured it out; thats how she knew. The grandma's story was believable enough for a jury to convict. The lady who opened the door looked like someones grandmother. Laverne Pavlinac, 57, read about the murder in depth and decided Bennetts case could be used to end her 10-year abusive relationship with her 39-year-old boyfriend. Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. I'll go to death row.'". She told her daughter the same exact story. Not a great deal is known about Bennett's background, but the 23-year-old was first reported missing on 21st January 1990. McIntyre saw nowhere else to look for an anonymous author who liked to sketch happy faces. For days on end in May 1994, Corson and Ingram scrambled across eastern Oregon, tracking the Bend man whose wife thought he might be the Happy Face Killer. Detectives first became aware of Pavlinac when she anonymously called them to report that she overheard Sosnovske at a bar bragging about killing Bennett. McIntyre recoiled, but forced his hand up; he needed this mans cooperation. That was when Laverne added details to her story and claimed that on the night of January 21, she met John, and together, the two disposed of Taunjas body alongside the Old Columbia River Highway. And I found out. He wrote checks to orthodontists, rather than fix his busted fishing boat motor. She was found dead just one day later, beside the Old Columbia River Highway in Portland, Oregon. They saw crackpot stuff like this all the time. Laverne Pavlinac, right, touches the tear-stained face of her grandaughter, Nicole Sullivan, after being released from prison in Salem, Ore., Nov. 27, 1995. People glowering at you. However, the truth only came to light when Keith Hunter Jesperson was arrested on an unrelated murder charge in 1995 and claimed responsibility for Taunjas murder. Evidence Clears Two. The Law Doesn't. - The New York Times Within an hour, the detectives had Sosnovske hooked to the box. In mid-October of 1995, two days after finding Bennetts ID card along a Sandy River bank, they finally tracked down Roberta Ellis. Her first husband divorced her after 26 years and four children, her second died of cancer. Jims favorite story about him concerned the seventh game of the 1971 World Series, Pittsburgh at Baltimore. Im sorry I turned out this way. But there are conditions.. Summary of Case: "Laverne Pavlinac was the codefendant of her then boyfriend John Sosnovske. The courthouse got one, the Oregonian another. Taunja Bennett Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her? - The Cinemaholic Daily News reports 57-year-old Laverne Pavlinac confessed she and her boyfriend, 39-year-old John Sosnovske, kidnapped, attacked, and killed Pavlinac before dumping her body along the highway. Were going after new ones. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. Then Jespersons appointed defense lawyer, Tom Phelan, called. Thats why Phelan had been so eager to deal. A jury had convicted a Portland woman named Laverne Pavlinac based on her detailed confession to police that she helped her boyfriend John Sosnovske rape and kill the 23-year-old. Hes seen news reports, McIntyre reasoned. McIntyre grew animated. McIntyre coached his sons soccer game that day. This dog wont hunt. McIntyre wished that were the case now. In 1990, Taunja Bennett was found dead near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. In February 1987 shed called county probation to report he was drinking. Sosnovske called her from JBs Lounge late that night, Pavlinac began. She'd been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted before the culprit strangled her to death. After Jesperson came forward in March 1995, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges for Bennett and Winningham of Camas, Washington, his last known victim. She did well at identifying the place where the body had been found, but failed to accurately identify places where personal items belonging to Bennett had been located. . Peterson pressed. McIntyre glowered at the phone, sport coat in hand. Pavlinacs eyewitness account, Sosnovskes polygraphs, Sosnovskes handwritten statement. Later, he offered to buy her dinner. Ive been through cases where cops make mistakes. Could a journalist have fed information to Jesperson? A relative, or a friend of a friend. Although the judge vacated Johns sentence, the show mentions that he refused to overturn Lavernes conviction claiming that she had abused the system and obstructed justice which allowed the real killer to roam free. When he returned to the office three days later, Mike Schrunk was waiting. Laverne Cox Opens Up About Suicide Attempt, Being Bullied As A Child. I think that she was at a bad place in her life," said her daughter Darlene Carpenter. Whats the deal? At first, Ingram recounted, Pavlinac didnt say much. He preferred to savor triumphs, not second-guess them. At 62, afflicted by heart disease and diabetes, she still remained an enigma to all in the courtroom. A search failed to turn up incriminating evidence. Just days later, she made the first anonymous call. The walls and ceiling were covered with blood by the time he realized she was dead. Or was this a setup of some kind, a smoke screen? Had the detectives, regarding her as a victim, drinking her coffee and driving her around, grown too close and unguarded? So thats where they formally arraigned Sosnovske that evening. Had they all suffered from tunnel vision once they started hearing Pavlinacs stories? Police science in college had felt different, though. It was, undeniably, an implausible story. Taunja was beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled before her body was left beside the Old Columbia River Highway, where authorities discovered it on January 22, 1990. "She was very giving. Before serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known by his nickname "Happy Face Killer," turned himself in, authorities believed they had solved the murder of his first victim Taunja Bennett. How A False Confession Led To The 'Happy Face Killer' Name Once he tried prosecuting, he found he enjoyed it. She was frightened, she wanted to make sure they took Sosnovske away. Why would Ingram and Corson make such comments to her? McIntyre laughed when he heard the news. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' Despite defense pleas, the judge had barred the message from the trial, ruling it to be hearsay with no indication of reliability. Most times, they walk into a house on a case like this, its a filthy toilet. On the way home, he threatened to kill Pavlinacs whole family if she told anyone. These people came in believing one thing, did a complete 180, and werent afraid to say so. Her own daughter. . If I killed her, I didnt mean to . Pavlinac was tried first. Two people got the blame so I can kill again.. Ingram, whose expression suggested a kindly uncle more than a homicide dick, made it clear to McIntyre: He thought Pavlinac believable. I left her facing downhill and her jeans down by her ankles . Pavlinac could be heard sobbing throughout the courtroom. Before him, a jumble of letters and documents spilled across his desk. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, U.N. envoy says Sudans warring sides agree to negotiate, Yellen says U.S. could hit debt ceiling as soon as June 1, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties, First Republic: Cheap, interest-only jumbo mortgages to Silicon Valleys elite fueled the banks failure. Jesperson refused. They now had Pavlinacs confession, Sosnovskes statement, Sosnovskes two failed polygraph tests. Yet thats what he felt obliged to do. The Explorer Scouts had found it necessary to crawl and twist through those thick blackberry bushes. Nor were any of his own lofty, passionate proclamations to Pavlinacs jury. This is too weird, he said. He convinced Taunja to go home with him, and that was where he committed horrific acts before dumping Bennett's body after killing her. Maybe she can take us out of this. None of it could be corroborated. Innocent Couple Released Man, Woman Served 4 Years In 'Happy Face Please enable scripts and reload this page. After John Sosnovskes arraignment in Washington County on Feb. 22, 1990, McIntyre had managed to stay free of the Bennett murder case for only four days. At a second hearing on Nov. 27, Judge Libscomb finally relented. If I could do anything to get them out, I would., McIntyre, although obviously bothered, did not permit himself to sound quite as disturbed as the others. Who was this guy Jesperson? The second letter, sent to the Oregonian newspaper, was a little harder to dismiss. She told investigators she drove them to a scenic overlook at the Columbia Gorge, where Sosnovske told her to pull over. I didnt murder anybody in 1990, he said. He needed an answer, any answer, but could not find one. What a nightmare it has been. . Nor had Pavlinac. Go get out there and bust her ass.. Theyd also fixed on a suspect. On the last day of the trial, McIntyre watched Wendell Birkland beseech the jury for seven hours--Its not logical to assume that this 58-year-old grandmother strangled a girl to death--before finally sitting down. According to Pavlinacs account, the murder happened at the Burns Brother Truckstop, which is in Washington County, not Multnomah. She even said we could search the house, but we thought we should get a search warrant.. I think youve got the wrong people.. . McIntyre felt like ripping his hair out. Ms. Pavlinac recanted after being handed a 10-year sentence, and both she and Mr. Sosnovske served four years in prison before the real killer confessed to the deed. He was still willing to rise, point to a defendant, and declare this--this--to be the face of a murderer.