After nearly 30 years, authorities have identified the last remaining Jane Doe victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the “Happy Face Killer,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden announced at a press conference Tuesday.

• The victim was identified as 34-year-old Suzanne Kjellenberg of Wisconsin through advanced DNA analysis by Othram, a Texas-based company specializing in forensic genealogy.

Jesperson, who is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences in Oregon for murder, confessed to killing Kjellenberg (Jane Doe at the time) in February 1996 but authorities had been unable to identify her until this March.

Kjellenberg’s remains were found Sept. 14, 1994 by an inmate work crew along Interstate 10 in Holt, Florida. She was previously determined through analysis by the University of Florida to be a white woman aged 35-55.

Multiple attempts were made over the years to identify Kjellenberg, including DNA analysis by the FBI and facial reconstructions. The break in the case came when the District One Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida sent samples to Othram earlier this year.

• Within six weeks, Othram was able to identify a relative of Kjellenberg’s through genetic genealogy. After the relative provided a DNA sample, authorities were able to confirm Kjellenberg’s identity.

On Sept. 29, nearly 29 years after Kjellenberg’s body was found, OCSO Investigators Kelly Henderson and Aaron Pitman, along with Mark Zagar from the FDLE, and Assistant State Attorney Michelle Sandler, traveled to Oregon State Penitentiary for an unannounced interview with Jesperson. He confessed again to the murder and provided details.

According to Sheriff Aden, Jesperson said he picked up Kjellenberg at a truck stop in Tampa and killed her at a rest area when she began screaming as he tried to assault her. He used zip ties to strangle her and then dumped her body along I-10.

Kjellenberg is believed to be Jesperson’s sixth victim out of the eight total he confessed to killing between 1990 and 1995 during his time as a long-haul trucker. The murders occurred in six states including California, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Florida.

Jesperson was known in media as the “Happy Face Killer” because he would sign letters confessing to the murders with a smiley face. He was caught and convicted in 1995 for his first victim’s murder in Oregon.

“Suzanne deserves a voice and we’re that voice for her today,” Sheriff Aden said. He credited the “relentless tenacity” of investigators for solving the decades-old case.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, State Attorney’s Office and District One Medical Examiner’s Office collaborated to finally identify Kjellenberg and charge Jesperson.