Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Melissa G. Moore was 15 when she learned in 1995 that her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, had been arrested for murder. In the years that followed, she kept that family history private before writing about it, working in crime media and revisiting its impact through the Happy Face podcast. A 2025 television drama drew on her story, but it is not a literal account of her adult life.
What happened when Melissa Moore learned the truth?
In 1995, Moore’s mother told her children that their father was in jail for murder. Moore was 15. She later described keeping the truth secret for 15 years, a silence shaped by shame and the difficulty of explaining a parent’s crimes to other people. ABC News’ 2009 interview recounts the family meeting and Moore’s recollections of that period.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Becoming Evil: Serial Killers - 7-Part Documentary Series | $7.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
America's Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Murder on a Sunday Morning | $9.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer | $13.20 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer | $27.62 | Buy on Amazon |
Her story is not only about the crimes committed by her father. Moore has spoken about the effects on relatives who are left to live with the association, and about the challenge of telling her own children who their grandfather was. In 2015, she told ABC News’ 20/20: “It was really tough to try to find the resources to tell my children who their grandfather is.” The same report covered her efforts to connect with other family members of people who had committed murder. Read ABC’s 2015 report.
How Moore has told her story
Shattered Silence: her memoir
Moore published Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter in 2009. It is her first-person account of growing up with the family secret and choosing to speak publicly about guilt and shame. The book page identifies Moore as the author; ABC’s 2009 profile discusses the decision to tell her story.
#1 Best Overall
Whole: a later book about self-repair
Macmillan’s Rodale catalog lists Whole: A Guide to Self-Repair, written by Melissa Moore with Michele Matrisciani and published in 2016. The catalog describes it as drawing on principles for people touched by trauma. See the publisher’s listing. It is a related work, not a substitute for individualized professional support.
Crime-media work and the podcast
Lifetime identifies Moore as a crime correspondent, host and executive producer. In the 2018 Happy Face podcast, Moore revisits her father’s crimes and their impact on his children while investigating the story’s legacy. The Apple Podcasts listing describes the show and its connection to the television adaptation. These projects keep the focus on what a crime leaves behind for a family, rather than treating the family member’s experience as the same as the perpetrator’s.
Rank #2
- Factory sealed DVD
What is true about the 2025 Happy Face series?
The 2025 Paramount+ drama is inspired by Moore’s experience, but it is a scripted adaptation, not a documentary or a complete biography. TIME reports that the series invents or changes aspects of Moore’s adult life; the Associated Press also described it as inspired by her story. TIME’s account of the adaptation is useful for separating documented events from dramatic invention. Do not treat the series’ plot details as evidence of what happened in Moore’s life.
The podcast and the drama therefore serve different purposes: the podcast presents Moore revisiting the crimes and their effects, while the television series uses the real-life inspiration to build a fictionalized story. Streaming availability can change and may vary by country, so check the service listings for your location.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
What can be said about Melissa Moore now?
The available biographical sources support describing Moore’s public work in crime media and the books and audio projects connected to her story. They do not establish a reliably current snapshot of her home, family circumstances or private life. A Lifetime biography includes California and family details, but it is undated, so those details should not be presented as confirmed current facts.
For a direct account of her experience, start with Shattered Silence. For her later work, look to Whole and the Happy Face podcast; approach the television series as a dramatization inspired by her life, not a factual update.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
