Telling her story on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was not the most subtle of ways Melissa Moore could have reached out to people who, like her, spent years ashamed of circumstances they had no control over. But the national spotlight has attracted so many who have similar stories of heartache and healing to Moore, it's been worth it, she said.
"A lot of people have skeletons in their closet — family members that have done horrific things," she said. "And they're so ashamed of it and feel isolated and alone, just like I did, because of what another family member has done."
Moore's father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, is serving life in prison for murder and has been linked to eight murders nationwide. She was in high school at the time of his 1995 arrest and spent more than a decade afraid of others finding out about her dad and his crimes. She went on the "Dr. Phil" show in 2008, and between that and her mid-September appearance on Winfrey's show, her wall of silence was beyond obliterated. The Mormon mother of two said that by speaking out and writing a book, she's becoming the person she wished she could turn to when she was going through her own nightmare.
"I used to feel alone, and that's why I wrote my story in the first place," she said. "I knew that there were other daughters of killers out there, but nobody has shown their face yet."
She's received many e-mails and letters from men and women nationwide who are glad to have someone to relate to, and anticipates she'll receive more with her recent feature in People magazine and an upcoming appearance on "Good Morning America."
"I feel so much compassion for them because I understand what they went through," she said. "A lot of them have had successful lives, and that makes me very happy to hear that."
She didn't want people to link her father's violent character to her own, so she kept quiet and didn't talk to anyone about her dad. Even people she knew well didn't have a clue. Her silence on the issue was so air-tight, in fact, that since her Oprah appearance, people she knew growing up in Washington state have contacted her.
"People who I haven't seen for a long time are coming out of the woodwork and saying 'Oh, my goodness, we didn't know that you went through all of this.' "
Some have said that they wish they had done something to help, but Moore says she doesn't want people to feel badly about not reaching out as they had no way of knowing about her inner turmoil.
"I wanted to keep focused on having a normal high school life," she said.
Moore said she's proud to show that family members of criminals aren't criminals themselves.
Moore's book, "Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter," has also had a good showing after her Oprah appearance.
Published by Springville, Utah, publishing house Cedar Fort, requests for the book have not stopped coming, said publicist Liz Carlston. It was picked up by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., she said, which is big.
"We're getting consistent sales," she said. "A lot of independent stores are expressing interest. We've opened up new accounts because of this."
Before the episode aired on Sept. 17, the book was listed on Amazon's best-sellers list at No. 907. After it aired, Carlston watched it climb to No. 56.
"It's kind of fun to watch the 'Oprah effect,' " Carlston said.
e-mail: mfarmer@desnews.com
Video online
To see Molly Farmer's in-depth interview with Melissa Moore, go to MormonTimes.com and click on "newsmakers" under "News & People."Heady
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