Jeffrey Woods, better known as Jeff the Killer, was born into an ordinary suburban family. He had a normal life with loving parents and an older brother named Liu, whom he was very close to. The family moved to a new neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin, hoping for a fresh start.

On his first day in the new town, 13-year-old Jeff and Liu went to a local bus stop where they encountered a group of older teenage bullies. The bullies demanded money and threatened them. A fight broke out. During the scuffle, one of the bullies threw a bottle filled with a flammable mixture (vodka mixed with lighter fluid or bleach) at Jeff. Another lit it with a lighter, setting Jeff's face and upper body on fire.

Jeff suffered severe third-degree burns across his face, losing his eyelids entirely and damaging his skin so badly that it turned pale and scarred. He inhaled toxic smoke, which damaged his throat and lungs. He spent months in the hospital undergoing painful skin grafts (most of which failed or rejected), heavy pain medication, and isolation. The constant pain, disfigurement, medications, and trauma caused severe psychological damage: hallucinations, paranoia, body dysmorphia (he began to see his burned face as "beautiful"), and a complete mental breakdown.

After returning home, Jeff's behavior deteriorated rapidly. He became obsessed with his reflection, smiling obsessively at his scarred face in the mirror. One night, driven by psychosis and rage, he snapped. While his family slept, he crept into their rooms armed with a kitchen knife. He stabbed his parents repeatedly in their beds, then went to Liu's room and did the same. He left the house, set small fires as a distraction, and fled into the night, smiling at what he had done.

Since then, Jeff has been a fugitive serial killer, evading capture for years. He breaks into homes at night, targeting people who are asleep or alone. He stabs them in the face and neck, sometimes carving a Glasgow smile (cuts from the mouth corners upward) into victims' faces as a twisted "signature" to make them "beautiful" like him. He whispers taunts about sleep and quiet, giggling inappropriately at the violence. His insomnia, paranoia, and damaged voice keep him on edge—he avoids daylight, crowds, and bright lights because they hurt his lidless eyes and remind him of his reflection.

Jeff is not supernatural. He is a deeply traumatized, psychotic human: stealthy from years on the run, armed only with a simple knife, surviving through luck, impulse, and madness. He remains wanted for multiple murders, but no one has caught him yet. His only drive now is to silence the "noisy" world, one sleeping victim at a time.