Israel Keyes

Israel Keyes
Mugshot of Keyes, c. 2012
Born	January 7, 1978 Cove, Utah, U.S.
Died	December 2, 2012(2012-12-02) (aged 34) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide
Children	1
Details
Victims	3 confirmed; further 8+ likely[1]
Span of crimes	1996 (unconfirmed)–2012
Country	United States
State(s)	Alaska, New York, Washington, Vermont
Date apprehended	March 13, 2012

Israel Keyes (January 7, 1978 – December 2, 2012) was an American serial killer, rapist, arsonist, burglar, and bank robber.^[2] He admitted to violent crimes as early as 1996, with the violent sexual assault of a teenage girl in Oregon,^[3] in a spree that lasted until his capture in 2012. In December 2012, Keyes died by suicide while awaiting trial for the murder of Samantha Koenig. The FBI believes he killed at least 11.

Early life[]

Israel Keyes was born in Cove, Utah, on January 7, 1978, to a large Mormon family. He was the second of 10 children born to Heidi Keyes (née Hakansson) and John Jeffrey Keyes (1952-2002).^[4] Israel and his siblings were homeschooled.^[5]

When Keyes was five, the family rejected Mormonism and moved to an area near Colville, Washington. They lived in a one-room cabin without electricity or running water.^[6] In Colville, the family attended services at two churches - the Ark and the Christian Israel Covenant Church - which practiced white supremacist Christian Identity ideology. Keyes later described this community as militia-like and "Amish".^[7] In this era, the Keyes befriended the neighboring family of Chevie Kehoe, later convicted for a 1996 triple murder.^[8] Keyes renounced the Christian faith by his teenage years, and eventually became interested in Satanism.^[7]

As an adult, Keyes lived in the Makah Reservation community of Neah Bay, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula.^[9][10]

Military[]

Israel Keyes
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	U.S Army
Years of service	1998–2001
Rank	Specialist
Unit	5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division

Keyes served in the United States Army from 1998 to 2001 at Fort Lewis, Fort Hood, and in Egypt. While at Fort Lewis, he served on a mortar team in the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Former Army friends of Keyes have noted his quiet demeanor and habit of keeping to himself. On weekends, he was reported to drink heavily, consuming entire bottles of his favorite drink, Wild Turkey bourbon.^[11] Keyes was also a fan of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse and displayed posters of the musical act in the barracks.^[2]

In 2007, Keyes started a construction business in Alaska,^[12] Keyes Construction,^[5] working as a handyman, contractor, and construction worker.^[13]

Murders[]

Keyes targeted random people all across the United States to avoid detection with months of planning before he did something. He specifically went for camp grounds and isolated locations. He only used guns when he had to and preferred strangulation as he liked to see them suffer. He also had a rule that he would never kill children or any adult who had a child. This was because he had a daughter.^{[citation needed]}

Keyes admitted to investigators that he killed four people in Washington, claims that he was the subject of an active investigation by the state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He did not have a felony criminal record in Washington, although he had been cited in Thurston County for driving without a valid license, and in an earlier incident, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. Authorities were reviewing unsolved murder and missing persons cases to determine which, if any, may be linked to Keyes.^[14]

Keyes also claimed that he committed his first murder in 1998, before pausing for three years while he served in the United States Army before resuming his killing spree in 2001 following his discharge.

Keyes confessed to at least one murder in New York State. In late 2012, authorities had not determined the identity, age, or gender of the victim, or when and where the murder may have occurred, but regarded the confession as credible.^[15]

Keyes had ties to New York; he owned 10 acres (4.0 hectares) and a dilapidated cabin in the town of Constable. He also confessed to committing bank robberies in New York and Texas.^[16] The FBI later confirmed that Keyes robbed the Community Bank branch in Tupper Lake, New York, in April 2009.^[17] He also told authorities that he burglarized a Texas home and set it on fire.^[3]

Authorities claim Keyes may have killed a woman believed to be Debra Feldman in April 2009 in New Jersey, and buried her near Tupper Lake, New York.^[18] He also admitted to killing Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vermont. Keyes broke into the Curriers' home on the night of June 8, 2011, and tied them up before driving them to an abandoned farmhouse, where he shot Bill before sexually assaulting and strangling Lorraine. Their bodies have never been found.^[19]

Two years prior to the Curriers' deaths, Keyes hid a "murder kit", which he later used to kill them, near their home. After the murders, he moved most of the contents to a new hiding place in Parishville, New York, where they remained until after his arrest.^[20]

Keyes' last known victim was 18-year-old Samantha Koenig, a coffee booth employee in Anchorage, Alaska. Keyes kidnapped Koenig from her workplace on February 1, 2012, took her debit card and other property, sexually assaulted her, then killed her the following day. He left her body in a shed and went to New Orleans, where he departed on a pre-booked two-week cruise with his family in the Gulf of Mexico.

When he returned to Alaska, he removed Koenig's body from the shed, applied makeup to the corpse's face, sewed her eyes open with fishing line, and snapped a picture of a four-day-old issue of the Anchorage Daily News alongside her body, posed to appear that she was still alive. After demanding $30,000 in ransom, Keyes dismembered Koenig's body and disposed of it in Matanuska Lake, north of Anchorage.^[21]

An FBI report stated that Keyes burglarized 20 to 30 homes across the U.S. and robbed several banks between 2001 and 2012. He may be linked to as many as 11 deaths in the United States, and potentially even more victims outside the country.^[22]

Keyes planned murders long ahead of time and took extraordinary action to avoid detection. Unlike most serial killers, he did not have a victim profile, saying he chose a victim randomly.^[21] He usually killed far from home, and never in the same area twice. On his murder trips, he kept his mobile phone turned off and paid for items with cash. He had no connection to any of his victims. For the Currier murders, Keyes flew to Chicago, where he rented a car to drive 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to Vermont. He then used the 'kill kit' he had hidden two years earlier to perform the murders.^[23]

Keyes admired Ted Bundy and shared many similarities with him: both were methodical and felt as though they possessed their victims. However, there are notable differences. Bundy's murders were spread throughout the country, mainly because he lived in many different areas and not as an intentional effort to avoid detection like with Keyes. Bundy targeted only attractive young women, while Keyes, unlike most serial killers, had no particular type of victim.^[23]

Keyes also commented on Dennis Rader, stating he was a "wimp" for showing remorse for his crimes.^[24]

Investigation and arrest[]

After Koenig's murder, Keyes demanded ransom money and police were able to track withdrawals from the account as he moved throughout the southwestern U.S.^[13] During that time, the police controversially refused to release surveillance video of Koenig's abduction.^[25]

Keyes was arrested by Texas Highway Patrol Corporal Bryan Henry and Texas Ranger Steven Rayburn in the parking lot of the Cotton Patch Café in Lufkin, Texas, on the morning of March 13, 2012.^[26][27] Keyes had been exceeding the speed limit and his odd behavior during the traffic stop prompted further investigation. Local police had also been notified about a vehicle matching Keyes's that had been driven by the suspect using Koenig's debit card through New Mexico and Arizona. Keyes was subsequently extradited to Alaska, where he confessed to the murder. He was represented by Alaska federal defender Rich Curtner. Keyes was indicted in the case, and his trial was scheduled to begin in March 2013.^[28]

While incarcerated, Keyes spoke to investigators several times. He cooperated to an extent, confessing to some of his crimes, and stated a wish to be executed within a year. Keyes said he wanted to avoid publicity due to the negative attention his young daughter might face, but largely stopped cooperating after his identity was discussed in the media.

On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, Keyes attempted to escape during a routine hearing. Keyes broke his leg irons and jumped over the railing, but a Taser was used in the efforts to quickly subdue him.

While being held in jail at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on suspicion of murder, Keyes managed to conceal a razor blade. He died by suicide on December 2, 2012, via self-inflicted wrist cuts and attempted strangulation.^[29][30][31] A suicide note, found under his body, consisted of an "ode to murder" but offered no clues about other possible victims.^[32]

In 2020, the FBI released the drawings of 11 skulls and one pentagram, which had been drawn in blood and found underneath Keyes' jail-cell bed after his suicide. One of the drawings included the phrase "WE ARE ONE" written at the bottom. The FBI believes the number of skulls correlates with what are believed to be the total number of his victims.^[33]

See also[]

• Ted Bundy
• List of serial killers in the United States

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Callahan, Maureen (2019). American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-525-42864-0.
• Hunter, JT (2016). Devil in the Darkness: The True Story of Serial Killer Israel Keyes. Pedialaw Press. ISBN 978-0-578-70996-3.

External links[]

• Profile of Serial Killer Israel Keyes at About.com
• Acting at Random: A Study of Israel Keyes
• ABC News Report on YouTube

From FBI.gov

• FBI Requests the Public's Assistance Concerning Israel Keyes
• FBI Asks for Help Identifying Potential First Victim of Serial Killer
• New information released in serial killer case