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Tag: samantha koenig

  • Killer Issued Razor Before Suicide, Authorities Say

    Alleged serial killer Israel Keyes, who gave up the location of Alaskan barista Samantha Koenig’s body before he committed suicide in December, reportedly had been given a razor blade by prison authorities before his death.

    Keyes had tried to escape multiple times after his arrest for Koenig’s murder and was found to be in possession of tools for escape at least once. After an attempt at a court hearing in May, he was given a two-officer escort at every outing and had his privileges regarding utensils, pencils, and razors taken away. But somehow, a razor blade slipped by, and he used it to slit his own wrists in his cell before investigators could learn the details of his other killings. He also strangled himself with a bedsheet.

    The suicide came as a shocking blow to the investigation, as Keyes had indicated he knew enough about certain victims to have killed them in a spree that reached from Washington state to New York. However, he was dead before they could learn more about the murders.

    For now, officials aren’t releasing details on how the razor got into Keyes’ possession, but they have said that protocol will change at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

    “Before, if there were restrictions on an inmate, it was in a book. The (corrections officer) would go over and look in a book,” spokeswoman Kaci Schroeder said. “Now it’s going to be on a sign plastered on the door of the cell. So it’s going to be right there, very obvious.”

    As of Keyes’ death, there were up to eight other murders he had taken credit for which never got the chance to be investigated.

    Image: Alaska Dept. of Corrections

  • Serial Killer Found Dead Of Apparent Suicide

    A man who admitted to the murder of 18-year old Alaskan barista Samantha Koenig was found dead in his jail cell on Sunday of an apparent suicide.

    34-year old Israel Keyes confessed not only to Koenig’s murder, he also told investigators he had killed seven others: four in Washington state, two in Vermont, and one in New York. The victims from Vermont were a couple, whose bodies have yet to be found.

    The revelation that Keyes seems to have been a serial killer has shaken the town of Anchorage, where he had been jailed for Koenig’s murder, awaiting a March trial. Police say they have been able to corroborate Keyes’ stories about the other victims to the extent that they believe he’s telling the truth.

    “Even though Mr. Keyes is now dead, our investigation continues,” said FBI agent Mary Rook.

    Keyes had seemingly no motive for the deaths, despite having taken money from the victims; investigators say he asked for ransom money for Koenig well after her death, sending texts from her cell phone and using her bank card to withdraw cash all over the country as he was on the run. Surveillance footage from the coffee stand where Koenig worked showed a man approaching her with a weapon before a struggle ensued, and a white pickup truck was captured on film, but it was too far away to make out details. Narrowing down the circle of suspects, police came across Keyes and eventually got him to talk; he told them he’d cut a hole in the ice of a lake and dropped Koenig’s body into it. Her remains were recovered in April.

    As for the other victims, the FBI says they were still working with Keyes to learn about his crimes and say they won’t stop trying to find answers.

    “As of this week, we were still obtaining valuable information from Mr. Keyes,” said Kevin Feldis, chief of criminal prosecutions for the U.S. attorney’s office in Anchorage.