Serial Killer Found Dead From Apparent Suicide in Alaskan Jail
A serial killer is dead in Alaska.
Israel Keys was found dead from an alleged suicide on Sunday while in his jail cell.
The 34-year-old was a confessed serial killer who admitted to kidnapping 18-year old barista Samantha Koenig and then killing her. Koenig was last seen alive in February while at an espresso bar in Anchorage, according to the Associated Press.
According to a representative for the Alaska State Troopers, foul play was not involved in Keys' alleged suicide and details are scant.
Keys was caught and arrested in Texas when he tried using the missing barista's debit card.
Koenig's body was later discovered by Anchorage residents in an icy lake after a search that ended with Keys' confession, which stated directions to her resting place. Keys had used a chainsaw to cut a hole through the ice big enough to dump Koenig's body.
Keys admitted to committing two bank robberies as well as a host of other killings.
Kevin Feldis, an assistant U.S. attorney in the case, commented at a press conference, "He did tell us that he had killed other people and that there were bodies of up to four other people in Washington state, as well as a body disposed of in New York state."
In June 2011, the serial killer murdered a couple from Vermont as well as five other people. Police suspected that there were other killings Keys did not admit to and an investigation continues after his apparent suicide.
None of the other bodies were discovered since Keys' confession and death.
Before moving to Anchorage in 2007, Keys was a veteran of the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Lewis in the state of Washington. He moved often while keeping property in Constable, New York.
