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