Israel Keyes, suspected serial killer, hid weapons caches across U.S., investigators say
(CBS/AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Investigators say suspected serial killer Israel Keyes, who committed suicide while awaiting trial for the murder of an Alaska barista, methodically planned his killings, even keeping caches of weapons across the country.
PICTURES: Man charged in Alaska barista's death kills self, cops say
While under arrest in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old barista Samantha Koenig, Keyes confessed to the deaths of Bill and Lorraine Currier, of Essex, Vt., who disappeared in June 2011, authorities said. Keyes confessed to other killings without identifying the victims or saying where their remains were located. He committed suicide in an Alaska jailhouse Sunday.
The FBI said Monday that Keyes is believed to have committed multiple kidnappings and murders across the country between 2001 and his arrest in March, often flying to an airport, then driving hundreds of miles before targeting victims.
In interviews with investigators, Keyes detailed extensive planning, including burying caches of weapons at various points across the United States. The FBI says it recovered weapons and items used to dispose of bodies from hiding places just north of Anchorage and Blakes Falls Reservoir in New York.
Keyes told investigators he scoped out potential victims at remote locations including campgrounds and cemeteries. He said few of his earlier crimes received media attention until the Currier case, telling investigators that one victim had been found but incorrectly labeled an accidental death. The FBI says it does not have a name or location in this case.
Keyes also told authorities he robbed several banks to pay for his travel, using money he made as a general contractor as well.
"There's no indication that he was lying," FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez said, adding that Keyes' DNA has been put in an FBI database for other law enforcement agencies to use in their own investigations.
Complete coverage of Israel Keyes on Crimesider
