Serial killer wrongly issued razor before suicide
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Confessed serial killer Israel Keyes was mistakenly issued a razor before he committed suicide, according to a report released Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Corrections that also said "it appears that razor was not retrieved."
The security lapse occurred when Keyes was the focus of heightened security after earlier being found with a makeshift handcuff key, the report states. He also was segregated from other inmates.
Keyes' body was found in his jail cell Dec. 2, months before he was to have gone on trial for the 2012 slaying of 18-year-old Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig. Keyes, 34, slit his left wrist with a razor blade and tied a noose around his neck and right foot, according to the report, which says the exact cause of death is unknown although it has been classified as a suicide.
Koenig's father has criticized the Corrections Department over the death, which he says robbed his family of their day in court. James Koenig said Wednesday he doesn't believe the official version released by the agency.
"I don't think it was mistaken at all," he said. "How do you mistakenly give someone in segregation a real razor blade?"
The state had previously denied an open records request from The Associated Press for details of events surrounding Keyes' death. Corrections spokeswoman Kaci Schroeder told the AP that officials later decided to take another look at the case and see what could be released publicly.
Schroeder said officials are not discussing what disciplinary actions, if any, were taken, over the lapse. However, she said because of this, any restriction for inmates are being posted on the cell doors in addition to being noted in a prisoner log.
Before he died, Keyes told investigators he had killed Koenig and at least seven other people across the country, including Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vt. Investigators believe there could be more victims.
Keyes, 34, was set for a March trial in federal court in the abduction and killing of Koenig.
She was abducted at gunpoint from a coffee stand just before closing time on Feb. 1, 2012. Investigators concluded she was raped and strangled. Her body was left in a shed outside Keyes' Anchorage home for two weeks while he went on a cruise.
The abduction gripped Anchorage as investigators held out hope that she remained alive.
Keyes was arrested in March in Lufkin, Texas. He had sought a ransom and used Koenig's debit card.
Three weeks after the arrest, Koenig's dismembered body was found in a frozen lake north of Anchorage.
Koenig and the Curriers were the only victims named by Keyes.
Keyes was in state custody in Anchorage because there are no federal prisons in Alaska.
The corrections report says Keyes was last seen alive at 10:13 p.m. Dec. 1.
A number of security checks were conducted periodically throughout the night and early morning.
Security officers are required to look into each cell and verify the prisoner is present and their status, the report says.
"Procedures call for security staff to visually observe the prisoner's uncovered skin. Keyes' death was not observed during those security checks," the report says.
At 5:57 a.m., Dec. 2, an official found what appeared to be blood along Keyes' bunk and floor. The report says this was only noticed after lights came on; before that, an LED nightlight in the overhead fixture was the only light source.
Medical personnel were called, and Keyes was declared dead at 6:13 a.m.
Keyes attempted to escape from the federal courthouse on May 23, 2012. After that, enhanced security measures were used on Keyes, including full restraints, a two-officer escort any time he was out of the cell, and restrictions on possession of razors and pencils.
He also was subjected to daily strip searches and cell searches.
On Sept. 11, the report says, Keyes was found guilty of possessing an object which had been modified as a handcuff key.
A disciplinary board found him guilty, and he had to serve 60 days - with 45 days suspended - in punitive segregation.
That sentence began Nov. 28, and his access to personal property was restricted.
The security lapse occurred when Keyes was the focus of heightened security after earlier being found with a makeshift handcuff key, the report states. He also was segregated from other inmates.
Keyes' body was found in his jail cell Dec. 2, months before he was to have gone on trial for the 2012 slaying of 18-year-old Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig. Keyes, 34, slit his left wrist with a razor blade and tied a noose around his neck and right foot, according to the report, which says the exact cause of death is unknown although it has been classified as a suicide.
Koenig's father has criticized the Corrections Department over the death, which he says robbed his family of their day in court. James Koenig said Wednesday he doesn't believe the official version released by the agency.
"I don't think it was mistaken at all," he said. "How do you mistakenly give someone in segregation a real razor blade?"
The state had previously denied an open records request from The Associated Press for details of events surrounding Keyes' death. Corrections spokeswoman Kaci Schroeder told the AP that officials later decided to take another look at the case and see what could be released publicly.
Schroeder said officials are not discussing what disciplinary actions, if any, were taken, over the lapse. However, she said because of this, any restriction for inmates are being posted on the cell doors in addition to being noted in a prisoner log.
Before he died, Keyes told investigators he had killed Koenig and at least seven other people across the country, including Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vt. Investigators believe there could be more victims.
Keyes, 34, was set for a March trial in federal court in the abduction and killing of Koenig.
She was abducted at gunpoint from a coffee stand just before closing time on Feb. 1, 2012. Investigators concluded she was raped and strangled. Her body was left in a shed outside Keyes' Anchorage home for two weeks while he went on a cruise.
The abduction gripped Anchorage as investigators held out hope that she remained alive.
Keyes was arrested in March in Lufkin, Texas. He had sought a ransom and used Koenig's debit card.
Three weeks after the arrest, Koenig's dismembered body was found in a frozen lake north of Anchorage.
Koenig and the Curriers were the only victims named by Keyes.
Keyes was in state custody in Anchorage because there are no federal prisons in Alaska.
The corrections report says Keyes was last seen alive at 10:13 p.m. Dec. 1.
A number of security checks were conducted periodically throughout the night and early morning.
Security officers are required to look into each cell and verify the prisoner is present and their status, the report says.
"Procedures call for security staff to visually observe the prisoner's uncovered skin. Keyes' death was not observed during those security checks," the report says.
At 5:57 a.m., Dec. 2, an official found what appeared to be blood along Keyes' bunk and floor. The report says this was only noticed after lights came on; before that, an LED nightlight in the overhead fixture was the only light source.
Medical personnel were called, and Keyes was declared dead at 6:13 a.m.
Keyes attempted to escape from the federal courthouse on May 23, 2012. After that, enhanced security measures were used on Keyes, including full restraints, a two-officer escort any time he was out of the cell, and restrictions on possession of razors and pencils.
He also was subjected to daily strip searches and cell searches.
On Sept. 11, the report says, Keyes was found guilty of possessing an object which had been modified as a handcuff key.
A disciplinary board found him guilty, and he had to serve 60 days - with 45 days suspended - in punitive segregation.
That sentence began Nov. 28, and his access to personal property was restricted.
This is common in many facilities. staffing levels in many jails and prisons has stayed the same and the inmate populations have gone up significantly. Our local jail has had the same amount of staff since 1999 with 40% more inmates ! Gonna happen.
Too bad we don't have more 'security breaches' like this one with serial killers, serial rapists, child molesters - etc. Oops, just noticed otthers had the same thought below - great minds think alike.
I guess Alaska didn't want to go thru the dog and pony show on this guy. Good for the guard that gave him the razor blade.Â
Who gives a rat's arce. Good riddance. No more Alaska State taxes being wasted.
Damn I wish more serial killers, child abusers/molesters, rapists etc... were "accidentally" handed razors. It sure would save us a whole lot of money!!!
This is one of the best outcomes to a mistake I can think of, though he is nothing more than a coward. He did the crime but couldn't handle doing the time or living surrounded by low life creeps like himself. Good Riddance!
Confessed serial killer â enough said â next story pleaseâ¦â¦
He could have walked or pulled a Ted Bundy and escaped to kill again. I'd have to say he did society a favor.
a mistake? no, no, no, it was ---------> a solution!
Mistake? Hell they should issue one to all these guys. Maybe more of them would save us some money.
It's a shame it didn't happen sooner. One less monster in this world.
:-)
Maybe a guard slipped him that razor "on accident" with knowledge that if this dude knew what was good for him, he'd do the right thing. Wouldn't be the first case of that.Â
Big crockodile tears!
He saved the tax payers millions!
Opps..
How awful I hope he did not stain the floor.
I would be so upset if someone killed my love one and turned around and killed themselves I would want to seek justice the way I wanted, with him locked up. Not by him taking matters into his own hands and killing himself. Now the family has been robbed of their justice.Â
@Just my say Not really, time to heal now and go on with life the best you can after this guy had his way with her. Truly my heart goes out for the victims and their families.
@Just my say I'd be okay with him dead. I'd be more upset if someone killed somebody I loved and then they got to still wake up every day and live, even if it was in prison.Â
@nomad I respect that, but wouldn't you like to have say on his death and not have him take that from you? At least that way, you would have a sense that justice was served.Â
@Just my say @nomad I'd be sort of afraid during the entire process that he might not be convicted and justice would never be served, if that makes sense.  It happens all the time.  My husband was on a jury where one person stated she could not convict anyone, no matter what. She should have been vetted during the jury selection process, but wasn't.  Hung jury and the guy walked.
I wish all the pukes like him would do the same thing. Give them all razor blades as long as they want to commit suicide. Good riddance, and it saved tax-payer money too. Bravo!!!
Oops Sory he he he. :-)
Confessed Serial Killer?? And he killed himself, I say no harm not foul, not to mention the money it saved Alaska!
Honestly, I feel it is good riddance. It not only saves the money for a trial, it also saves the friends and family the emotional turmoil they will go through having to listen and see all the details of what happened..... then there is the possibility he could get off. I know her family wanted their day in court, but I hope they can look back on this as a blessing in disguise.
Or it *could* be that he got told that they were gonna make his prison life as miserable as humanly possible and given the razor blade...
At any rate, justice was served.
@svensson I like to think that even the cowardly scumpiles like this one in protective custody get all sorts of special added ingredients to their meals...Â
@MargeGunderson Remember when Jeffery Dahmer was convicted? How he didn't last two years in prison before he got himself beat to death?
I like to think that the family of one of his victims put about $100 on some convicts books for planned hit. The SOB certainly had it coming.
I would be completely OK with giving these scumpiles their ridiculously expensive gourmet feast of their choosing, in exchange for immediately offing themselves within 24 hours of conviction.Â
"it appears that razor was not retrieved."...not sure how to read this? Another inmate has it? He never actually was issued a razor and was murdered? What does it mean other than the guy is dead?
@aintno1special I thought the same thing. Perhaps they're leaving room to speculate as to whether this was suicide or assisted suicide i.e. someone slipped it to him then took it back. Or perhaps someone else did it, then got rid of it. Just guessing here.
@aintno1special Hopefully it means that the razor still has some work to do before it's retired. Even the cheap disposable ones ought to be serviceable for a good half-dozen wrists and/or necks, right?Â
Should be standard issue. When does our own local million dollar POS get his????Â
Make razors standard issue in prisons, and make it "Gen Pop" only. Think of how much money we could save.
Define "wrongly." Â
@DTÂ The only "wrong" here was that he didn't do it shortly before a certain Anchorage, Alaska coffee stand's closing time on Feb. 1, 2012.Â
Better late than never, though, I suppose, and at least that poor young lady's family never has to worry about him getting out somehow.Â
So....where is the problem? Looking at the bright side...think of all the money saved for useless trail. There was no doubt he did the crime, so what was the point of a trial? Dig a hole, feed the worms...move on!
razors and ropes, hand them out along with their shower shoesÂ
Doesn't sound wrong at all, sounds just about right! Â But this happened over 2 months ago, why is it barely hitting the wire now?
One less monster who did us a favor
Some refer to it as Karma.... humm... Justice?
...none of us a see the problem here...Â
That ^#&^% here who has now cost over a million $ in defense. He could get a razor, too... just sayin'.
We should give them all razors...
@Smashquail They're not all suicidal. Some of those razors would be used to kill others, including guards.
One mistake that I'm okay with.
@Surveyor1 Heck, I am not only OK with it, I will pay for the next pack of disposable razors the prisons need if they will be used in this manner. Saves a lot of money especially since I use coupons and can supply hundreds if needed.