SERIAL KILLER: Israel Keyes Pt. 2

Summary

Serial Killers & Murderous Minds Episode: SERIAL KILLER: Israel Keyes Pt. 2 Original Release: August 6, 2026 Hosts: Vanessa Richardson & Dr. Tristin Engels (forensic psychologist)

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Episode Overview

In this gripping conclusion to their two-part series on Israel Keyes, Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristin Engels delve into the chilling crimes, psychological profile, and eventual downfall of one of America’s most enigmatic serial killers. While Part 1 unspooled Keyes’s background and criminal methodology, this episode zeros in on his Vermont double murder, the infamous abduction of Samantha Koenig, and the unraveling of his strict personal “rules” that ultimately led to his capture. Dr. Engels provides expert forensic commentary throughout, analyzing what Keyes's actions reveal about the minds of organized serial killers—and what, if anything, truly set Keyes apart.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Israel Keyes’s "Perfect" Crime: The Vermont Double Murder

[03:46-15:53]

• Planning & Execution:

  • In June 2011, Keyes traveled to Essex, Vermont, using a pre-buried “kill kit” to abduct and murder a local couple, Bill and Lorraine Currier.
  • He scouted locations, chose an abandoned farmhouse as his kill site, and selected a random but vulnerable household.
  • “Israel had been assembling so-called kill kits…He buried them in remote locations all over the country so they’d be there when he was ready to strike.” (Vanessa, 04:14)

• Victim Selection & Psychological Insight:

  • Unlike stereotypical serial killers, Keyes selected victims based on opportunity, not preference.
  • “Everything was in place long before a victim had ever even entered the picture. So that means he knowingly wasn’t planning around a specific person. He was planning around opportunity and access.” (Dr. Engels, 07:34)

• Unraveling of Control:

  • Bill and Lorraine fought back; Lorraine even briefly escaped.
  • When his plan was disrupted, Keyes lost composure, escalating to brutal violence:
    • “When Lorraine escaped and Bill nearly got out of his restraints, Israel suddenly lost the control he had worked so hard to maintain…He’s reacting to a situation that was changing very quickly.” (Dr. Engels, 12:11)

• Aftermath & Cover-up:

  • Hidden at the farmhouse, their remains were accidentally destroyed when the building was demolished, compounding the mystery of their disappearance.
  • “It’s unclear whether Israel knew the house had been demolished, but he never returned to Vermont after that.” (Vanessa, 22:16)

2. Rule-Breaking and the Abduction of Samantha Koenig

[23:04-41:39]

• Breaking the Biggest Rule:

  • Keyes’s strict code was to never offend close to home. But, right before a family cruise and while under personal stress, he risked everything for a quick thrill and robbed a local coffee stand.
  • “On February 1, 2012, one day before the cruise, Israel decided to rob a local coffee stand just four miles from his home. He was breaking one of his own core rules.” (Vanessa, 24:11)

• Escalation and Ruthlessness:

  • Encountered 18-year-old barista Samantha Koenig, abducted her for ransom, and eventually murdered her.
  • “When he approached the window and ordered a coffee, he seemed like any other customer…When she handed it to him, she was immediately overcome with fear because Israel pulled out a gun and demanded money.” (Vanessa, 28:28)

• Expert Analysis:

  • Dr. Engels explains that while these actions appeared impulsive, they were the result of opportunity and years of reinforced risk-taking.
  • “Opportunity fundamentally changes his objective. And now I think we understand why Israel needs to be prepared for that, why he creates kill kits and has them at the ready.” (Dr. Engels, 33:07)

• Macabre Aftermath:

  • Returns from his cruise and grotesquely stages Samantha’s corpse for a ransom photo by applying makeup and sewing her eyes open.
  • “He then sewed her eyes open, posed her body to make it look like she was holding a recent newspaper, and took a photo.” (Vanessa, 38:07)

3. Manipulation and the Psychological Profile

[38:52-49:03]

• Objectification & Emotional Detachment:

  • “She’d become an object, one to serve a purpose…He knew Samantha was dead. He knew the photograph was a lie. He understood that her family and investigators would believe she was alive if this worked.” (Dr. Engels, 38:56)

• Power and Control as Primary Motives:

  • “His primary motivation was not money. It was control, power, and manipulation. We’ve seen how he enjoyed watching other people scramble in the past following something he’s done.” (Dr. Engels, 41:29)

4. Downfall: Capture and Interrogation

[41:39-54:22]

• The Ransom Trail and Arrest:

  • Using Samantha’s ATM card across several states, Keyes left a trail. Law enforcement tracked him via surveillance and ultimately arrested him in Texas.
  • At a family wedding, when pressed about his soul, he cryptically said: “You don’t know what I’ve done.” (Vanessa, 43:35)

• Overconfidence and Errors:

  • “Overconfidence can become one of the biggest vulnerabilities in serial offenders…They begin believing that their system is stronger than it really is. And in Israel’s case, that’s what stands out to me.” (Dr. Engels, 46:30)

• Confessions and Final Secrets:

  • While in custody, Keyes confessed to killing Samantha Koenig and the Curriers, providing details only to investigators who kept his name out of the media to protect his daughter.
  • “He reportedly didn’t want her identity exposed, and he expressed concern about the stigma she would face growing up as the daughter of a serial killer.” (Dr. Engels, 49:14)

5. Unanswered Questions and Aftermath

[51:54-54:22]

• Suicide & Lingering Mysteries:

  • Israel Keyes committed suicide in jail before trial; many of his secrets—including the identities and number of his victims—died with him.
  • Authorities believe he may have killed as many as eleven people between 2001 and 2012.

• FBI Investigations:

  • Only two kill kits were ever recovered; many potential victims remain unidentified, leaving families without closure.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Planning and Process:

  • "He was preparing for possibilities in his crime. The military did not cause him, obviously, to become a serial offender…But I do wonder whether it refined a style of thinking that became central to the way he actually committed and prepared for his crimes."
    (Dr. Engels, 07:52)

• On Loss of Control:

  • “The more someone believes in their ability to control for every variable, the more impacted they are when that’s challenged.”
    (Dr. Engels, 12:18)

• On Self-made Rules:

  • “That’s the problem with self-created moral codes. They often make sense only to the person who created them. And they exist to protect the offender.”
    (Dr. Engels, 50:28)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Kill Kits and Planning: 04:14–08:56
• The Currier Murders: 09:53–15:53
• Losing Control & Escalation: 12:11–14:04
• Demolition of Farmhouse/Disposition of Bodies: 20:22–23:04
• Coffee Stand Abduction (Samantha Koenig): 24:34–29:47
• Risk Taking and Rule Breaking: 24:34–26:06
• Staged Ransom Photo: 38:07–39:49
• Arrest and Capture: 44:46–47:17
• Confession Strategy: 47:17–49:03
• Discussion of Moral Contradictions: 49:03–51:54
• Israel Keyes’s Suicide and Lingering Mysteries: 51:54–54:22

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Tone & Style

The episode is immersive, blending methodical, suspenseful narration (Vanessa) with clinical, analytical but empathetic insight (Dr. Engels). Memorable moments balance chilling descriptions with insightful psychological analysis, all delivered in clear, accessible language.

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In summary: This episode explores not just the disturbing violence of Israel Keyes, but the unique clinical and psychological factors that shaped his crimes—the meticulous risk management, the chance-driven victim selection, the cracks in his “perfect plan,” and ultimately, how self-assuredness and subverted codes spelled his undoing. As the hosts conclude, many of Keyes’s secrets died with him, a chilling reminder that some murderous minds remain, in part, a mystery.

Transcript

[A]

Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Before today's episode, I want to tell you about another show I think you'll love. Crime House and A E are teaming up on the podcast version of the famous true crime series the First 48. Each week, Carter Roy takes you inside a landmark homicide case. The interrogations, the dead ends, and the breakthroughs in the critical first 48 hours. Listen to and follow the first 48 every Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Crime House. Everyone has their own set of rules to keep their lives in order. Maybe it's their sleep schedule, their diet, or the qualities they look for in friends. But for some people, rules aren't about becoming happier, healthier, or more successful. They're about keeping others under their control and hiding the truth about themselves. Israel Keyes was one of those people. He abided by a strict set of self imposed rules not to improve his career or personal life, but to do irrevocable harm. In the 2010s, Israel used careful planning and preparation to commit heinous crimes. And he may have gotten away with it for a long time until eventually Israel's own hubris caused him to slip. He broke one of his own rules and it led investigators right to him. However, over a decade later, the full horrifying truth of Israel's crimes remains a complete mystery. The human mind is powerful. It shapes how we think, feel, love and hate. But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, A Crime House original. I'm Vanessa Richardson.

[B]

And I'm forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Ingalls. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer.

[A]

Crime House exists because of listeners like you want even more. Join Crime House plus and get both parts of every story dropped on the same Monday completely ad free. No waiting 3 days for part 2 plus crime house bonus episodes every month. To join go to crimehouseplus.com or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap try free at the top of the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds page. Before we get started, be advised this episode contains discussion of explicit sexual violence against women, dismemberment and murder. So please listen with care. Today we conclude our deep dive on Israel Keyes, a meticulous killer with a sordid past. Not only was Israel exposed to extreme violence at an early age, but but he also formed ties to one of America's most notorious crime families. As he grew up, Israel learned to hide his dark side and operate in the shadows and he went to grotesque lengths to cover his tracks.

[B]

As Vanessa goes through the story, I'll be talking about things like how some violent offenders create rules to avoid getting caught, why some killers choose victims based on chance or opportunity, and how some killers may react when their own rules fail them.

[A]

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[B]

And that, to me, is one of the most revealing aspects of Israel's psychology. Because many serial offenders demonstrate victim preferences, whether it's age, sex, appearance, or some other characteristic that's part of their fantasy. Israel's different, and we've been seeing that difference all along, starting with the kill kids. And like we discussed, he buried them months and sometimes years before he even knew who his victims would be. Everything was in place long before a victim had ever even entered the picture. So that means he knowingly wasn't planning around a specific person. He was planning around opportunity and access. His focus truly was on the whole process, the planning, the anticipation, the control, and reducing risk. In episode one, I talked about how remarkable his executive functioning was when he was 23. I wonder whether his military experience reinforced something that was already there psychologically. Because the military places a lot of emphasis on preparation, logistics, contingency planning, and reducing unnecessary risk. Those are adaptive skills. In context, when I look at Israel's offending, there are conceptual similarities. He was preparing for possibilities in his crime. The military did not cause him, obviously, to become a serial offender. His violent fantasies clearly predated him his enlistment. But I do wonder whether it refined a style of thinking that became central to the way he actually committed and prepared for his crimes.

[A]

Does this seem like this is something he's done before?

[B]

Okay, so from a behavioral standpoint, it certainly appears that way because he's not improvising. He has a system. He buried kits in advance, he's traveled long distances, he's selected a location, waited for an opportunity, and then he executed a plan that appears well rehearsed psychologically. His behavior also doesn't look like someone who's just Figuring it out as they go. It looks like someone who has practiced this strategy already. Obviously, we can't say for certain whether this was his first homicide. If it was, then the level of organization is likely from a combination of military training, extensive fantasy rehearsal, and years of preparation and refining his methods. Obviously from the lessons that he's learned from other offenses, starting from when he was younger in his childhood, and then also from the keyhost.

[A]

Once Israel found Bill and Lorraine, he was eager to act. He didn't seem worried that there were two people to overpower. He felt confident he could do it. And on June 8, 2011, he put his plan into motion. First, he parked his rental car in a lot about a mile from the couple's home. He then walked to their house and cut the phone lines outside before breaking a window and entering the garage. He got into the house from there and moved quietly while Bill and Lorraine slept. Eventually, Israel was standing inside their bedroom. The couple awoke to find him standing over them. He was dressed in all black, wearing a headlamp, and holding a gun. They were terrified, but since he was armed, they knew they were powerless against him. Israel ordered the couriers not to move as he zip tied their hands. He stole their ATM cards and cell phones. After that, Israel forced Bill and Lorraine into their own car and drove them to the abandoned farmhouse. Once there, he separated them. Israel left Lorraine alone in the car, then took Bill inside. He brought him down to the basement and tied him to a stool. But he was interrupted when he noticed a small commotion from outside. Lorraine had escaped from the car and she was running away. Israel made a mad dash after her, and unfortunately, he caught up to Lorraine. He tackled her, dragged her into the house, and tied her up in a bedroom. From the basement, Bill cried out for his wife, trying to make sure she was okay. And when Israel went back downstairs, he realized Bill had nearly broken free from his restraints. When Israel saw this, anger swelled inside him and things weren't going according to his plan. Without thinking, he grabbed a shovel, struck Bill several times, then shot him to death.

[B]

One thing we've talked about throughout this case is how much Israel valued planning in control. Again, he spent months, years planning and waiting for this very moment. But no matter how meticulous someone's plan is, like we discussed in episode one, reality has variables they don't, don't anticipate. So when Lorraine escaped and Bill nearly got out of his restraints, Israel suddenly lost the control he had worked so hard to maintain. And the anticipation and the buildup that he had been fantasizing about was threatened. At that point, he's reacting to a situation that was changing very quickly, a situation that he had been waiting for for a very long time. I can't say exactly what he was feeling. It could have been panic. It could have been frustration. It could have been anger. Everything was about to unravel. But people who place a very high value on control often struggle a great deal when they lose it. The more someone believes in their ability to control for every variable, the more impacted they are when that's challenged. In Israel's case, this forced him to improvise, which, when you think about it, is exactly what he'd spent years trying to avoid doing. That's what his kill kits were for. That's what this farmhouse was for. That's what the wait and anticipation was all about. And in mere moments, everything he carefully thought he accounted for had nearly unraveled.

[A]

So when victims fight back or change the killer's plan like this, does it typically make a crime escalate to more violence?

[B]

It certainly can, but not always. Once a victim resists or escapes, the crime becomes unpredictable. Some offenders will flee. Others become more violent because they want to regain control or prevent their victims from escaping or even identifying them. But the research doesn't support one universal pattern, because offenders respond differently depending on their motives and the circumstances. What victim resistance almost always does, though, is it forces the offender to adapt in some way. How they choose to do that will vary.

[A]

Well, once Bill was dead, Israel's rage shifted to Lorraine. He stormed upstairs to the room where she was restrained, cut off her clothes, and sexually assaulted her. During the assault, he strangled her until she lost consciousness, but he let go just before Lorraine died. He waited until she woke up, then dragged her to the basement and forced her to look at Bill's dead body. Then, as Lorraine stood there facing her husband, Israel snuck up behind her with a rope and strangled her to death. Afterward, Israel stuffed their remains into garbage bags, which he placed in a corner of the basement and covered with debris. He then left the house and drove the courier's car to the lot where he'd left his rental. He abandoned their vehicle, got into his own, and drove away. The next day, June 9, 2011, Bill and Lorraine failed to show up to work, and they were quickly reported missing. When officers arrived at the couple's home, they immediately spotted the broken window and knew something was wrong. The officers carefully made their way inside and searched the area, but there was no sign of Bill or Lorraine. Their fears deepened when officers found important Prescription medications left behind. Whatever had happened to the couple, police knew they weren't safe. There was no way Bill and Lorraine had decided to leave on their own. Their suspicions were confirmed the next day when Bill and Lorraine's car was found right where Israel had left it. Unfortunately, despite all the evidence that something terrible had happened to the couple, there was nothing concrete for investigators to go on. Israel hadn't left any clear physical evidence in the couple's home or car.

[B]

The fact that Israel could plan so well that police couldn't tie him to the crime yet lose control so easily in the farmhouse seems contradictory, but actually don't think it is. There are really two different kinds of control happening here. One is control over his victims and the crime itself. The other is control over his broader strategy. Israel lost control over the first, and only briefly, but he never completely lost sight of the second again. He's a highly organized offender. He's skilled at risk management. Part of that likely comes from his military experience, which we talked about. And that experience, given what we know about what his MOS was, likely emphasized. Mission planning, contingency planning, logistics, navigation, rehearsing, and just thinking ahead. Those skills could also transfer to how he's able to anticipate law enforcement. Not to mention he does have experience on how to evade law enforcement. From his time traveling, offending overseas. He's a hunter. And from what he reportedly had been taught from the key hosts, they also had family members who were tried for murder, and he was exposed to those murder trials, and we briefly talked about that in episode one. All of that could have caused him to learn more about this so that he can manage the risk himself. Israel has a combination of skills and intelligence that make him an exceptionally dangerous predator.

[A]

Bill and Lorraine seemed to vanish without a trace, and Israel knew that in order to evade the law, he'd have to do the same. By the time the investigation was underway, he was already back on the road. By June 16, eight days after the murders, he was home in Alaska. At the same time, Israel knew he'd eventually have to return to Vermont to dispose of Bill and Lorraine's remains. However, an act of complete coincidence was about to change everything. If you've spent years trying every diet out there only to end up feeling totally stuck, listen up. This summer can actually be different. You deserve to feel amazing in your own skin. And weight Loss by Hers is here to help you finally shake things up. They now offer access to an affordable range of FDA approved GLP1 medications, including both the WeGovy pen and the brand new Wegovy pill Yes, a pill which means you can lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Absolutely no needles required. The entire process is 100% online, so you'll connect with a licensed medical provider right from your couch. There's no insurance necessary and if prescribed, your treatment is delivered straight to your door. You also get 24.7care team messaging and in app lifestyle and nutrition tips to back you up every single step of the way. Ready to reach your goals? Visit forhers.com pave to get personalized affordable care that gets you that's F O-R-H-E-R-S.com pave forhers.com pave Weight loss by hers is not available in all 50 states. WeGovy is the registered trademark of Novo Nordisk as To get started and learn more, including important safety information, WeGovy clinical study information and restrictions, visit forhers.com Ready to level up? Champa Casino is your playbook to fun.

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[A]

In June of 2011, 33 year old Israel Keys claimed the lives of a married couple from Vermont named Bill and Lorraine Currier. After murdering them, Israel hid their bodies inside an abandoned farmhouse about three miles from their own home. Then he made his way back to his home in Anchorage, Alaska, where no one suspected a thing. Meanwhile, police in Vermont were stumped. There was no clear evidence to work with. Investigators had no idea that Bill and Lorraine's bodies were still nearby and no way of knowing that any sign of their remains were about to disappear forever. Even though Israel had plans to return to the farmhouse one day and set it on fire, he never had to because In September of 2011 the house was demolished for property development and without anyone realizing what was inside, the debris was bulldozed, scooped up and hauled away to a landfill, including Bill and Lorraine's remains. It's unclear whether Israel knew the house had been demolished, but he never returned to Vermont after that.

[B]

I think it's psychologically significant that Israel did not burn the farmhouse at the time he knew it introduced unnecessary risk. It may have only increased his risk slightly because if he knew or believed there was nothing tying him to Bob and Lorraine or their home, even that small increase in risk appears to have been too much for Israel. So he refrained from doing it, instead being willing to travel all the way back from Anchorage to burn it down at a later date. That's the level of risk management that he operates with. At least as of now, he is going to eliminate as much of the risk as possible. That said, leaving Bob and Lorene's bodies there in the farmhouse carried its own risk too, because they could have been discovered at any time. But to him, that carried less of a risk. Burning down the farmhouse that night that he took their lives would have immediately alerted authorities. But keeping them quietly hidden, there was a chance they would just be considered missing. Now Israel learned that their bodies were demolished with the farmhouse and went undiscovered. That outcome benefited him rather than exposed him. It's reasonable that that would have made him more confident. Every time his planning succeeded and every time circumstances unexpectedly worked in his favor, it's reinforcing, and we've talked about reinforcement before that can strengthen his belief in his strategy or his abilities. At the same time though, this part was simply luck.

[A]

The demolition of that abandoned house was a massive stroke of luck for Israel because now Bill and Lorraine's bodies would never be found and he didn't have to go back to Vermont and risk getting caught. So Israel slipped right back into normal life. He was to going, going on dates with his girlfriend Kimberly, spending time with his 10 year old daughter and running a successful construction business. For a while, Israel seemed satisfied he had killed and gotten away with it. But things never stayed steady for long. At this point, Israel and Kimberly had been together for a few years and they'd reached a point where they either needed to commit or go their separate ways. Kimberly was hesitant to commit to family life forever, and Israel was more devoted to murder than anything else. So by early 2012, they were in a sort of limbo. However, they had a vacation planned with Israel's daughter, so they were leaving Anchorage and going on a cruise on February 2nd. So they decided to stick it out however, Israel's criminal urges were taking over. He needed a quick fix, and that meant breaking his his own rules. So on February 1, 2012, one day before the cruise, Israel decided to rob a local coffee stand just four miles from his home. He was breaking one of his own core rules, which was to never commit a crime close to home. But he couldn't help himself.

[B]

All right, so this actually isn't entirely new for Israel. We've seen this pattern before with the bank robbery. Israel appears to have a very high need for stimulation and novelty, or what we call sensation seeking. He wasn't someone who seemed satisfied with ordinary experiences. He was drawn to challenge or excitement in high risk situations, especially between his kill kit excursions. What's different here isn't necessarily the behavior. It's where he's willing to do it. He had very rigid rules to reduce his risk, particularly staying far away from home. Well, this time he's willing to violate that rule. The timing of that stands out to me. He's about to leave on a cruise where his freedom and his opportunity to offend would be significantly limited. On a cruise, some aspects of your control are restricted. In addition to that, there is also uncertainty in his relationship with Kimberly. And that relationship, which we discussed in episode one, is important to him because he values the mask of an ordinary life. These aren't necessarily causal factors, but they could have absolutely influenced the timing of this. Stress can increase highly rewarding behaviors like highly stimulating ones. And these two stressors may have added to the psychological pressure and the decision for him to break one of his court rules.

[A]

At this point, do you think Israel was changing or maybe his perception of risk was changing?

[B]

I think it's possible. Risk perception isn't fixed. It changes with experience. The objective risk of committing a crime four miles from home hadn't changed. If anything, it was just as dangerous as it always has been. But his perception of that risk may have changed. After years of successfully offending without getting caught, and even more so with what just happened with Bob and Lorraine and obviously what's happening with him currently, he's having some relational discord and he's going on this cruise. There's a time crunch as well that could be adding pressure to him to feeling like he needs to do this and that he doesn't have the time to plan an extended trip to get it done. We see this in everyday life. The first time someone speeds, they may be incredibly anxious about it. If they do it repeatedly without getting a ticket, it starts to feel less risky, even though obviously the objective risk hasn't changed. The same thing can happen with anything. Repeated success can create a false sense of confidence. So I think it's possible that years of successfully managing risk changed the way he evaluated it. In this particular moment, given what is happening, there's the time crunch, there's the stress, there's the urge, there's the confidence. His rule may have started to feel less necessary because in his mind, I've proven myself repeatedly that I could get away with it. It's also possible that the practicality of the nomadic lifestyle was becoming less sustainable. As a father and a partner, just for perspective, anchorage is over 4,000 miles from Virginia. Being a parent is demanding. Running a business is demanding. Maintaining a relationship is demanding. Even if your partner is a traveling nurse. Constantly traveling across the country to offend would have become increasingly difficult to sustain. It's very possible that the life is he built eventually became incompatible with his broader criminal strategy. So if that's true, then he may have been forced to adapt. Not because it's his motivation that changed, but because his circumstances did.

[A]

Israel not only chose a location close to home, he chose an easy target. The coffee stand was called Common Grounds. It sat in a large, mostly empty parking lot about 100 yards from a gas station. It was only big enough for one employee to work at a time. Israel arrived there just before closing and approached the stand wearing a mask. In the middle of an Alaskan winter, that wasn't unusual. When he approached the window and ordered a coffee, he seemed like any other customer trying to stay warm. The barista working that afternoon was 18 year old Samantha Koenig. Samantha had only recently started the job. She was still figuring out her long term career goals. She had a boyfriend she loved and the two of them wanted to build a life together in Alaska. When Samantha showed up for work that day, she had no reason to think she'd be in grave danger. She got to work making Israel's coffee. But when she handed it to him, she was immediately overcome with fear because Israel pulled out a gun and demanded money. Samantha turned around to grab cash from the register. Then Israel did something completely unexpected. He climbed through the coffee stand window and tackled Samantha to the floor. He then zip tied her hands, dragged her out to his truck and forced her inside. Israel had gone there with the intention to commit robbery. But once he realized Samantha was alone and isolated, he snapped. He wanted to kill her.

[B]

He saw an opportunity

[A]

now with Samantha in his truck. Israel lied and told her he'd kidnapped her for ransom. And that once he Got the money, he'd let her go unharmed. Samantha tried to explain that her family didn't have much money, but Israel didn't care. He seemed determined to get some cash out of this. So he demanded she hand over her cell phone and ATM card. But there was a problem. Samantha didn't have either one with her. Her phone was still back at Common Grounds. And because she shared a bank account with her boyfriend, the ATM card was inside his truck. So Israel drove back to the coffee stand, left Samantha bound in his truck and went inside to get her phone. Once he had it, he sent two text messages impersonating her. He sent one to her boyfriend and another to her boss, saying she was leaving town for the weekend unexpectedly. Then he removed the battery from her phone and hid it in his car. After that, he took Samantha back to his home. He needed somewhere to contain her while he looked for her ATM card. So he locked her in a shed on his property, bound and gagged her, then turned on a radio inside the shed so Kimberly and his daughter wouldn't hear any noise Samantha made. Israel then drove to the home Samantha shared with her boyfriend. He was taking a huge, huge risk. He pulled right into the driveway where her boyfriend parked his truck. Israel got out and immediately started tearing through the truck in search of the card. He was being reckless. And soon Samantha's boyfriend noticed what was going on. He ran outside and shouted at Israel, but he was too late. Israel had found the debit card. He got back into his own vehicle and sped off. Now that Israel had everything he needed, he decided to get rid of Samantha. When he returned to the shed, he sexually assaulted her before strangling her to death. Afterward, he didn't bother disposing of her remains. He knew they would quickly freeze in the cold Alaska temperatures. He just locked the shed door so no one could get inside. While he was on the cruise, Israel then sauntered into his house and packed for his trip.

[B]

Alright, so I know in episode one that Israel is not an impulsive offender. And I would describe that in episode two, and here is what I meant. There are a couple of things here that I want to unpack. And the first is I want to talk about his rule. Because he's not only committed a crime close to home, but he then abandoned his original plan of robbery, kidnapped Samantha and quite literally brought her to his home with him, where his daughter, whom his rule was made for, she was there. Then he kept Samantha there, returned to Samantha's home to get her debit card from her boyfriend's truck and then left Samantha's body in his shed when he went on vacation. All of that sounds impulsive, but again, for him, it's actually not, because this robbery was planned. The deviation of the plan all happened the moment that he saw the opportunity for it, and with that, the immediate reward. And he was still managing risk throughout all of it, because, remember, impulsivity is about not thinking about the future risks and the consequences. He was sending text messages from her phone and then concealing her phone. He was thinking about how to get her ATM card. He was thinking about where he was going to put her body. Opportunity fundamentally changes his objective. And now I think we understand why Israel needs to be prepared for that, why he creates kill kids and has them at the ready. He knows that he will act on those opportunities, and that's where the real risk lies for him. And this tells me that Israel likely has quite a bit of insight into his own behavior now. The fact that he is able to leave Samantha in his shed and then go on this cruise and play the devoted father and family man so seamlessly speaks to his ability to compartmentalize. He can mentally separate those roles from one another in a way that most people cannot. We also know that people with high psychopathic traits often show reduced emotional interference. In other words, they're better able to pursue something like this without any emotion like guilt, empathy, or anxiety disrupting what they're doing. If that's what was happening here, then packing for a cruise with Kimberly and his daughter wouldn't necessarily conflict with what he just done. It also highlights the hypocrisy in his own moral boundaries. His rule exists to protect his family, so he says, but he just broke it. He has a code never to go after children or parents of children. But he just killed, essentially a child. If you want to ask me, I know she's 18, but she's someone who will now never get to become a mother herself. And she is someone else's child. Which is why I think that these rules only existed to serve him.

[A]

Less than 24 hours after killing Samantha, Israel, his daughter and Kimberly flew to New Orleans and boarded their cruise ship. The trip gave Israel a chance to distance himself from what he'd done and create a plan for his return. When the cruise was over, instead of flying home with Kimberly and his daughter, Israel rented a car in New Orleans and started driving back himself. He claimed he was going to visit relatives in Texas along the way. But during that drive, Israel's criminal urge got the best of him again. He stopped in Texas to rob a bank. And he got away with it. Killing Samantha hadn't quieted Israel's need for destruction. If anything, it seemed to make it stronger. And he was about to go to grotesque lengths to satisfy his needs. With Squarespace, you can do more than

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[B]

It's been 17 days since he killed Samantha. And then he started posing her body for a ransom photo. And this tells us a lot about how he viewed her. She'd become an object, one to serve a purpose. The nature of this would ordinarily raise concerns regarding someone's psychological state, especially when there's dismemberment. But Israel wasn't posing her body because he was detached from reality or experiencing psychosis. In fact, I think the opposite is true. He knew Samantha was dead. He knew the photograph was a lie. He understood that her family and investigators would believe she was alive if this worked. That means that this wasn't. Wasn't some break from reality for him. It was a deliberate attempt to manipulate other people's perception of reality.

[A]

Do you think this kind of behavior points to emotional detachment, or is there an element of power and cruelty in making her loved ones and authorities believe she still might be alive?

[B]

It's a bit of both. We talked about his ability to compartmentalize his, quote, normal family life from this aspect of himself, but this reflects an extreme level of emotional detachment. Israel lacks any empathy, remorse, guilt, regret, or even disgust. Even now, his focus is on control, organization, planning, and manipulation. Let's talk about the ransom a little more. If money were his only objective, let's say he could have easily gone about this without posing her or taking a photo or even killing her. He could have sent a personal item of hers, provided information she only knew, recorded her saying something. I mean, he did tell her himself when he kidnapped her that she was going to be used for ransom. So that idea was already in his head. He could have delayed her death or not even killed her at all, like we talked about, until he collected something. And there's just so many other ways he could have gone about it, but he didn't. And that tells us a lot about what he was gaining here by doing what he just did with posing her after she died, photographing her and deceiving her family and the authorities, and he was gaining control over other people's. Reality in this situation, for at least some period of time, Israel was the only person who knew the truth about Samantha and what happened to her. And he deliberately manipulated that truth for his own benefit. The deception itself placed him in a position of psychological power over so many people, including her family. His primary motivation was not money. It was control, power, and manipulation. We've seen how he enjoyed watching other people, people scramble in the past following something he's done. He gets gratification from that.

[A]

After dumping Samantha's body in the frozen lake, Israel then targeted her loved ones. A week later, he used Samantha's phone to send the staged photo to her boyfriend. Israel included directions to a local park where he'd placed a typed ransom note demanding $30,000 to be deposited into Samantha's bank account. Samantha's family came up with $5,000 and quickly put it into her account. They were also working with the police, which meant investigators knew that if the person responsible tried to withdraw that money, it would create a paper trail. And that's almost what happened. One week later, on March 1st, Israel used Samantha's debit card to withdraw 500 in Anchorage. But before police could connect that transaction to him, Israel. Israel was on the move. He flew to Las Vegas, and by March 7, he set off driving from there. That same day, Israel made another ATM withdrawal in Wilcox, Arizona. But this time, he made a mistake. Although he covered his face with a mask, when police reviewed the surveillance footage, they could see the car he was driving, a white Ford Focus. And as Israel made stops over the next couple of days in New Mexico and Texas, they saw the general direction he was heading. So they alerted local law enforcement to be on the lookout for the vehicle. Israel had no idea they were on to him. And by March 12, he arrived in Lufkin, Texas, for his sister's wedding. While there, he clearly seemed to think he was outsmarting the authorities because he had a chilling conversation with family members. Israel had grown up extremely religious. The church he'd been raised in was a white nationalist militia group. It was where Israel became friends with members of the infamous Kehoe family. Israel's family was extremely devoted to their church. But after he turned 18, he'd denounced God and left home. Now, at the wedding, one of Israel's family members remarked that they wished he'd find his way back to God. Israel simply replied, quote, you don't know what I've done, end quote. Israel's family may not have known what he was capable of, but soon the authorities would. Because the next morning, an officer in Lufkin spotted his parked car, but he had to wait for probable cause to apprehend Israel. So he waited until Israel got into the car and started driving. The officer followed, and as soon as Israel went a little over the speed limit, he pulled him over. The officer wasted no time searching the car. He found Samantha's debit card, cell phone, a gun, and the mask that police had seen on surveillance footage at the ATM withdrawal stops. Realizing the weight of what he'd just discovered, the officer called for backup. Officers arrived, and Israel Keys was officially taken to the station where he was charged with access device fraud. It was enough to keep him in custody while authorities tried to figure out where Samantha was.

[B]

Israel's behavior here might seem like he was wanting to get caught because it's such a contrast to his very controlled and risk averse behavior. But I'd actually argue that it suggests the opposite. He continued wearing a disguise at these ATMs. He traveled across multiple states to throw authorities off, and he made sure to keep moving. Those aren't necessarily the actions of someone who appears to be surrendering. What is interesting is that he seems to have become increasingly willing to accept risks that he previously would have avoided. He built his crimes around minimizing every possible connection back to himself. Every possible risk. Here he's creating a digital trail. And again, I think it's more related to his own risk calculation. He knows that he can't get away with just anything because if he believed that, he wouldn't be hiding his face and moving around like he is. He just has reassessed the risk of how likely it is he will get caught. There's another possibility, too, that's not uncommon among serial offenders. Israel may have believed that he could stay one step ahead of investigators throughout all of this. Every withdrawal occurred in a different location, and he continued moving across the country. From his perspective, he may have believed that constant movement would keep law enforcement reacting to where he had been rather than where he was going. And it's between state lines, so their jurisdictions were limited unless the FBI got involved or they were talking amongst each other. And he might have underestimated that.

[A]

Do you think there's a point here where Israel's confidence might have just spiraled into self sabotage?

[B]

Honestly, yes. Though I wouldn't call it self sabotage, because that would imply he wants to get caught. But overconfidence can become one of the biggest vulnerabilities in serial offenders. Dennis Raider, Ted Bundy, and Gary Widgway are great examples of that. They were caught because they eventually made decisions they likely wouldn't have made earlier in their offending. After years of getting away with serious crimes, it's possible that they started trusting their own judgment a little too much. They begin believing that their system is stronger than it really is. And in Israel's case, that's what stands out to me. He starts making exceptions to rules that had actually protected him for years. Those exceptions didn't guarantee he would be caught, but they absolutely narrowed the margin of error. And eventually, one mistake is all investigators need.

[A]

Israel didn't speak much with investigators in Texas, but a couple weeks later, he was extradited to Alaska. And now the FBI was involved. Agents met with Israel in early April, and they quickly realized that they'd only be able to get get him to talk if they went along with his games. After sitting down with the agents, Israel requested a cup of coffee from Starbucks. And once he got it, he confessed to the murder of Samantha Koenig. Israel told police where they could find her remains. And on April 2, 2012, investigators recovered Samantha from the frozen lake. But as investigators talked to Israel more, they realized that there was much more to his story and that Samantha was just one chapter in what might have been a long criminal history. Because Israel hinted at other victims, including one who he claimed was his first murder, which occurred in Washington state in 2001, Israel also told investigators about his kill kits and where some of them were buried. However, as they asked more questions, Israel sensed they were beginning to see the truth about him. And he understood the consequences of the truth coming out. His name would be everywhere, and his daughter would be unable to escape his dark shadow. He quickly started looking for a way out. Israel said he had information about a missing couple in Vermont, but that he'd only tell them if the Vermont authorities agreed to keep the story out of the media. The FBI. FBI reached out to law enforcement in Vermont, and they agreed to Israel's terms. With that agreement in place, Israel began to talk. He told investigators everything he'd done to Bill and Lorraine Currier.

[B]

I think it's important to remember that people aren't psychologically consistent. We want people to fit neatly into categories, but people can hold contradictory parts of themselves. Everything Israel said suggests that he cared about protecting his daughter from the public consequences of his crimes. He reportedly didn't want her identity exposed, and he expressed concern about the stigma she would face growing up as the daughter of a serial killer, which he's right to be concerned about. At the same time, his behavior unquestionably Exposed her to danger. He committed murders while she was in his life. He brought Samantha onto his property while she was inside the house, and he lived this double life that guaranteed she would have devastating consequences. So was that concern for her genuine? I think it's likely. But was the attachment genuine? I don't know. I mean, it's possible. But that doesn't necessarily mean he loved her in the healthy, selfless way that we typically think about parental love. It's entirely possible that he loved his daughter while also lacking the empathy and capacity to consistently place her well being above his own needs. It's also possible that he valued what this protection represented. Throughout my career, I have encountered a lot of offenders who maintain personal codes or rules like Israel, about who they believe is, quote, off limits and who they believe they are protecting. A lot of that involves children. Those codes don't necessarily reflect empathy. They often reflect identity. They allow them to see themselves as different from other offenders or to believe that they still possess some moral boundary despite committing their own heinous criminal acts. And Israel grew up around violent offenders and extremist influences. And it's reasonable to wonder whether he internalized a similar way of thinking or a similar criminal code of some kind. It would have allowed him to preserve a particular image of himself. To me, that's the real contradiction here. He refused to target children or people with children because that crossed one of his personal lines. Yet every one he murdered was someone else's child. Also, Samantha was 18. She was just barely an adult. Did he even know that? Truly, she could have still been a minor working with a permit for all he knew. It's not like he checked her identification before kidnapping her. Did he know that she was not a mother? It's not like he asked her first for proof. And that's the problem with self created moral codes. They often make sense only to the person who created them. And they exist to protect the offender.

[A]

Well, if Israel felt true remorse, it only went so far. Because when the authorities from other jurisdictions turned down the same deal, he stopped talking, talking. In total, the FBI spent more than 40 hours interviewing Israel Keys. And even though they didn't learn as much as they'd hoped, by the time those interviews were over, they had enough to charge him for the murder of Samantha koenig. By late 2012, prosecutors were preparing for his trial, which was scheduled to begin the following March. But that trial would never happen, because on December 2, 2012, Israel died by suicide in his jail cell. He'd never go to trial for any of his crimes and when Israel died, so many unanswered questions died with him. Investigators only ever recovered two kill kits, one in New York and one in Alaska, and they were never able to definitively tie Israel to any other murders. However, based on his partial confessions, the FBI FBI believes he may have killed as many as 11 people between 2001 and 2012. In 2013, authorities told the public they believed Israel may have been responsible for the death of a 48 year old woman named Deborah Feldman. Israel had once admitted to kidnapping a woman from the east coast and transporting her across multiple state lines into Tupper Lake, New York, the same place he'd want once robbed a bank. He said he killed the woman and buried her remains there. Based on the timeline of Deborah's disappearance, investigators found it likely that she was the victim Israel described. However, they've never been able to confirm this theory or the identities of any other potential victims, which means their families have never gotten answers or the justice they deserve. All the authorities can also offer is the advice to put personal safety first and the hope that someday someone will come forward with the information they need to bring victims families some closure. Thanks so much for listening. Come back next time for a deep dive into the mind of another murderer.

[B]

Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on all social media rimehouse. Don't forget to rate, review and follow so Serial Killers and Murderous Minds. Wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly makes a difference.

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And to enhance your listening experience, join Crime House plus and get both parts of every story dropped on the same Monday completely ad free. No waiting 3 days for part 2 plus crime house bonus episodes every month. To join go to crimehouseplus.com or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap try free at the top of the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds page. Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Bennett, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pertzovsky, Sarah Camp, Alyssa Fox, Markie Lee, Sarah Batchelor and Carrie Murphy. Thank you for listening. You've got a big day, so you use unstoppable scent boosters to give your

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