True Crime Bullsh** – Episode 0702 | In Blood

Date: October 6, 2025
Host: Josh Hallmark
Main Theme:
This episode delves into the final days and suicide of Israel Keyes, examining the FBI’s last efforts to draw information from him, the logistics and frustrations of the investigation, and the stunning aftermath in both the prison and official inquiry that followed his death.

Episode Overview

• Central Focus: The investigation into serial killer Israel Keyes reaches its climax as the FBI attempts to extract final confessions and discover the locations of his undisclosed victims. Just two and a half days after his most revealing FBI interview, Keyes is found dead in his cell, throwing the case—and agency responses—into chaos.
• Narrative Arc: The episode intertwines audio from Keyes’ final FBI interviews, the technical logistics of the investigation, and the consequential internal inquiry into how Keyes was able to die by suicide under the watch of prison authorities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. FBI’s Final Interactions with Keyes (03:28–16:14)

• Escalating Pressure: Agents intensify pressure on Keyes after eight months of stalling.
  • "It seemed to becoming clear to Keys he was running out of both bargaining tools and time." (03:48, Josh Hallmark)
• Plans to Recover Remains: Focus on the search for Debra Feldman’s remains near Tupper Lake, NY.
  • FBI prepared live satellite feeds and GPS mapping to guide Keyes.
  • Highly detailed logistical planning intended to jog Keyes’ memory in the field.
  • Notable Quote:
    “In all fairness, I never set up a specific day, but it actually would have worked because my attorney didn’t show up till that afternoon.” (06:09, Keyes)
• Keyes Withholding Information: He discusses caches of weapons and evidence, bargaining over which to reveal.
  • Suggests some caches are unrelated to murders but ultimately admits they all hold evidence.
  • Notable Quote:
    “They're all related to stuff.…I just have to think about it.” (11:35, Keyes)
• Stalemate and Resignation: Keyes gets cagey and frustrated; agents counter with the urgency of time.
  • “Keep thinking that I’m not working, trying to work with you. I am, but from my perspective, you know…we’ve been sitting here. I’m aware of the months clicking.” (14:19, Keyes)

Timestamps:

• FBI-Keys Bank Robbery/Tupper Lake planning — 05:29–08:27
• Caches and negotiation about evidence — 10:17–14:31

2. Keyes’s Death and Prison Investigation (16:14–44:55)

Finding Keyes’s Body (16:14–17:38, 27:28–29:56)

• Suicide Details:
  • Keyes slit his wrists, used a sheet to strangle himself, wrote several messages on the cell walls in blood, and left a bizarre suicide note.
  • Blood pooled on floor, on bedding, and on the cell walls (notably inscribed with “Caracol,” numbers “5” and possibly “54,” and other cryptic symbols).
  • Notable Quote:
    "I have photos of Keyes' cell, and there is a significant amount of blood... inches directly above where Keyes' head was in his bed was 'Caracol' written in large block lettering in his blood." (28:30, Josh Hallmark)

Administrative Lapses & Infuriating Interview (20:42–37:17)

• Corrections Officer Jacobson’s Laxity:
  • Claimed half-hourly cell checks, admits possible deviations.
  • Despite extensive blood and evidence, he insists:
    "I never saw the blood… I mean, I don’t really look at the floor when I’m looking in there." (26:12, Jacobson)
  • Investigator Bartlett’s frustration:
    "If I can see that from a video across the mod … I kind of find it hard to imagine that you wouldn’t be able to see the pool of blood." (25:30, Investigator Bartlett)
  • CO’s poor explanations, focus only on confirming an inmate is present, not on full observation.
  • Potential Cover-up or Gross Negligence:
    Officers didn’t see (or ignored) blood, writing, and Keyes’s deteriorating state even when there was a large, obvious blood pool.
  • Jacobson asserts impartiality in treating inmates:
    “My job is to protect everybody and whether no matter what they’ve done, right, wrong, indifferent, I look after everybody the same way.” (33:02, Jacobson)
• Evidence mishandling: Razors and pencils returned to Keyes after suicide watch removed, potentially facilitating suicide.

Timestamps:

• CO Jacobson’s cell check routine and defense — 21:29–26:27
• Bartlett outlines inconsistency, points to blood evidence — 26:27–36:29
• Description of Keyes’s cell, suicide scene, and messages — 37:28–42:23

3. Aftermath, Internet Privileges, & New Leads (44:55–49:33)

• Keyes’s Final Internet Use:
  On last night, Keyes accessed the prison law library with unmonitored Internet access—potentially tracked news of himself and left further digital traces.
• Cold Case Updates:
  New potential lead in Port Angeles, WA—private residence near “Little Oklahoma,” previously associated with a Keyes friend, flagged by cold-case detectives.
  • Quote (FBI Special Agent Ted Halla):
    “We’ve been invited to go out and take a look at the area in the future and just check it out for whatever may become significant from that.” (48:01)
• Reflections:
  Keyes’s last acts, focus on himself, and the chilling lack of closure only fuel continued investigation and intrigue.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker / Description | Quote / Moment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:28 | Josh Hallmark (Narrator) | “These are the final words that Israel Keyes would ever utter to the FBI.” | | 06:09 | Israel Keyes | “In all fairness, I never set up a specific day, but it actually would have worked because my attorney didn’t show up till that afternoon.”| | 11:35 | Keyes | “They're all related to stuff.…I just have to think about it.” | | 14:19 | Keyes | “I’m aware of the months clicking. I’m just having new appreciation for things being done at a different spot speed, that’s all.”| | 25:30 | Investigator Bartlett | “I kind of find it hard to imagine that you wouldn’t be able to see the pool of blood when you walked right by the cell.” | | 28:30 | Josh Hallmark | “Inches directly above where Keyes head was in his bed was 'Caracol' written in large block lettering in his blood.”| | 33:02 | Jacobson (CO) | “My job is to protect everybody and whether no matter what they’ve done…I look after everybody the same way.”| | 37:28 | Josh Hallmark | Detailed description of the scene: “Keyes was laying face down…sheets saturated with blood…”| | 48:01 | Ted Halla (FBI) | “We’ve been invited to go out and take a look at the area in the future…” |

Structural Timeline

• 03:28 – Josh Hallmark sets the stage: Keyes’ final days, mounting FBI pressure.
• 05:29–08:27 – FBI plans for Tupper Lake; technical setup and scheduling issues.
• 10:17–14:31 – Keyes discussion of caches, negotiations with agents; stalls for leverage.
• 16:14–17:38 – Keyes’s suicide and the immediate aftermath.
• 21:29–36:29 – Extended, tense interview between Investigator Bartlett and CO Jacobson exploring staff accountability and the procedural failings at the prison.
• 37:28–42:23 – Detailed description of the suicide scene and what was discovered in the cell.
• 44:55–49:33 – Keyes’s final Internet use, and new investigative leads.

Conclusion

The episode pulls listeners into the chilling and frustrating reality of Israel Keyes’s final manipulations, the technology-driven efforts by the FBI to uncover the remains of his victims, and the staggering breakdowns in correctional supervision that allowed Keyes’s suicide and final “statements” in blood. It underscores continued questions—about the true extent of Keyes’s crimes, the possibility of more undiscovered victims, and the lingering mysteries in his cryptic ominous writings.