True Crime Bullsh**

S7 Prep: Celia Darlene Barnes - Part 2

Release Date: August 14, 2025
Host: Josh Hallmark (Studio BOTH/AND)

Main Theme

This episode is a deep dive into infamous serial killer Israel Keyes’s use of kill kits (“caches”) scattered across the United States, focusing on new examinations of their number, contents, and geographic spread. Josh Hallmark meticulously unpacks evidence, FBI interviews, and contradictions in Keyes’s own statements, tying these findings to potential undiscovered victims and unresolved disappearances, and laying groundwork for continued investigations into Celia Darlene Barnes and other missing persons possibly linked to Keyes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Purpose and Proliferation of Kill Kits

• Keyes’s Methods with Caches (02:02-03:31):

  • Keyes’s caches were both pre- and post-crime countermeasures, used for storing weapons, disguises, money, and evidence.
  • Only two caches have ever been located by the FBI: Blake Falls Reservoir and Eagle River (North Fork Cache).
  • Keyes admitted to less than 10 hidden caches at the time of his arrest but possibly had as many as 19 across 13 states.

• Quote:
  “The idea with caches is to have something everywhere, wherever. You might never know when you're gonna feel the need. I'm not tied to stay-at-home kind of guy, so. But there's a lot of them.” — Israel Keyes in interview (02:02)

• Keyes's gamesmanship: Frequently played with word definitions and accuracy to bewilder investigators and protect information about his true activities.

2. The Winooski and Blake Falls Reservoir Caches (03:31-11:24)

• Winooski Cache Timeline:

  • Created directly after the Tupper Lake, NY robbery and the probable murder of Debra Feldman in April 2009.
  • Used the same shovel for both burial and cache placement.
  • Stayed at the Handy Suites in Essex Junction with alterations in paperwork to obscure identity—a sign of Keyes’s evolving criminal care (03:31-07:41).

• Keyes’s Attention to Detail, Then Devolution:
  “It’s a great demonstration of just how much Keyes devolved between 2009 and 2011.” — Josh Hallmark (07:41)

• Blake Falls Reservoir Cache:

  • Only the guns and rape kit were found, no trophies or money. Raises questions about whether trophies and remaining robbery cash were relocated to a different, undiscovered cache.

• On FBI mistakes:
  “Yes, you heard that right. The FBI went to look for a buried kill kit and didn’t bring a shovel.” — Josh Hallmark (09:50)

3. What Happened to the Money and Trophies? (11:24-13:50)

• Keyes’s Account Post-Murder:

  • Describes reading about the Courier disappearance in a Vermont newspaper, feeling the heat, and heading to upstate NY, where he disposed of weapons in a reservoir (11:24).

• Discrepancies: When the cache was recovered, neither money nor “trophies” were present, despite Keyes’s admissions and expected cash amounts (close to $4,000).

4. Analyzing the Timeline, Lies, and Cache Locations (21:41-29:26)

• Improbable Timeline:
  — Analysis shows Keyes could not have spent additional claimed days in upstate NY as both he and Heidi told the FBI he spent several days in Maine post-murder and before flying out. — Suggests movement or re-location of caches and evidence.

• High-Likelihood Gaps:

  • October 22-24, 2010: Keyes “disappears” near the northeast, turns off technology, and spends $2,000 soon after. Implies a possible unreported bank robbery or retrieval of stashed money from a cache.

5. Unsolved Cases, Disappearances, and Canadian Connections

• Potential Victims Linked by Timeline:

  • Christopher Roof (NY, postmortem suggests early October 2010).
  • Abdulatif Salman (Ottawa, disappeared October 23, 2010)—his disappearance aligns directly with a Keyes gap.

• Salman Case:
  “...last seen just two hours through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation from Constable, New York.” — Josh Hallmark (28:42)

6. Cache Behavior Patterns and Misconceptions (31:30-39:48)

• Long-term vs. Short-term Caches:

  • “The difference between planned and spontaneous attacks.” — Josh Hallmark (34:51)
  • Keyes described “real” caches as long-term, while others were considered quick, one-off preparations.

• Revelations on Cache Count:

  • Keyes played down the number but investigators estimate up to 19 caches, often regions with past or suspected Keyes activity.

• Quote:
  “Notice how it’s the FBI and not Keyes who insinuate that ‘no’ means less than 12.” — Josh Hallmark (37:36)

7. Law Enforcement Coordination and Recovery Efforts

• Interplay between field teams and interrogation units.
• Praise for Keyes’s “incredible memory” for cache locations:
  “It was right where he said we’d find it. He had an incredible memory…of all the caches Keyes had hidden across the country.” — FBI Evidence Recovery Team Member (38:27-39:48)
• Observation that retrieved caches only ever contained evidence from cases Keyes was already convicted or suspected of, never implicating him in further unknown crimes.

8. Final Reflections: Caches…Still Out There?

• Two types of caches in key areas, many likely to still exist with potential physical evidence.
• Keyes’s elusive clues suggest “some of the stuff is going to be relevant,” hinting at a future where more caches (and thus more answers about missing persons) may surface. (42:43)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Keyes’s Manipulation:
  “So I think it’s probably part fact, part bullshit, and part of just the way that he played little psychological games with himself and with others too.” — Josh Hallmark (07:13)

• On Law Enforcement Gaps:
  “Yes, you heard that right. The FBI went to look for a buried kill kit and didn’t bring a shovel.” — Josh Hallmark (09:50)

• Keyes Rationalizing Gun Acquisition:
  “The guns that get buried right away and that I don’t dig up or move around or whatever, those aren’t, you know, some of those aren’t mine. That’s why they’re buried.” — Israel Keyes (41:36)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 02:02-03:31 — Keyes on his cache habits and logic
• 03:31-11:24 — Deep dive on Winooski and Blake Falls Reservoir caches; timeline
• 13:50-16:42 — Missing items from caches and their significance
• 21:41-29:26 — Analyzing the plausibility of Keyes’s own timeline and possible alternate cache locations
• 31:30-34:51 — Examination of short-term vs. long-term caches
• 38:27-39:48 — Law enforcement insights from recovery operations

Episode Flow & Tone

• Tone: Methodical, investigative, skeptical—reflecting Josh Hallmark’s persistent search for overlooked connections and unsolved mysteries. At times sardonic, especially when highlighting FBI missteps or Keyes’s attempts at obfuscation.
• Style: Rich with interview tape, narrative explanation, cross-referencing records, and deductive speculation.

Summary for the Uninitiated

This episode expertly unpacks how Israel Keyes perfected the use of kill kits, how and where he planted them, and the enduring mystery of undiscovered caches that likely hold the answers to multiple long-unsolved crimes. Through critical analysis of timelines, law enforcement records, and Keyes’s own manipulations, Hallmark suggests new directions for investigation, poses hard questions about unsolved disappearances in the northeast, and re-emphasizes the chilling elusiveness of both Keyes and his hidden crimes.

All of this keeps the listener engaged, whether or not they’ve ever tuned in to earlier TCBS seasons.