U.S. Attorney’s Office Files Charges Against Keyes in Koenig Case

Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA - Anchorage

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage today announced three new charges against Israel Keyes for allegedly kidnapping and killing 18-year-old Samantha Koenig. Kevin Feldis, Chief of the criminal division at the Anchorage U.S. Attorney’s Office described the charges in a press conference this afternoon.

“The indictment alleges that Israel Keys abducted Samantha Koenig from the Common Grounds Coffee Stand on Tudor Road on February 1, 2012 and that he took her against his will to his white pick-up truck across the street and that he confined her and intentionally killed her the next morning,” Feldis said.

Investigators say tracked ATM withdrawals by Keyes, through several states before returning him to Alaska. Koenig’s body was found under the ice of Matanuska Lake in early April. The crime of kidnapping and killing Koenig carries a maximum penalty of life in prison or death. Keyes is set to be arraigned in federal court on the charges tomorrow.

Daysha Eaton is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.

Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.

Daysha's work has appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", PRI's "The World" and "National Native News". She's happy to take assignments, and to get news tips, which are best sent via email.

Daysha became a journalist because she believes in the power of storytelling. Stories connect us and they help us make sense of our world. They shed light on injustice and they comfort us in troubled times. She got into public broadcasting because it seems to fulfill the intention of the 4th Estate and to most effectively apply the freedom of the press granted to us through the Constitution. She feels that public radio has a special way of moving people emotionally through sound, taking them to remote places, introducing them to people they would not otherwise meet and compelling them to think about issues they might ordinarily overlook.

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