The Alaska State Troopers have provided this update on the autopsy of Israel Keyes:
“The Alaska State Troopers investigation into the 12/02/12 suicide of Israel Keyes while he was in federal custody at the Anchorage Jail Complex has determined that Keyes used a blade from a disposable shaving razor that had been imbedded into a pencil to cut himself on the left wrist. Additionally, Keyes had used a length of bedding material from his cell to strangle himself. A determination from the State Medical Examiner as to which of these injuries, either alone or in combination, primarily contributed to his death is not yet available. This event occurred while Keyes was locked alone in a cell, from 9:30 p.m. on 12/01/12, until he was discovered deceased at 5:57 a.m. on 12/02/12. There is no indication of any criminal involvement from other persons. Pages of crumpled, blood soaked paper that appeared to have writing on them were recovered from the cell. AST has provided this item to the FBI, at their request, for laboratory processing.”
An autopsy is being performed on the body of confessed killer Israel Keyes, who died in an apparent suicide in his cell at the Anchorage Correctional Complex Sunday. Keyes, who admitted murdering Anchorage Barista Samantha Koenig and a Vermont couple, was being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Authorities were still investigating his connection to other missing people in other states.
About 6:30 Sunday morning the Alaska State Troopers Alaska Bureau of Investigation got a call about Keyes’ death. Keyes was being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex while prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office built their case against him for the murder of Anchorage Barista Samantha Koenig.
“We had an investigator respond and investigate and it revealed that 34-year-old Israel Keyes who was inmate at the complex, he passed away due to an apparent suicide,” Beth Ipsen, a spokesperson for the Troopers, said. “The State Medical Examiner’s Office responded and took possession of the body.”
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.
