Further Reading For Israel Keyes
Devil in the Darkness: The True Story of Serial Killer Israel Keyes by JT Hunter
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Is there anything worse than a serial killer that started out as a serial killer fan? Can you honestly think of anything more pathetic? Think about Mark Twitchell. Dude was just the worst. BTK, too. And given what we know about BTK thanks to Last Podcast, it takes a real effort to be even more insufferable than Dennis Rader. And yet somehow, Israel Keyes managed to be even more pathetic. I make light of it, but it’s really too bad because this guy has a pretty significant body count associated with him.
Keyes had the grave misfortune of being born into a family of delusional religious maniacs who couldn’t help but up the ante and get involved with a Christian religious group that wasn’t just a cult, but also a Christian Identity white supremacist group. On top of it all, Keyes displayed all of the common of the serial killer symptoms.
Interestingly, though, Keyes went to great lengths to avoid detection. He made none of the usual killer mistakes and operated under the assumption that he was being watched through the movement of data at all times. As such, he paid for everything with cash and worked without a cell phone. This proved to make his capture extremely difficult. But he was captured, wasn’t he. So he must have fucked up somewhere, right? Keyes eventually demanded ransom for one victim and law enforcement was able to track him down through the movement of money. Once arrested. he was tried for a total of three murders but is suspected of as many as eleven and may have even more victims outside of the country. Keyes committed suicide in prison in 2012 while being held for trial. He left a suicide note that makes BTK’s poetry look positively sophisticated.
Episode: 362
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