"There's a Lot More to the Story": Israel Keyes on Samantha Koenig, March 30, 2012

Name: "There's a Lot More to the Story": Israel Keyes on Samantha Koenig, March 30, 2012
Uploaded: 2024-04-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 h 41 min 47 s
Description: About two weeks after his arrest in Texas, Israel Keyes guided investigators on Google Earth to a spot on Matanuska Lake and described abducting Samantha Koenig from an Anchorage coffee stand. How she died, he said, he would tell only the lead detective.

About two weeks after his arrest in Texas, Israel Keyes guided investigators on Google Earth to a spot on Matanuska Lake and described abducting Samantha Koenig from an Anchorage coffee stand. How she died, he said, he would tell only the lead detective.

Subject: Israel Keyes
Recorded: March 30, 2012
Runtime: 1:41:47

Content warning: Keyes describes the abduction of Samantha Koenig, 18, how he held her captive, and how he disposed of her remains in a lake. He declines to describe how he killed her. A photograph of her taken after her death is shown to him (it is not seen; the recording is audio only).

The Interview

On the afternoon of Friday, March 30, 2012, Israel Keyes sat down at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage for his second interview of the day. Officer Jeff Bell of the Anchorage Police Department opened the recording and named those present: an FBI agent, himself, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Feldis and Frank Russo. Keyes's lawyer, Rich Curtner, was available to him and is referred to as being in the room. Bell reminded Keyes of his rights, and Keyes said he understood them and was willing to talk. The recording runs 1 hour 41 minutes.

Historical Context

Keyes, a 34-year-old building contractor from Anchorage, abducted Samantha Koenig, 18, from the Common Grounds coffee stand on Tudor Road, where she worked, on the night of February 1, 2012. He was arrested in Lufkin, Texas, on March 13, 2012, after using her debit card, and was returned to Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News reports a written agreement dated March 30, 2012, signed by Keyes, Curtner and U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler, under which the government would not seek the death penalty if he pleaded guilty. In later interviews he confessed to the murders of Bill and Lorraine Currier in Essex, Vermont, in June 2011, and described other killings. The FBI believes he may have killed 11 people. He took his own life in the Anchorage Correctional Complex on the night of December 1 to 2, 2012, before he could be tried.

Circumstances of the Interview

The investigators begin by asking where Samantha Koenig's body is. Keyes chooses to "start with the end, and then we'll work backwards". Using Google Earth, he guides them from Palmer down the Glenn Highway to a parking lot and out onto Matanuska Lake, and an investigator reads out the coordinates of the spot. The detective leading the Koenig investigation, Monique Doll of the Anchorage Police (called "Mickey" and "Detective Doll" on the tape), is not in the room; Keyes remarks that it "doesn't matter that she's listening".

What the Interview Covers

Keyes describes how, over several days in late February, he used an ice-fishing spot on the lake, which he says is about 40 feet deep, to dispose of her remains. He then lists the items investigators should look for at his house and in his shed, asking that they not "turn the place upside down" again or question the woman he lived with, who he says "doesn't know anything about me".

Asked to "back up", he describes the night of February 1: staking out the coffee stand, the police scanner in his ear, the .22 handgun, the cable ties, and his decision, when he found she had no car there, to walk her to his truck. He describes her attempt to run, driving her around Anchorage, returning to the coffee stand for her phone and keys, sending text messages from her phone, and holding her in the shed at his house before he left the next morning on a cruise. "This is weird," he says at one point. "I've never talked about any of this stuff before." Shown a photograph he had taken of her, with a newspaper, he says she was not alive in it, and that she was not alive when he left for the cruise. He says he was "responsible" and that he killed her, but refuses to say how, saying he will tell "the rest of the details" only to Detective Doll. The investigators also ask about the ransom note left in a park, the typewriter he says he bought at a thrift store, and loads he took to the Anchorage landfill.

Keyes says he does not want his name in the next day's paper as the man responsible ("I've got to get used to the idea that everybody's going to know that I'm not who they thought I was"), and claims to have been "two different people" for 14 years. He says there is "a lot more to the story" and that he has "lots more stories to tell", but declines to say whether anyone else died, and the session ends as his lawyer appears to ask to talk with him.

What Makes the Recording Significant

This is Keyes's own account of the Koenig abduction, given about two weeks after his arrest in Texas and before her remains were found, and the session in which he gave investigators the location in Matanuska Lake. Her remains were recovered there by FBI divers on April 2, 2012, three days later. It also shows Keyes, at the start of his cooperation, setting out the terms he kept to for the rest of the year: control over what the press is told, protection for the people around him, a particular interviewer, and further disclosures held back as leverage.

Archival Importance

Keyes died without trial, so his recorded interviews are the main record of his own account. This session predates all of the interviews released to Alaska Dispatch in April 2013 (which began on April 2, 2012) and all five sessions the FBI published in August 2013. It falls between the Texas interview of March 13, 2012 and the April 2 session recorded during the lake search.

Important Caveats

Keyes's account of his own motives, of what he planned, of the times and dates, and of what the woman he lived with knew are his statements; he revises his dates during the interview when the investigators put their own timeline to him. His hints at other crimes are claims, and on this tape he declines to say whether there were other victims. The recording is audio only. The transcript was made from two machine readings (Whisper and YouTube's automatic captions) without a listener; most of the questioners cannot be told apart and are labelled "Investigator", and several passages are unclear and are marked. The spoken start and end times do not match the length of the recording.

Officer Jeff Bell: It's Officer Bell, APD, going on tape. It's [unclear: "1548" / "15:48"] by my watch. Second interview with Israel Keyes today. It's March 30th. U.S. Attorney's Office. [unclear: "Go on hold for a few minutes" / "On hold for a few minutes"].

Investigators: What is it? Excellent. Some water here. Thanks.

Officer Jeff Bell: Okay, Israel, just to remind you who is here: this is [unclear: "Agent Steve Payne" / "agents here today"] from the FBI, Jeff Bell from the Police Department, Kevin Feldis and Frank Russo from the U.S. Attorney's Office. And I know you've been advised of your rights several times, and [unclear: "you've been with your attorney" / "I'm going to turn you"]. But I'm just going to tell you that anything that you do say today can and will be used against you. If you want any further advice on your rights, just let me know, okay?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Officer Jeff Bell: Are you comfortable moving forward, or would you like to talk to Mr. Curtner any more?

Israel Keyes: No, I'm good.

Officer Jeff Bell: Okay. You understand your rights?

Israel Keyes: Yes.

Officer Jeff Bell: Okay. You're willing to waive those rights and talk to us?

Israel Keyes: Yes.

Officer Jeff Bell: All right. All right, Israel, thanks for coming back. And I thought that we'd just let you talk to us for a little bit, and then, if it's okay with you, we'll ask some questions, okay?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: All right. Where do you want to start?

Israel Keyes: Um, do you have pictures of the raid you did on my place?

Investigator: Uh, I do have some. Not a lot of them are [unclear: "pretty much" / "present"].

Israel Keyes: We might need some of that stuff.

Investigator: Okay, we'll get that stuff. Pictures of different stuff that you took, or pictures of...

Israel Keyes: Just like, uh, let's see. Mostly inside of the storage shed.

Investigator: Okay. Um, we'll get some pictures printed out of what was in the storage shed.

Israel Keyes: All right. Yeah, I don't know.

Investigator: Okay. Well, I mean, maybe just to start, I think everybody really wants to know, uh, where her body is. Is that an okay place to start, or would you like to start elsewhere?

Israel Keyes: Yeah, we can start.

Investigators: [unclear: "some maps there" / inaudible]. And we have Google Earth on the computer too. I mean, I don't know, maybe for some context you want to tell us about what happened with it.

Israel Keyes: Yeah. I don't know if I'm going to go into the whole story, like blow by blow.

Investigator: Okay.

Israel Keyes: Well, let's just... We'll just start with the end, and then we'll work backwards. So you pull up a map there of Palmer area.

Investigator: Can you bring that up? Palmer. There's Palmer. We've got also a closer [unclear: "wrap" / "up"] of Palmer.

Israel Keyes: Uh, you're going to need more detail than that.

Investigator: Okay. We're talking north?

Israel Keyes: No. Uh, south.

Investigator: Let's zoom this closer. So that's looking like downtown Palmer right there.

Israel Keyes: Yeah. You're going to go further down the Glenn Highway.

Investigator: South?

Israel Keyes: Uh, yeah, south. So that line is going to be the Glenn Highway.

Investigator: Okay. Zoom in. What is that, kind of gravel area there?

Israel Keyes: Uh, keep going, uh, south.

Investigator: South. What would that be, west?

Israel Keyes: Going south. There's the highway. Keep going.

Investigator: [unclear: "Okay, interchange" / "Glenn interchange?"] I need to zoom in. Should I erase the lines?

Israel Keyes: Go to the parking lot.

Investigator: Right here?

Israel Keyes: About... Can you zoom in a bit? Okay, now go out, or go about 500 yards out into the lake.

Investigator: From the parking lot?

Israel Keyes: Uh, further south.

Investigator: Further south?

Israel Keyes: Uh, a little bit further. Right there.

Investigator: Okay. So in [unclear: "Matanuska" / "Mat-Su"] Lake, how many yards off the shoreline, or feet off the shoreline?

Israel Keyes: Right there.

Investigator: It's a little hard for me to tell the scale. What would you say?

Israel Keyes: No, that's it right there. Right where the hand is, right there. If you right-click on that, and if it gives you latitude, longitude, you'll see. You go out there, you'll see.

Investigator: Okay, we've got something right on the bottom here. So what I'm... if I'm reading this right, right here?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: I'm reading 61...

Israel Keyes: Maybe just a little bit further south than that, but yeah, that's it right there.

Investigator: I'm reading 61 degrees, 33 seconds, if I'm saying that right, north, and 149 and 13 west. I'll read the whole number: 61, 33, 14.42 north, and 149, 13, 42.27 west.

Investigator: Can you read that last one?

Investigator: 149, 13, 48.27 west, in Matanuska Lake.

Investigator: Okay. So what are they going to find when they go out there?

Israel Keyes: Um, ice fishing spot. It's about 40 feet deep.

Investigator: Was it a hole that you cut, or was the hole there?

Israel Keyes: No, it was a hole I cut.

Investigator: Okay. What did you use to cut it?

Israel Keyes: Chainsaw.

Investigator: When did you go out there?

Israel Keyes: Twenty... twenty-something February. [unclear: "February 20th. Twenty-first" / "23rd"]. Twenty... Maybe the 20th, 21st and 22nd I was out there, somewhere in there. Um, I think it was three days in a row, yeah.

Investigator: Was anyone out there with you?

Israel Keyes: No. First day there was a guy out there fishing.

Investigator: How long did you stay out there?

Israel Keyes: First day?

Investigator: Yep.

Israel Keyes: Um, not long. Maybe an hour.

Investigator: And what did you do during that hour?

Israel Keyes: Um, cut a hole, and had the, the part pieces of my ice fishing shack, which, I mean, that's... I don't know if you... You guys probably have that stuff.

Investigator: Okay. That's the shack from your shed? I mean, the ice fishing shack that was in your shed?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: Okay. So you set that up?

Israel Keyes: You probably don't have all the pieces to it, but, um, there were some pieces that I had behind the shed, too.

Investigator: Okay. I'm going to... I don't know what they took out of your shed, Israel, so that's why I'm going to ask about it, because I haven't seen everything they took out of your shed just yet. So, um...

Israel Keyes: Did they take everything out of it?

Investigator: Um, I don't know that they took everything out of it. But why don't you tell me what they should be looking for in the shed?

Israel Keyes: Uh, there's a sled and a big tote. I think it's, I don't know, it's like a 30- or 40-gallon tote, in the sled. Had all my fishing equipment in it, and I don't know. I didn't clean it up real well. So, I mean, that's why I figured once you got the search warrant on my house, you're probably going to find something on it.

Investigator: I understand. I just, I need to hear it from you. You can understand that.

Israel Keyes: Um, yeah. So, first day I was out there, maybe. I had my sled, chainsaw with me. Had about 80, you know, yeah, probably about 80 pounds of lead weights. And, um, cleared off an area in the ice, probably about 8 by 8, 8 by 8 feet. Cut a hole. Had a piece of plywood and, you know, like the wooden parts of my shack, and all that stuff I left out there that day. Uh, the pieces of wood, they were specially made for that shack I designed. It's basically just a tarp, but it also had, uh, like some tent poles for part of it, and then the rest were some wood pieces that I fabricated. And, uh, the lead weights I buried under the snow out there. And there was a guy fishing right there on that point. And, uh, so I didn't do much out there that day. That was pretty much it. I just cut the hole, covered it with plywood and the other pieces of wood, and then buried it in snow to keep it from freezing over again.

Investigator: Did you have her with you that day?

Israel Keyes: No. [unclear: "And it may have been like a day" / "May have been like a day or"]... I think it was three days in a row, but I don't know, can't be sure. Anyway, that's where she is.

Investigator: Okay. You said... So that was the first day. You came back, you think, once or twice more?

Israel Keyes: Twice more.

Investigator: Twice more. What happened on the second time?

Israel Keyes: Um, that was a lot of stuff to move. I had my truck. You can't park down by the lake. There's a parking lot up by the highway, up by the Glenn Highway, and I had my... That's where I would park my truck, there. And I couldn't pull down more than about, I don't know, maybe 150 pounds at a time in the sled. So that's why I had to make three trips. And you're going to need five different bags.

Investigator: Okay. Can you tell us what you pulled down on each one of those trips?

Israel Keyes: Uh, first day was the head, legs, and the arms.

Investigator: Of Samantha Koenig?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: And the second day?

Israel Keyes: The torso.

Investigator: And what should they look for specifically?

Israel Keyes: Oh, they'll see it. She's not wrapped up or anything. Just, uh, baling wire. Baling wire, bundled it up. Had it all, uh, triple-bagged in the tote. And I don't know. I mean, it was... Yeah, you're going to find stuff on the ice. It was pretty neat, but there's, I think you'll still... There will still be some blood on the ice. And, um, yeah, like I say, the weights. The weights are big fishing weights, uh, not fishing... net, for, like, net fishing. And they're lead, it's, uh, on a cable, and the cable, I cut them into sections. There should be, uh, ranging from two to three, two to five weights, depending on the size of each package that I dumped through the hole.

Investigator: Okay, so we're looking for plastic bags with a netting around them, or...

Israel Keyes: No.

Investigator: No bags?

Israel Keyes: Nothing. They were in bags when I took it out.

Investigator: Okay. And then you tied weights...

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "Nobody had wire" / "Had wire"]. They were already wired up. Um, they were all ready to go. So I went out the second day, set up the ice fishing shack, and, um, put the bags... They were... Yeah, I just had it all in one bag each time. And I had the bag in the ice fishing shack, because there was people, I mean, there was people up on the sides and stuff, so. So I, uh, you know, cut the bags open, and it probably only took me five or 10 minutes to drop everything through that first day. Rolled all the bags up, and then double-bagged them again to keep it from getting on the inside of the tote. And then I fished. Fished out there for, I don't know, four or five hours that day. Got a couple fish. And, uh, yeah, and then went home. And then the next day, uh, went out again, with the torso, and that only took me, I don't know, two or three minutes to get rid of that. Fished again three, five hours, something like that. Took it all down, filled the hole back up with ice, uh, threw some snow around to, you know... Like I say, you'll see it. You'll see where the hole was, probably. I don't imagine... There's not very much snow up there, so.

Investigator: Okay. Are they going to find anything else out there? You said there might be some stuff on the ice.

Israel Keyes: Oh, you'll find her DNA.

Investigator: Okay.

Israel Keyes: You'll probably... You'll find [unclear: "her DNA on her" / "her, my DNA on her"]. [unclear: "She hasn't been there very long" / "She's been there a long time, so"].

Investigator: Okay. Can you back up a little bit and tell us how you got to that point?

Israel Keyes: Well, yeah, not, uh... well, uh, yeah, I can. Um, basically, there were a lot of different things I was thinking of doing. That was the one I came up with. And because I was thinking about it for a while, that's pretty much why I decided to start talking to you, because if you have that computer, you probably would have figured it out. There's, um, a map. There were probably 100 lakes I looked at. I was looking for a deep one, one that I could get to, that was fairly close to Anchorage. And, yeah, so I went out. Yeah, I don't know. I was going to do the Knik River, but figured that would probably be found there pretty quick, with fishing season coming up, so. So, yeah, I mean, if it wasn't for [unclear: "an unlucky break" / "unlucky break"] in Texas, then, um, you know, there's no access. There's no boat motors allowed on that lake. So if she'd sat there for a year or two, then there wouldn't have been anything to tie me to it, even if she was found after that, so.

Investigator: Did you think about that in advance, about the no boat access?

Israel Keyes: Oh, yeah.

Investigator: What other things were you thinking about when you chose that location?

Israel Keyes: Um, well, I wanted to go ice fishing, so. Um, yeah. There's... It's... There's not very many people who fish out there. I looked at some of the other lakes, but, um, you know, there's more people out there and stuff, so. But, um... Yeah. So that, um, that's why I was trying to emphasize the whole turning the house upside down. I mean, if there's stuff you want, if you want a list of things that I used to, you know, dismember the body, I can give you that. But, you know, there's no need to go turning the house upside down, or asking her any questions, you know.

Investigator: Does she know?

Israel Keyes: About what?

Investigator: About any of this?

Israel Keyes: No. She doesn't know. She doesn't know anything about me.

Investigator: That's okay. I just needed to ask. Um, I think that that probably makes sense, if you want to write down the things that they should look for. Or you can just say it, or write it down.

Investigator: Or you can say it.

Israel Keyes: Yeah. All right, I'll just, I'll just tell you what I can. Um, yeah, the main thing you're going to find: the sled. I can't remember if I burned the plywood. There was a piece of plywood that probably had quite a bit of blood and DNA on it, piece of plywood that I used to cover the hole. If that piece of plywood is still around, it's going to be in the bottom of the sled, underneath the tote. If it's not there, then I burned it. I burned almost everything. But I was thinking about it, I don't know if I burned that piece of plywood. On the tote itself, on the... As it was sitting in the sled, standing in front of the sled, on the right-hand edge, or left-hand, uh, lip of the tote, there was some blood that got on that. I remember I cleaned it off, but there's probably, there's probably still stuff there. The rest of the weights: this is where a picture, or actually, if you pull up the house on there, I can show you where the weights are, what's left of them.

Investigator: [unclear: "Yes. I know." / "I guess. I know."] You want to give me the numbers?

Investigators: [unclear: "Okay. Is that right? Yep. Should we saw?" (Whisper) / not in the captions]. [inaudible] Chainsaw?

Israel Keyes: Chainsaw was in the toolboxes in the truck. There's probably not going to be anything on it.

Investigator: On the chainsaw?

Israel Keyes: Right. I mean, I cut the hole the day before, so... And then after that the chainsaw was in the truck, so.

Investigator: What did you use to dismember her?

Israel Keyes: Oh, um, if you open the door to the, to the shed, on the left-hand side there's a bank of shelves. Um, second, first or second shelf up from the floor, there was a battery-powered Sawzall. And I think on that same shelf there was a blue wrecking bar. The blade that was on the saw is gone. It's, uh, I think I burned it, and the ashes are in the landfill, so you'll probably never find that. There's probably still stuff on the Sawzall.

Investigator: This is, uh... Up here on Google, we've got the residence. I don't know if that's going to give you a good enough view. Can you see that?

Israel Keyes: Wow, that's really... That's a recent picture, huh?

Investigator: Huh. Um, yeah, okay. So where's your cursor?

Israel Keyes: All right, go to the back of the house. Uh, that's the front. All right, now move a little bit closer to the garage, right along the fence. Right, a little bit more. Uh, a little bit... Right there. Right there, right by the corner of the garage, right against the fence, the neighbor's fence, buried under the snow, and probably still frozen into the ground. I couldn't get them all out. There's probably still two or three of those weights there.

Investigator: Okay. That's the back right corner of the house, which is the back right of the garage.

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: And where'd you get those weights?

Israel Keyes: Uh, they were laying around a client's place, and he had me haul them off. There was a bunch of them. I think it was probably about 150 pounds' worth.

Investigator: When had you hauled off those weights? Some time earlier, previously, or...

Israel Keyes: Uh, they were from over a year ago, I think, that I was on a job and I found those, and he had me haul them off. I just threw them back there.

Investigator: Okay. So you're, you're telling us the things that they're going to need to look for. Anything else?

Israel Keyes: Yeah, no, that's what I'm saying. I'll tell you, I'll tell you where everything is around that house. Um, my shed... Can you see? My shed used to be... Well, the shed is in front of the garage now.

Investigator: Right here?

Israel Keyes: Uh, back a little bit. Yeah, but yeah, right there. Okay, so right behind the shed, um, leaning up against the fence, are the two pieces of gray conduit with the big loop bent in them. That's what I used, uh, as handles on the sled. And they've got a couple pieces of wire that I used to wire onto the sled. And right next to them should be the pieces of wood that made up the rest of the fishing shelter thing. And everything else: in the back of the truck there was, uh, there was an ice spud. There was one, uh, that was wood. You probably won't find anything on that. I just, I just took it down in case the hole had frozen over. The main one I used was the steel, there's a steel bar about six feet long. That's the one I used to punch the hole through the ice, but you probably won't find anything on that either, so. Somewhere in that shed, either on the main shelf... I want to say probably next to the drill press, there is a yellow-handled utility knife. Uh, it says DeWalt on it, and it takes one of those big, long, 25-millimeter disposable blades. You're going to find stuff on that knife. That's mainly what I used. I only used the Sawzall for a couple cuts; the rest was just with the knife.

Investigator: Where's the knife found in there?

Israel Keyes: It's, it was, I believe it was in the shed. If it's not in the shed, it's going to be in the office downstairs. I'm sure you already took all my other knives that were on that ledge. I've got several knives, and I may have set it on that ledge. And there's also a... You're probably not going to find anything on it. There's a small dagger that was on that ledge, a dagger with a blade about two to three inches long, with serrations on either side. I used that, but you probably won't find... I didn't use that to take her apart. I just, I used that for something else, so. And the Sawzall bar, I can't remember. You're going to find other... I mean, if you're looking for it, you're probably going to find other stuff in the shed, like residual DNA and stuff on it. Like, there's two heaters in there, probably on the heater switches. I wore gloves for everything and, um, wiped everything down. On the floor of the shed, if you guys didn't find it already, there was some blood that got on the floor of the shed, and a little bit that got on one of the inside walls. But, um...

Investigator: We're showing you some pictures that they, I think they must have printed out.

Israel Keyes: No, none of that stuff.

Investigator: Okay. But these, these are taken in the same shed, correct?

Israel Keyes: No.

Investigator: No? This is not the same location?

Israel Keyes: No, that's the one in the backyard.

Investigator: Okay. Sounds like they got the wrong...

Israel Keyes: Did I just tell you guys all this for nothing?

Investigator: No. The photos of the wrong shed.

Israel Keyes: I'm just kidding. I, you know, I know you guys already have all this stuff, so, or would have. The bottom line is, the computer: that was the only lake I printed out. And I did tell people that I was fishing up there. And so, you know, process of elimination, I'm sure if enough time went by, you guys probably would have found her.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "Not enough time has gone by" / "A lot of time's gone by"], so.

Investigator: They are, they are going to need to collect everything. Um, so we need to, we need to hear about everything, because they're going to...

Israel Keyes: Like you said, they're going to... No, everything's in that, the white shed. You don't need anything out of that back shed. Um, no, you don't need anything out of that back shed. The back shed is where I store the fishing equipment, but all of the fishing equipment that I used that day is going to be in that tote.

Investigator: You've just described to me the putting her body in pieces in the lake around February 22nd, 23rd?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: Are you pretty sure on those dates? In relationship to when you left for, uh, Texas, maybe the second time, or when you got back?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: Because you got back from Texas on the evening of the 17th, or...

Israel Keyes: Morning of the 18th.

Investigator: Morning of the 18th.

Israel Keyes: Yep. [unclear: "It's like a red-eye flight" (captions only)]. Yep.

Investigator: And then, uh... So just three or four days after you got back?

Israel Keyes: Uh, it was probably... Yeah. [unclear: "I don't know the plane" (captions only)]. What day did, um... What day did [name inaudible] come in? Do you guys know?

Investigator: The day he was staying with us? [unclear: "24th. 29th." (captions only)]

Israel Keyes: Really? No, no, it was more like the 27th, 28th.

Investigator: How, how many days was...

Israel Keyes: Just two or three.

Investigator: Okay. Because I think he left on the 28th.

Investigator: Yeah.

Israel Keyes: Did he?

Investigator: Yeah.

Israel Keyes: Oh, maybe I'm off on my dates. It might have been later than that. Because when he was there, I was in the garage when I was fixing the chainsaw. My chainsaw wasn't running right, so I went to, um, the Stihl shop off of, uh, New Seward Highway and bought a fuel line for it and a recoil cord. And he was there in the garage when I was working on the chainsaw. So I know I didn't go to the lake before that. That was my [unclear: "alibi" / "whole rig"] for fixing the...

Investigator: Yeah, and you didn't come back until the 22nd or so from [unclear: "that place" / inaudible].

Israel Keyes: Right. Yeah.

Investigator: So if that helps you with the time frame, maybe.

Israel Keyes: Oh, yeah. Yeah, she was there.

Investigator: She was where?

Israel Keyes: She was there when I went up... She was in town. Yeah, she was at home. Yeah, she was, she was... Well, she was at work, but yeah, she was...

Investigator: You, you disposed of the body after he left, is that correct?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. He may have still been there for, like, the first day, or... But it seems like, I don't know, there was a lot going on those days. I know for sure, if you find... Um, yeah, I probably paid cash for it, for that. Yeah, I did. I paid cash for that stuff at the saw shop. Um, he was there in the garage. I was fixing the saw. I, I took him to the airport, so I really should know. I took him... Yeah, I guess it was at the end of the month.

Investigator: [unclear: "No, about that" / "No, that"]... When did you [unclear: "find the note" / "find them out"]? The note at Connor Park.

Investigator: Well, let's, let's talk about that. Did you... We got a... There was a text sent, right? And did you send that text?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: Like I say, [unclear: "you got your monster"; text as read]. "I'm the only one who knows about it." Do you remember even generally what the text said?

Israel Keyes: Uh, yeah. "Connor Park, under the pic of [unclear: "Alfred" / "Albert"]", which I think was a lost dog. "Ain't she pretty."

Investigator: Where'd you get the idea for that?

Israel Keyes: Well, it's... I don't know.

Investigator: Okay. Thought she was pretty. Well, they're going to need to know where she was from the time that you took her on the 1st until the end of February. And I know you don't want to disrupt a lot of people, but it's going to be important for these guys to know.

Israel Keyes: What? Why does it matter where she was? I mean, she was in the shed. I mean, she wasn't anywhere else. There was, there were no other addresses or vehicles involved.

Investigator: When did you first meet Samantha Koenig?

Israel Keyes: Never met her. Never even seen her before.

Investigator: So why did you go to the, uh, Common Grounds coffee shop on that night, at that time?

Israel Keyes: Because they were open late.

Investigator: Did you know that they were open late?

Israel Keyes: Yep. Staked it out. Um, maybe two or three days before. Walked by, but didn't, um, didn't go close. Just walked by, see how many people were there and stuff.

Investigator: Mm-hm. Was she there that night?

Israel Keyes: No, I didn't see who was there. I was about 100 yards away. I was walking down Tudor. I never left Tudor. I parked, uh, parked my truck over by the Dairy Queen side of Home Depot, and, uh, walked by.

Investigator: What was your plan when you went there on February 1st?

Israel Keyes: My plan was exactly what I did. But I, I mean, I was playing it by ear, but things just... That's just the way... I mean, things... That's just the way they went. Kind of lost self-control, I guess you could say.

Investigator: Why do you say that?

Israel Keyes: Because, um, there were some things I wasn't counting on, when, uh, once I started talking to her. Uh, like the fact that, uh, she didn't have a car there. And, um...

Investigator: Why did that make a difference?

Israel Keyes: Because I did not want her in my truck. But I was feeling a little invincible, I guess you could say.

Investigator: Why, why were you feeling invincible at that time?

Israel Keyes: Because she was scared.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: And she did everything I said. [unclear: "I had done" / "I don't had down"]... Like, uh, adrenaline rush, I guess. Just decided to do it. See what happened. And, well, you guys have the video, so you know what happened.

Investigator: Yeah, but I, I kind of wanted to get, from your perspective: when you went in there, to the Common Grounds coffee stand, did you intend to take her?

Israel Keyes: No, I was open at that point. Because I didn't know who was going to be, you know, there. So, no.

Investigator: Open to what?

Israel Keyes: To whatever. I mean, I was pretty determined that I was at least going to rob the place. I had my police scanner on, and I had it in my ear, and there was something else going on on the other side of town, so I knew there weren't going to be any cops in that area. There wasn't a lot of traffic. It was starting to snow.

Investigator: Can you pull up the map of, uh, Common Grounds?

Investigator: Do you know the number on Tudor?

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "60, 630, I think, east" / "60, uh, 6, 6:30, I think, East"].

Investigator: Did you have a gun?

Israel Keyes: Yep. .22 Taurus. I think I had two shot-shell cartridges in it, and the rest was loaded with shorts.

Investigator: Okay. [unclear: "I'm trying to go to the maps" / "And from here, the Google Maps"].

Israel Keyes: Yeah, you might want to zoom in a little. All right, so go a little bit, uh, this way. All right, so I crossed... I mean, I crossed over the same way I left. I walked, um, out of the IHOP parking lot, crossed Denali, walked down the sidewalk to the light on Tudor and Denali, crossed Tudor there, and started walking up the east. And just went up to the window. She was getting ready to close up; it looked like she was cleaning up. And, uh, ordered a coffee. [unclear: "Arigato" / "Organo"]. And right at the corner there, on my left, of that driveway that goes in, there was a car parked right there.

Investigator: In here?

Israel Keyes: Yep. And at the back of that car, laying on the ground, was a pretty nice, uh, um, Canon camera. You probably found it in my trailer. And I took that as a good omen, I guess. Like I say, I was feeling kind of invincible. I'm like, "Wow, that's a nice camera." And I just left it there. But then after, you know, when I was walking her back, I picked it up and took it with me. Yeah, right... Picked up the camera right at that corner, walked right straight out to Tudor, started walking back west. She tried running, right, 50 yards after we walked out of that turnout. Right there. Right in there.

Investigator: So you, you went out of the driveway and turned left, and she...

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: What'd you do?

Israel Keyes: Tackled her. And, um, yeah, she tried... She was, she, she... In the coffee shop, I didn't have... I wasn't planning on walking her anywhere. I was planning on the fact that she would have a car there. There were people everywhere. There was, uh, there was someone sitting right across the road there. From the Alaska Club, there's a car dealership; there's a driveway that comes out onto the road there. There was someone sitting right there watching me order the coffee, and they sat there for a long time, even after I pulled the gun. They didn't see the gun, obviously. I guess they thought I was just talking to her, but I could tell they were suspicious. They were just sitting there watching. And, um, so I just waited. I just kept talking to her, and told her to turn off the lights and turn off the open signs and stuff. And, um, eventually they pulled out and drove off. And then I waited... No, I didn't wait. I, I think as soon as they pulled out, I already had, uh, had her get on her knees and back up to the window, and put cable ties on her hands.

Investigator: Were those the cable ties you bought at Home Depot earlier?

Israel Keyes: I've got cable ties. I have them everywhere. I had a bunch of them.

Investigator: Did you know about the surveillance cameras in that coffee shop?

Israel Keyes: Well, I could see them, yeah. I wasn't worried about them, because I had on that black jacket. And I had... I mean, it was, like I say, it was pretty cold and it was snowing out. Um, I didn't have any glasses on, but I had... I think I cut off the arm of a long-sleeve T-shirt. I think that's what I used for the mask on that one. Had that pulled up almost to my eyes, even when I walked up to the coffee shop. I don't think she ever saw my face.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: Yeah, and she was saying, "Well, there's, there's surveillance. You know, you don't want to rob this place, because we don't have that much money, and there's alarms and all this stuff." And so I was, I mean, almost right there, I just almost took the money and just left her tied up. But, I don't know, like I said, I was feeling kind of invincible. So, uh, after she had her arms tied up, I had her move forward a little bit, and then, uh, waited till there weren't that many cars or people that I could see around, and then I jumped through the window. Shut the windows, locked them, barred them. And, uh, took some napkins off one of the counters and put them in her mouth, and told her we were going for a little walk. And she got talking about... Well, at first she said, she said, um, "My dad's coming to pick me up in 30." At first she said 30 minutes, and then she said, "No, he's going to be here any minute." And then she started talking about the alarms, and how the door couldn't be opened without the alarm going off, and all this other stuff. Like I said, not much she was saying was making any sense. So at that point I pretty much just didn't really believe her, and, uh, just decided to take her with me.

Investigator: What were you thinking at that time?

Israel Keyes: What, about taking her with me?

Investigator: Yeah.

Israel Keyes: I liked her.

Investigator: You were scheduled to go on a cruise the next day.

Israel Keyes: In a few hours, yeah. That was kind of part of the idea. I knew that there were cameras everywhere.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: And, like I say, if I hadn't been picked up in Texas with all that stuff on me, I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't be talking, ever, about this. Because even though you had video of my truck, you never called me. My number was right on the side of my truck. So if I was a suspect before Texas, you would have called me. So that was kind of part of the whole plan.

Investigator: Getting out of town?

Israel Keyes: No, I knew... I had those tickets for months.

Investigator: So you chose that day because you had the tickets and you were getting out of town the next day.

Israel Keyes: I was thinking about... Well, I don't want to go into what I was thinking about before that, because I didn't do anything. But I was thinking about other things. But, yeah.

Investigator: You didn't have your, uh, your rack on the truck?

Israel Keyes: No.

Investigator: Why not?

Israel Keyes: Because I was thinking about doing other things, a few days before that.

Investigator: Well, did you take them off because you didn't want people to recognize your truck?

Israel Keyes: Oh, yeah. The number's right on the side of the truck, so.

Investigator: So, uh, how'd you get the rack off?

Israel Keyes: Took it off. Took the bolts off. Takes me about, I don't know, 30 minutes to take it off, take it all apart. I was having problems with it, and it needed to be... needed new bolts and stuff anyway, so. So I took it off. But, I don't know, maybe, it couldn't have been more than a week before that.

Investigator: So you were leaving the next morning, so you knew that you were going to be away, and that would kind of provide you what, some cover?

Israel Keyes: Well, at this point, at the time... No, I had it in my mind, before I robbed that place, I had it in my mind that I was going to take whoever was there.

Investigator: So when you went there, you were going to take the person?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. More than likely. If circumstances allowed. If there had been more people around, or if there had been... I mean, you couldn't even really see the place from Tudor. And, like I say, I had walked by it a couple days before, and I could tell that whoever was working there was a younger girl. I mean, I only saw her from a distance. I don't know. It didn't look like her; looked like somebody else, but it could have been her. I don't know. So I had it, you know, that was my thought process: that whoever was there probably had a car, and that we were going to be leaving in their car.

Investigator: And going where?

Israel Keyes: Anywhere.

Investigator: What were you... And since you were going on a cruise the next day, what were you planning on doing with that person?

Israel Keyes: Well, I wasn't going to bring them with me.

Investigator: So what did you do with Samantha?

Israel Keyes: Put her in my truck.

Investigator: And took her where?

Israel Keyes: Oh, we went all over the place. She was, she was good.

Investigator: What do you mean?

Israel Keyes: Very cooperative. Well, after that first time she tried to run, I think I got the message to her, after that.

Investigator: I saw in the video, when you were, before you got in your truck over there in the parking lot, you were still both standing on one side of the car for quite some time. What was that?

Israel Keyes: Oh, you have that on video?

Investigator: Yep.

Israel Keyes: When I put her in the truck? Yeah, there were people standing right in front of my truck, getting into a Suburban or something, like, standing right there. And that was... I don't know. The whole thing kind of escalated, because, like I say, I had, I had my scanner, and I knew if anybody called, I could scrap the whole plan, and nobody would know anything really, except that somebody had tried to do something.

Investigator: So you were waiting for those people to leave?

Israel Keyes: No. At IHOP, I was just... kept doing my thing.

Investigator: At IHOP, in the truck? Okay. It looked like you were standing there for quite a longer time than it would normally take. Were you waiting for people to pass by, so they didn't see you?

Israel Keyes: At IHOP?

Investigator: At IHOP, or...

Israel Keyes: Yeah, at IHOP. Um, I think there was stuff in the front of the truck. There was a bunch of stuff in the passenger seat. And I think I had to... I think I kind of had her pinned against the door. And, like I say, there were people... I mean, I had... After, after she tried to run, I had, I had the .22, and I was... I think she knew right then that I was serious, because I told her, I said, "I don't, I don't want to hurt you, but this .22 is loaded with very quiet ammo, but it will kill you. So don't make me do it." And so we were, you know... After that she, she didn't try anything else, really. She just kind of nodded. And I said, "Look, we're just going to... You're going to stand back up, and you pretend like, you know, we're best buddies, and I'm going to have my arm around you." And I had the .22 in my right hand. I had gloves on, but I had my hand around it, like, the cylinder and everything. And I think I had the barrel against her ribs, but I had my hand around it, because we had to cross Tudor, and I knew, you know, I couldn't just hold it normally, because I figured someone would notice that it was a gun. So I think after that she was... Yeah, after that she was very cooperative. [unclear: "And don't go in here with strangers" / "don't go near any strangers"].

Investigator: So we saw in the video you getting her into the car, into your truck, and then you walked around and you got into your truck, and you paused for a few seconds before you drove off.

Israel Keyes: Yeah, I was just telling her how it was going to work.

Investigator: Which was... What did you tell her?

Israel Keyes: I just told her... Well, I, I asked her a lot of questions. I asked her about, um, whether or not she had a debit card. Asked her about her cell phone. She told me her cell phone was broken. Told her we were going to go for a drive. She still had her hands behind her when I put her in the truck. I helped her into the truck, and I put the seat belt around her, and I told her we were going to drive somewhere and talk about what was going to happen. And she kept saying, "Well, my family doesn't have any money," or something like that. And I said, "Well, the way this works is, they'll get the money. So you don't need to worry about that. I'm going to take care of all of that, but you have to do what I say." And so after that, it seemed like once I started... The more I talked to her, the more she... I mean, I wasn't being mean or anything. I didn't, I wasn't scaring her at that point. I was, you know, trying to seem like a normal person. And she... I told her we were going to drive, and she was going to sit next to me, and she was going to look at me the whole time, like we were talking, and she wasn't to look out of the windows or make any kind of signal or anything to anyone while we were driving. And so we pulled out onto Denali, and we drove...

Investigator: [unclear: "What would that be?" (captions only)]

Israel Keyes: We drove towards Northern Lights on Denali. Still had my scanner on, so I knew everything that was going on. And pulled up to the light at Denali and Northern Lights, and there were two cop cars that pulled up right alongside of us. And I was just... I know she saw them, but I had the gun, like, the whole time, and she didn't, she didn't do anything. And then, uh, turned left on Northern Lights, and drove, drove down to... Had my cell phone off. Had the, had my cell phone off; had the battery out of it the whole time. And drove down... I don't know the name of the park. It's the park, it's actually not that far from my house. [unclear: "Lyn Ary" (heard as "the linary" / "Linaire")]?

Investigator: Yeah. That's farther west than Northern Lights. [unclear: "Lyn Ary" / "Linaire"]. Somebody tell you that?

Israel Keyes: Did somebody tell me that?

Investigator: Yeah.

Israel Keyes: No, I, I was just wondering if anybody saw us down there, because I was down there for a while. The lower parking lot in [unclear: "Lyn Ary" / "the area"].

Investigator: Down by the baseball fields?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: How long were you there?

Israel Keyes: Maybe 15, 20 minutes.

Investigator: What happened there?

Israel Keyes: Well, that's when I kind of realized that I had a lot to do and not very much time to do it, because I talked to her for a while and found out that her cell phone was not in her purse, and her debit card was not in her purse. And I had to figure out somewhere else to put her, because she was still sitting in the front seat. And there were people down there; there was at least one other car down there. There were some people who came back from skiing and stuff. And I had a bunch of tools in the back of my truck, behind the seats there, and I had the jump seat folded up. So I had to take all the tools out of the back of my truck and, uh, put them in a tarp. I kind of wrapped them up in a tarp in the back, in the bed of the truck, to make room. And you probably won't find much in my truck, because I had, um, drop cloths. I covered the seat with drop cloths, like painter's cloths. And you're not going to find much on those either, because they're all washed now. They were in the garage, set up on...

Investigator: What were they sitting on?

Israel Keyes: Somewhere in the garage. Anyway, they're all in one big pile, because they just came out of the wash. There's, like, two big ones and a bunch of small ones. And she was cold, so I kind of, like... I folded down the jump seat and made a bed for her on the jump seat, and put a bunch of cable ties through the seat belts to hold her down on that. And then I was trying to figure out where I was going to [unclear: "get her" / "put her"], because I didn't want to go back to the, to the coffee shop. But I realized, she told me that her phone... Her phone wasn't in her purse, and her keys weren't in her purse. And I knew, she told me where her truck was, but I didn't want to break into the truck. And I needed a phone...

Investigator: Why did you need a phone?

Israel Keyes: That couldn't be traced back to me. So I thought about... I think we drove to, across the parking lot from Walmart. I was going to go into Walmart and get, um, a prepaid phone. And then I started thinking about it, and I figured it was better just to go back to the coffee shop and get her phone and her keys, because there still hadn't been anything on the scanner about it. And I was asking her about the alarms, because at first she said, as soon as the door opened and closed, the alarm would be armed. But I knew that we hadn't locked the door when we left, so I figured I needed to go back and lock the door anyway, to give a head start. Yeah, so I drove back, drove there... Yeah, left [unclear: "Lyn Ary" / "Flint area" / "Lennary"], went to Walmart, across from Walmart, in that bank parking lot. And then we left. Changed my mind, decided I didn't want to go into Walmart and be on the cameras there too. And so I drove back on Tudor. Went down C Street, um, went down Tudor, pulled off on the driveway for the Alaska Club, drove around the Alaska Club, around the back, parked in front of the car hauling place. Yeah, she was... I was, uh, I was sure she was going to get away at that point, even though I had her tied up pretty good. So I told her, I'm like, "I've got, I've still got my scanner on, so I'm going to leave this parked here. I'm going to leave you here, but I'm only going to be gone a couple minutes, and don't try anything. If I come back and it looks like you've been trying anything, you know, it's not going to be, not going to be happy." She was all covered up with, uh, drop cloths. Went back to the... Walked around the side of the Alaska Club there, walked right into the coffee place. Grabbed the keys. I think it was the keys that I grabbed. There was something else there, [unclear: "behind the side of the cell phone" / "that might save the cell phone"]. I think it was her keys. Grabbed the cell phone, and grabbed the keys. There were a couple ends I cut off the cable ties; they were laying on the floor by the window. Grabbed those. Uh, may have tried to, like, put some things... It seems like there was some stuff laying on the floor. Seems like I tried to make it look a little more normal in there. And then I went out and locked the door behind me, and I got back in the truck.

Investigator: So that was at 10:54?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: All right. About 10:54, according, according to the video at the Alaska Club. And you had gotten gas some time in there, too.

Israel Keyes: Oh, did I?

Investigator: Mm-hm. At the Tesoro.

Israel Keyes: You have video of that?

Investigator: I told you earlier, Israel, we weren't bluffing you with what we've got.

Israel Keyes: I was just curious. I had on a different jacket and everything. It wasn't me.

Investigator: But did you... You went back to the coffee shop a third time?

Israel Keyes: No, I didn't.

Investigator: I mean, you got, you got the phone one time, and then just a little bit later, is that when you went and got the cable ties? Or was that the same time?

Israel Keyes: I thought I did it all in one shot. I may have... I remember the cable tie things were kind of an afterthought. I may have grabbed the phone, walked out, and then gone right back in and got the cable ties. I don't remember driving back there twice.

Investigator: Well, you didn't drive. That's, that's what you did. It looks like you got the phone, and then...

Israel Keyes: Yeah. No, it occurred to me that if there were some cut cable ties laying on the floor, then people might catch on a little bit faster.

Investigator: Mm-hm. So you left there about 11:00, from Common Grounds.

Israel Keyes: Yeah, I didn't realize it was that late. If it was that late, and if I got gas before that, then there was another stop in there. Uh, we went out to Earthquake Park. She had to, she had to pee. So I took her out to Earthquake Park and, uh, let her out. And, uh, by that time, you know, we were smoking cigars and stuff, and I mean...

Investigator: Who was smoking cigars?

Israel Keyes: Both of us. I mean, we were sharing.

Investigator: Where was that?

Israel Keyes: Well, it was from about the time of [unclear: "Lyn Ary" / "Lenerion" / "Lennary"] on. I mean, I, I... She kept trying to talk to me, you know, so I had to tell her to shut up a few times. But for the... I mean, I was still being nice about it. She asked for a cigar, or a drag of a cigar, or she had to go to the bathroom or whatever. Seems like she had to go two or three times. I think I went through about 25 cable ties, because every time I had to let her out, I had to cut them all, and then tie her back down on the back seat afterwards. So after Earthquake Park... We were out there for a few minutes. There were other people out there, but we just walked back into the woods for a few minutes. I waited, waited till there weren't as many people around, and put her back in the truck. Then realized my truck, the empty light had been on for, I don't know... I, I spaced it out earlier. And I was like, "Well, that would be great. Run out of gas in the middle of nowhere with all this going on." So, yeah, just pulled right into the Tesoro. I already had changed... I kept changing jackets. I had the dark jacket, and I had my other jacket. So any time I was... I was trying to keep it separate, because I figured, just in case it ever came up. But, um, yeah, I think... I don't remember how much gas. I didn't put much gas in my [unclear: "trip" / "truck"].

Investigator: What'd you do after the Common Grounds? Where'd you go? The second time, when you picked up the cell phone?

Israel Keyes: Um... The first thing I did was I pulled... This is weird. I've never talked about any of this stuff before.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "My head" / "I'm in my head"]...

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: It feels weird to talk about it. Um... Oh. Yeah, there was about five or six calls. As soon as I picked up her phone, it was ringing, and it kept ringing. And so I drove... I was trying to keep the phone turned off any time I was around my place. But I had to send a bunch of text messages to people who were calling. And I was asking her, like, "Who's this? Who's that?" And then I would send them a text message.

Investigator: So you sent the text messages?

Israel Keyes: Basically, tell them, you know, try to make it sound like she was pissed off at everybody, or something.

Investigator: Did you send the texts?

Israel Keyes: Yeah.

Investigator: There was one to her employer?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: And to her boyfriend?

Israel Keyes: Yeah, I guess. Yeah.

Investigator: Anyone else?

Israel Keyes: No. No, I think in the one to her boyfriend I put in something about, he should let Dad know that, you know, she wasn't going to be back, or she was pissed off, or something. And after that, I, uh, pulled the battery out of the phone.

Investigator: What's that do? Why'd you do that?

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "So they can't track it" / "Can't track it"].

Investigator: [unclear: "Or is that all? Why not just shut it off?" / "Or just shut it off?"]

Israel Keyes: I'm paranoid.

Investigator: After you... So after that, where, where'd you take Samantha?

Israel Keyes: I think that was the last thing I did before I went to my house. Parked in the driveway, same place I always do, backed in. And she was fine. I just told her to chill out in the truck, that I had some stuff to do.

Investigator: You say "chill out in the truck". I mean, she was tied down in the truck.

Israel Keyes: Yeah. But, I mean, we were in, we were in the driveway, and there were still people around, so I think I told her, you know, "Don't try and sit up. Don't say anything. Just chill out back here and be quiet, and I'll talk to you in a minute. There's some stuff I've got to do." And, um... Put my truck back together. Had the toolboxes; they were all empty. They were in the garage. And, um, had the supports for the toolboxes, they were all off, so I had to put all that stuff back in. I just threw it together. I didn't, I didn't make it drivable. I wasn't planning on using my truck again that night, so I just started putting it back together, just so it would look like it always looks.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: Put the toolboxes on, just threw a couple bolts in to hold them in place. And then made a... screwed some two-by-fours together. And, uh, so, kind of... Because that rack is heavy. I think it weighs about 120, 150 pounds. Screwed some two-by-fours onto it, so I could lift it from the middle and put it on there.

Investigator: Mm-hm.

Israel Keyes: Bolted that down. I don't know what time that was. It was getting late.

Investigator: [unclear: "Was she still up?" / "Still up?"]

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "She was already asleep" / "It was already asleep"].

Investigator: She really didn't hear you out there making all that racket, putting that toolbox back on?

Israel Keyes: No, she's pretty, she's pretty oblivious when it comes to what I do, so.

Investigator: So what'd you do after you got the rack back on? It's getting late.

Israel Keyes: Well, I, uh... She had to pee again. And it was still fairly early. I was trying to figure, trying to figure out a way to, like, get her from the truck into the shed. You know, I could just see, like, somebody, the neighbor or something, coming out right when I was walking her over there. So I was trying to get it all set up so that it'd be fairly quick. I think I went in the house a couple times, just to see what was going on in there. And she was up, but I think she was getting ready to go to bed or something. So I wasn't too worried about her coming out. I already had an extension cord running out to the shed. [unclear: "I don't think of it" / "I would think of it"]. It was already all set up. So, even though I wasn't originally... Like, yeah, originally I wasn't planning... I don't know what, what was I thinking? Because the shed was already set up. I had two heaters going in there, and I had, uh, a big tarp, like a 9-by-12 tarp, laid out on the floor. And there was, um, like a radio in there and stuff.

Israel Keyes: And, um, so, yeah, I guess it was probably, probably between 1 and 2 that I finally got the nerve to, like, get her out of the truck and walk her over into the... I had her blindfolded then. Because, you know, I was telling her, like, you know, "You can't, can't see anything here, so don't, don't try to see anything, because we've got to get this thing worked out. We've got to get this set up, the debit card thing set up. We've got a lot of stuff to do, so don't try anything. I'm going to put you out here and I'll make you comfortable. You just sit here and chill out, and I've got some stuff to do. I've got some running around town to do, to get all this stuff put together and worked out. But I'm going to have my police scanner on me, so if I hear reports of screaming from this neighborhood, or anything, any disturbance from over here, I'm going to be back here before the cops get here." And she, you know, she was very cooperative. She didn't seem like she was going to try anything. So I had her in the shed. I gave her, like, a five-gallon bucket for her to pee in, and then dumped that out under the trailer, and then stuck it back in the shed so she'd have something to sit on. And then took a piece of rope and put it around her neck and screwed it to the wall on both sides. And I think I changed her... I moved her hands so that they were in front of her, so she could smoke and stuff. And, yeah, I just told her to chill out, and that I was going to go get the card, and then I was going to, you know, get everything set up.

Investigator: What did you mean by that?

Israel Keyes: The money. The money set up. And, uh, yeah, she gave me, she told me the PIN, but I didn't write it down. So I... By then I was thinking I didn't have much time to get all this done, so I took... After... I think I, I think once she was in the shed I waited a little bit longer, and I think I went to bed, maybe around 2, 2 or 2:30 or something. And then I, I took this card. And I... She gave me her home address, and I went down and I pulled it up on MapQuest. I printed out a map of the street she said she lived on, and took it out there, and had her show me where, like, exactly where her truck was parked. Parked about three or four blocks away from where her truck was, and walked over there. Used the key to open the door, and the car was right where she said it would be. And I was just locking the truck up, and some guy came out, and obviously knew something was up right away. So I was just standing there, waiting to see what he would do. I don't even think I had my gun with me, but I had a knife. And he just turned around and ran back in the house. So I just ran down the street, and, uh...

Investigator: What else did you take from the truck?

Israel Keyes: Just a wallet. I, I think I just took the whole wallet. There was a bunch of stuff in the wallet. I think the only thing I checked to make sure was in the wallet was, uh, maybe her driver's license, and the card. The rest of the stuff, I didn't really look what was in there. I just grabbed the whole thing. Locked, locked the truck back up, and walked back to... Or actually I ran. I ran back down the road, went behind a snowbank, and looked back out on the road to make sure he hadn't come back out and was watching. And when I didn't see anybody, I jumped back in [unclear: "the car" / "his car"] and took off. And I was going to go to the ATM right away, to make sure she'd given me the right PIN number. Then I realized I hadn't written it down. So I had to go back to my house and talk to her. She gave it to me, and I scratched it on the front of that card.

Investigator: Did you ask her if there was going to be any money in the account?

Israel Keyes: She told me there wasn't any money in the account.

Investigator: So why'd you, why'd you try to use it?

Israel Keyes: To make sure it was the right PIN.

Investigator: And, um, yeah. So you checked it out, and you went and used the card.

Israel Keyes: Well, yeah. I think, yeah, maybe I did just... I did check the balance, just to see. I mean, I was pretty sure she was telling the truth, that there wasn't any money in it, but I just...

Investigator: Why, why is that?

Israel Keyes: Because she didn't have a car to drive, so I figured there probably wasn't any money in the account. So, um, yeah, that wasn't really the issue. I wasn't, I wasn't after the card at that point.

Investigator: What were you after?

Israel Keyes: I mean, I wasn't after money off the card at that point, I should say.

Investigator: Well, what were you after?

Israel Keyes: That was just a bonus.

Investigator: Bonus to what?

Israel Keyes: To the whole thing. If I could eventually get some money out of the card, then that was the plan.

Investigator: It sounds like there's something more to the story.

Israel Keyes: Oh, yeah, there's a lot more to the story.

Investigator: Okay.

Israel Keyes: I don't know if I'm going to tell the whole story today, though.

Investigator: Well, when you left for your cruise, you got that cab. We know when you called the cab, and...

Israel Keyes: Did I take... Yeah, I guess I did take a cab.

Investigator: We see it on your phone. You remember that?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: Okay. So where was...

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "I was running late" (captions only)].

Investigator: Where was, uh, where was Samantha when you left in the cab?

Israel Keyes: She was in the shed.

Investigator: Was she alive?

Israel Keyes: Yeah, I might save that story for later.

Investigator: Well...

Israel Keyes: She's not alive now, so it doesn't really matter.

Investigator: I know, I understand that, but it'd be good for us to know now whether she was alive when you left.

Israel Keyes: Why?

Investigator: Well, let me show you this, that you saw this morning. Tell me if you don't want to see it.

Israel Keyes: Ooh.

Investigator: This is a photo, and we know the date of the newspaper.

Israel Keyes: Right.

Investigator: Is she alive in this photo?

Israel Keyes: Nope.

Investigator: Was she alive when you got back from your trip, down on your cruise, and you got back on the morning of the 18th?

Israel Keyes: Nope.

Investigator: Was she alive when you left?

Investigator: That would seem like an obvious question. So, so she was alive?

Israel Keyes: Huh?

Investigator: She was alive?

Israel Keyes: When I left? [pause] No.

Investigator: Okay. Well, what did you do to her?

Israel Keyes: I don't know. I might not... I, I'll tell that whole story, but I might not tell it right now.

Investigator: Is there a reason you don't want to tell it now? Can you tell us what that is?

Israel Keyes: I already know who I want to tell that story to.

Investigator: Who's that?

Israel Keyes: What's her name? Mickey?

Investigator: The lead detective? Why do you want to... Why do you specifically want to tell her?

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "That's the way I am" (captions only)].

Investigator: Well, you told us that she was dead when you left for the trip, right?

Israel Keyes: There's more to the story, but I'm not going to tell it right now.

Investigator: Okay. That's fine. We understand you're not going to tell us everything. But the one thing I do need to know before I leave here today is how you killed her.

Israel Keyes: Why?

Investigator: Well, that's one of the things we [unclear: "agreed" / "think it's mean grave"] when we came back, right?

Israel Keyes: No. I, I mean, it doesn't really matter how it happened. I'm saying that, yes, I was responsible, and yes, I told you where she is.

Investigator: Okay. So you were responsible for what? I need you to tell me.

Israel Keyes: For her being deceased at this moment, yes.

Investigator: So you killed her?

Israel Keyes: Yes.

Investigator: So, so you want to tell Mickey, Detective Doll...

Israel Keyes: I'll tell her the rest of the details, if you want to know all of them.

Investigator: In other words, what you did to her besides killing her, or just killing her?

Israel Keyes: I'll tell everything you want to know. I'll give it blow by blow, if you want.

Investigator: Well, can you give us a little idea of what it is you want to tell her about?

Israel Keyes: Why? No.

Investigator: Why don't you just tell us the manner of death, without giving us any details?

Israel Keyes: No.

Investigator: Is there any... Are there other parts to this story, either before or after?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. Well, like I said, it's not the whole story.

Investigator: Okay. Well, now, you told me you wanted to talk later about how you killed her, but there's other parts to it.

Israel Keyes: I have lots more stories to tell, if you're interested.

Investigator: Yeah, well, that's what I'm talking about. We'll, we'll move on. I will respect...

Israel Keyes: I don't know if I want to tell any more stories today, but I have a lot more stories to tell.

Investigator: What can you... Well, maybe we...

Keyes'S Attorney: Do you think we need to talk before we go any further? [unclear: "It's been like a minute" (captions only)].

Israel Keyes: I, I mean, I think, from my point of view, you have quite a bit to keep you busy. So my concern right now is for what we talked about before I started saying anything. I want to see what happens. You know, I would rather not see my name attached to "dismembered body found in the lake; Israel Keyes believed to be responsible". I don't want to see that yet. I don't know, call me crazy. I've got to get used to the idea that everybody's going to know that I'm not who they thought I was. I've got to get used to that.

Investigator: [unclear: "Who is?" / "Is your guys"]... Yeah. I'm just concerned about, when the father... You'll be talking to him. Will he keep this, this information to himself?

Investigator: I wouldn't anticipate giving him a lot of, any details.

Investigator: No, no details, but just the fact. And...

Israel Keyes: Yeah, that's...

Investigator: And, and you want Detective Doll to be, like, sitting face to face with you?

Israel Keyes: Yep. Doesn't matter that she's listening. Doesn't matter.

Investigator: Okay. This... Well, well, listen. We... Let me tell you. In the beginning of this, we told you, obviously, we need to, we need to find her.

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: And they're, they're going to go do that, and people are going to know about it. There's no way to hide that. I'm sure for a day or two that's all people are going to know. But, like you said, it's something that you're going to get used to. So we're going to, we're going to live up to that.

Israel Keyes: Yeah, but there's ways you can let the media know what's going on without saying I'm the one who's responsible. I mean, obviously, eventually everyone's going to know.

Investigator: Right.

Israel Keyes: And especially, like I say, if I feel like you're doing the best you can to keep the impact on people I know and my family to a minimum, then, uh, like I say, I've got other stories. You know, I've got... There's more to this story.

Investigator: Well, why don't you give me an idea about that, so I can tell my boss? You, you've got the pictures, right? But the other, the other stuff. I'm looking... I'm thinking about the other stuff you're talking about, so I can give them an idea of what...

Israel Keyes: Well, let's... I mean, let's finish one story before we start the...

Investigator: Oh, I've got it. But, but you've got to understand: you've got the police chief, you've got the head of the FBI, you've got the people we need to report to. They need to know.

Israel Keyes: Okay.

Investigator: We've told them that we're not going to... When we leave this room, they're going to go find her, but they're not going to... Tomorrow's paper is not going to say "Israel Keyes..."

Israel Keyes: Right.

Investigator: "...is responsible". That's, that's what we've agreed. But I've got to tell something to them. And I also need to know, when, if you're interested in hearing the rest of the story, when that's going to be. I think we need to hear it soon.

Israel Keyes: Well, so do I.

Investigator: I'm just curious, like, ballpark. Like, tomorrow?

Israel Keyes: Oh, okay. Maybe, maybe later tomorrow afternoon.

Investigators: Yeah. Yeah, really. I think that 5:00, 6:00. Make, you'll be back by then.

Investigator: So what should I tell them? What should I tell people we have to report to?

Israel Keyes: I think you know, and they know. Well, just draw your own conclusions when you find her.

Investigator: I guess what I need to know is... I'm just going to ask you. I think you'd appreciate me just asking you, right, just straight out. Are there any other people that you're responsible for the death of?

Israel Keyes: I can't answer that. I mean, like you say, we needed to tackle one thing at a time.

Investigator: You brought it up. That's why I asked. You said there were other stories.

Israel Keyes: No, I was talking about... No, I said there's more to that story. There's a lot more to that story. Like why I did things the way I did them, and the timeline.

Investigator: Okay. All right.

Israel Keyes: As, as you know, it's been going on for a while. So...

Investigator: Okay. Understood. I'm, I'm trying to understand, okay?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. No, that's fine.

Investigator: Okay. So what's the plan for tomorrow? Do you want to schedule something for tomorrow? I know that Detective Doll is not going to be available till at least 5:00 or after. So we could even maybe even do it... So we'll, we'll call you tomorrow. I've got your cell phone, and we'll call you tomorrow. [This appears to be addressed to Keyes's attorney.]

Investigator: Okay. Is there anything else you want to talk about right now, while we're on this subject?

Israel Keyes: I... Like I say, I want to know that you're not going to go turn the place upside down again. So if there's anything you want to know from me, or if there's anything that I described that you don't have, I would request that you, if you have to go back there, that you get it discreetly, and not, you know, like, run her through... Go through her attorney.

Investigator: Okay. Well, let me ask you this, Israel. Do we have your consent... And your attorney is here. Do we have your approval and consent to go back?

Israel Keyes: It's not my property.

Investigator: Okay, but let me, let me, you know, let me just cover this. Do we have your consent to go back to that house, to that trailer, to take any items that we, that law enforcement...

Israel Keyes: You, you can take the whole shed. You might want to take the whole shed. It's on skids. You know, [name or word inaudible] wants it gone by now, I'm sure. So you...

Investigator: Yeah, but it's behind the house, because it...

Israel Keyes: No, no, the one that's in front of the house.

Investigator: Do we have... Rich, do we have his consent to take the shed?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. Go for it. You probably already have most of the stuff in it.

Investigator: I understand, but you, you asked us to, to do this, and we just need to know, with your permission, we will...

Israel Keyes: Yeah. Like I say, I seriously doubt he's going to mind. I, all I ask is that you do it... I, I don't want to hear about you questioning her again. You know, like I say, I... You can... Obviously you have no reason to trust me, but I can tell you right now, there is no one who knows me, or who has ever known me, who knows anything about me, really. They... No, they're going to tell you something that does not line up with anything I tell you, because I'm two different people, basically. And the only person who knows about what I'm telling you, the kind of things I'm telling you, is me.

Investigator: Okay. How long have you been two different people?

Israel Keyes: Long time. Fourteen years.

Investigator: Is there anything that...

Israel Keyes: Well, let's, we'll, we'll talk. Okay? Yeah, I'm not going to go into the whole time.

Investigator: Let me, let me... There, there... You, you've described a few items that are in the house. You understand that they're going to need to go get them, at the house. You described some knives and things.

Israel Keyes: Yeah, but they probably already have them.

Investigator: Well, I... Well, if I tell... If they don't, they're going to need to go get those. And if you just talk to her lawyer, [unclear: "we'll talk to her" / "what we can talk to her"]...

Israel Keyes: Everything I can tell you right now... Everything related to this that is going to be in the house, you already have: the computer, the PC, the desktop computer. That's what everything's on.

Investigator: On the, on the desktop, or the PC?

Israel Keyes: The tower.

Investigator: The tower. Besides the dagger... If we take the shed, is there anything else in the house that...

Israel Keyes: The knives on that ledge? You, I mean, you can take them all. I don't even think there's anything on that that is relevant, but, I mean, yeah. None of that stuff is... None of the knives are...

Investigator: So we can take those?

Israel Keyes: Yeah. I mean, it's probably not relevant, but there's a bunch of coins on the corner shelf in the office. Some of those coins came from Common Grounds. They're all mixed in. There's probably about two or three hundred dollars' worth of change there, so. Probably not relevant, but... But just, before you go to the house, if you touch base with her lawyer, and she knows you're coming, there shouldn't be a problem.

Investigator: Okay. All right.

Israel Keyes: And actually, if you want to take the shed, I would actually... That would be good. I mean, I'm sure as far as she's concerned, that would be good. If you want those weights, I mean, I showed you exactly where they were.

Investigator: Right.

Israel Keyes: I, you know, there's no need for you to tear up the whole backyard. There's nothing else back there. There is a snow shovel. It has a yellow fiberglass handle, like a grain-shovel-type metal blade. There might be some stuff on that, on the blade. That's what I used out on the lake.

Investigator: Where is that shovel?

Israel Keyes: That shovel is either going to be in the back of my trailer, back of my truck, somewhere around the house. Um, it's the only shovel like it.

Investigator: And what's the, what's that one look like?

Israel Keyes: It has a yellow handle, yellow fiberglass handle. It has an orange D-handle on the back of it. And the blade is metal, like a square grain shovel.

Investigator: Thank you.

Israel Keyes: You already have the guns. There's some ammunition. There's a gun in the closet. You should probably take that, too. The gun is not relevant, but she wants it out of the house. Actually, there's two guns in there. There's an air rifle, and there's an Enfield. And, uh, there's a bag of ammo, miscellaneous ammo. Not really relevant, but... Can't think of anything else.

Investigator: Okay. Anything else you want to tell us today, or anything we need to do to...

Investigator: [unclear: "Would you print" / "Where'd you print"] the picture off? The ransom note?

Israel Keyes: Pardon me?

Investigator: The picture. Photo. Where did you print that? The ransom photo.

Israel Keyes: It's... Well, yeah, you can take that, the printer, too, if you didn't already.

Investigator: Mm-hm. Typewriter?

Israel Keyes: Typewriter, you're never going to find it, I bet.

Investigator: Where is that?

Israel Keyes: Anchorage landfill.

Investigator: Is that when you went out there in February?

Investigator: March 1st, at 11:30.

Israel Keyes: March 1st. Really?

Investigator: You took your trailer out there. 460 pounds, on March 1st, at 11:30.

Investigator: How many [unclear: "days" / "times"] do you remember going to the landfill?

Israel Keyes: [unclear: "Yep" / inaudible].

Investigator: How many days prior to that, then? That's the first. Would you have been out at...

Israel Keyes: That's weird, because I thought I went out to the landfill before the lake. But I guess not.

Investigator: No, I didn't...

Israel Keyes: No, you're right. It was, it was after.

Investigator: What else... What else do...

Investigator: When was the note found?

Investigator: The 24th.

Israel Keyes: 24th? Because I thought I had gone... I was thinking that my thought process...

Investigator: How about in relationship to the note's the 24th? Your ATM withdrawals are the 28th, evening, into the 29th, morning.

Israel Keyes: That's what it was.

Investigator: Does that help you with the timeline? Ice fishing then...

Israel Keyes: And compared to the... Yeah, so that would have been... The lake was between those two dates. Probably between the 24th and the 28th.

Investigator: Did you type this? Is that your typewriter?

Israel Keyes: Yep. Well, for about a day.

Investigator: Where'd you get it from?

Israel Keyes: The thrift store.

Investigator: And you took this picture of her. Was she already tied up when you took the picture?

Israel Keyes: I'm not going to go into all that. That's all part of a...

Investigator: Huh? [inaudible] did you go to, then?

Israel Keyes: Uh, Salvation Army on Northern Lights. There's no video there, I don't think. But yeah, that's where it was.

Investigator: What about the newspaper? You burned that, too?

Israel Keyes: Yeah, that stuff, all that stuff's gone.

Investigator: Where did you burn it? When did you burn it? You got rid of it in the dump? You burned it?

Israel Keyes: Well, I didn't burn the typewriter. I burned the ink cartridge out of it, or the ribbon cartridge.

Investigator: Where did you burn it?

Israel Keyes: Fireplace.

Investigator: In the house?

Israel Keyes: Yep. All those ashes are gone.

Investigator: What did you do with the ashes?

Israel Keyes: Dump. Landfill.

Investigator: What else? What else...

Investigator: On March 1st?

Israel Keyes: Huh?

Investigator: On March 1st? Same dump load?

Israel Keyes: Yep.

Investigator: What else went out to the dump?

Israel Keyes: Oh, I don't know. I mean, not, not all of it is related. Most of it's not. I'll get in... I'll, you know, I'll tell you all that. It's like this: there's a lot of stuff I don't want to get into right now. It's because it's all... That's like a different part of the story, I guess. So I'm not going to, I'm not even going to start on that. Otherwise, it's not going to make sense. But, yeah, we'll see how it goes, and if you... That's another thing, you know. For the next part of the story, that's when it becomes critical, that...

Investigator: Yeah. Well, I'll talk about it.

Israel Keyes: There's, there's more to the story, and I'm not... Same rules are still going to apply. I'm not going to tell that story if you're going to go and tear the house apart. So...

Keyes'S Attorney: Okay. Can we talk a few minutes [unclear: "again" (captions only)]?

Investigator: Yeah. [unclear: "Can you go right over here? Just hold on there." / "You can go ahead with the general questions."]

Officer Jeff Bell: 1640. **[End of recording, 1:41:47]**