Serial Killer Issued Razor Before Suicide

A self-confessed serial killer was issued a razor shortly before his suicide, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Corrections.

The razor was a mistake and the report added that “it appears that razor was not retrieved.”

The serial killer, Israel Keyes, was found in his jail cell on December 2, reports Yahoo! News. He slit his left wrist with a razor and tied a noose around his neck and right foot.

While his cause of death is listed as unknown, it has been classified as a suicide. The lapse in security surrounding the suspected serial killer occurred after Keyes was discovered with a makeshift handcuff key.

Keyes was also segregated from other inmates. He is suspected of killing 18-year-old Anchorage, Alaska barista Samantha Koenig. The woman’s father has criticized the Corrections Department over Keyes’ death, which he says took away his family’s chance to have their day in court.

Koenig’s father doesn’t believe that the serial killer was issued a razor on accident. He added, “I don’t think it was mistaken at all. How do you mistakenly give someone in segregation a real razor blade?”

The Seattle Times notes that Keyes told investigators before he died that he killed Koenig and at least seven other people. The only others that he named by name were Bill and Lorraine Currier of Essex, Vermont.

Keyes was set to appear in court in March for the abduction and murder of Koenig. Corrections spokeswoman Kaci Schroeder stated that officials will not discuss what disciplinary action has been taken for giving the killer a razor. But, because of the incident, restrictions will be posted on the inmate’s door, as well as being noted in a prisoner log.

[Image by Federal Bureau of Investigation (MassLive.com) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]