Israel Keyes (7 January 1978 – 1 December 2012) was an American serial killer, bank robber, burglar, arsonist, kidnapper, and sex offender. He murdered at least three people, and law enforcement investigators believe he committed at least 20 other crimes across the United States from the late 1990s to February 2012, including arsons, burglaries and bank robberies. Keyes was arrested in March 2012 and killed himself while awaiting trial. Evidence in his jail cell led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to suspect that Keyes murdered eleven people.
Keyes was known to hunt "anything with a heartbeat" and later freely admitted to telling his peers within the Christian Israel Covenant Church that he'd skinned a live deer.
Israel Keyes was a serial killer mentioned in Dexter: Resurrection as a part of Leon Prater's collection.
Monikers[]
Israel Keyes was a meticulous and organized serial killer who did not have a widely known public moniker given by the media or police. Unlike serial murderers with names like "the Son of Sam" or "the BTK Killer," Keyes managed to maintain a low profile throughout his killing spree by meticulously covering his tracks.
- "Izzy" or "Iz": Friends and family referred to him by these nicknames, as noted in true-crime podcasts and other media.
- "The Most Meticulous Serial Killer": Some true-crime publications have given him this title in recognition of his careful, methodical methods. Keyes would often bury "kill kits"—caches of weapons, cash, and other supplies—in remote areas to be retrieved years later to commit his crimes.
- The "omnivorous" killer: FBI agents and criminal profilers used this term to describe Keyes' lack of a consistent victim profile. He chose victims randomly to avoid detection.
TBC