Family of confessed serial killer holds funeral in Eastern Wash.
DEER PARK, Wash. (AP) - The family of confessed serial killer Israel Keyes held a funeral Sunday remembering him in a small Washington town.
"He is not in a better place. He's in a place of eternal torment," said Jake Gardner, the pastor for Israel Keyes's family, before the funeral in Deer Park, Wash., a town about 15 miles north of Spokane.
The 34-year-old Keyes confessed to killing eight people across the country before he committed suicide recently in a jail cell in Anchorage, Alaska. The FBI and Anchorage police now say they believe he may have had three additional victims. Authorities in Oregon are also investigating whether Keyes also had murder victims there.
Keyes slit his wrist and strangled himself with bedding and was found dead last Sunday. He was facing federal murder charges in the kidnapping and death of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig, who was abducted from an Anchorage coffee stand on Feb. 1.
On Sunday, his funeral was attended by his mother, Heidi, and four of his sisters. The family did not make a statement to the press.
Gardner said the family decided to hold the funeral in Deer Park because it was a convenient location in case any of his acquaintances wanted to attend. Keyes grew up in the nearby town of Colville in Stevens County - a remote corner of Washington state.
On Sunday, there was no indication of any other attendees besides family, who mostly live in Texas.
"Israel rejected the gospel and thus the outcome of his life is this tragic story," said Gardner of the Church of Wells in Wells, Texas.
Gardner said Keyes will be buried later at an undisclosed location in Washington.
Law enforcement officers in Anchorage conducted up to 40 hours of interviews with Keyes after his March arrest in Texas. During that time, Keyes confessed to killing Koenig, Bill and Lorraine Currier in Vermont and five other people, although details about those victims were sparse.
Investigators said Keyes told them he enjoyed killing people and seeing coverage of his crimes in the media.
Keyes told investigators the first violent crime he committed was a sexual assault in Oregon between 1996 and 1998 in which he let the victim go. The FBI is seeking more information on that crime.
Of the five other murders Keyes confessed to, four were in Washington state and one on the East Coast, with the body disposed of in New York. Law enforcement officers are combing through unsolved homicide files trying to learn who Keyes killed, because he provided little information on those cases.
Authorities in the Spokane and Colville areas have said it's unlikely that Keyes was responsible for any of the unsolved homicides on their books.
Shortly before his arrest in March, Keyes attended a sister's wedding in Texas, where he ranted in mid-ceremony about how he didn't believe in God, Gardner said.
"He is not in a better place. He's in a place of eternal torment," said Jake Gardner, the pastor for Israel Keyes's family, before the funeral in Deer Park, Wash., a town about 15 miles north of Spokane.
The 34-year-old Keyes confessed to killing eight people across the country before he committed suicide recently in a jail cell in Anchorage, Alaska. The FBI and Anchorage police now say they believe he may have had three additional victims. Authorities in Oregon are also investigating whether Keyes also had murder victims there.
Keyes slit his wrist and strangled himself with bedding and was found dead last Sunday. He was facing federal murder charges in the kidnapping and death of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig, who was abducted from an Anchorage coffee stand on Feb. 1.
On Sunday, his funeral was attended by his mother, Heidi, and four of his sisters. The family did not make a statement to the press.
Gardner said the family decided to hold the funeral in Deer Park because it was a convenient location in case any of his acquaintances wanted to attend. Keyes grew up in the nearby town of Colville in Stevens County - a remote corner of Washington state.
On Sunday, there was no indication of any other attendees besides family, who mostly live in Texas.
"Israel rejected the gospel and thus the outcome of his life is this tragic story," said Gardner of the Church of Wells in Wells, Texas.
Gardner said Keyes will be buried later at an undisclosed location in Washington.
Law enforcement officers in Anchorage conducted up to 40 hours of interviews with Keyes after his March arrest in Texas. During that time, Keyes confessed to killing Koenig, Bill and Lorraine Currier in Vermont and five other people, although details about those victims were sparse.
Investigators said Keyes told them he enjoyed killing people and seeing coverage of his crimes in the media.
Keyes told investigators the first violent crime he committed was a sexual assault in Oregon between 1996 and 1998 in which he let the victim go. The FBI is seeking more information on that crime.
Of the five other murders Keyes confessed to, four were in Washington state and one on the East Coast, with the body disposed of in New York. Law enforcement officers are combing through unsolved homicide files trying to learn who Keyes killed, because he provided little information on those cases.
Authorities in the Spokane and Colville areas have said it's unlikely that Keyes was responsible for any of the unsolved homicides on their books.
Shortly before his arrest in March, Keyes attended a sister's wedding in Texas, where he ranted in mid-ceremony about how he didn't believe in God, Gardner said.
If my brother had admitted to killing even one person, I would not attend his funeral. This guy admits to killing 8, yet here is his family giving him a funeral like someone who deserves to be mourned. Just sick, that's what it is.
Why would they have a funeral!? Why would they let the crazy preacher even speak? A serial killer is a complete outcast and no longer has a family or any human connection. Serial killers are not human.Â
Who does the Pastor know who is saved from Hell and who is not? Imagine this. The killer accepts Christ in his cell before committing suicide, is forgiven, goes to Heaven. Meanwhile, all the victims were murdered before accepting Christ. Ironic?Â
Oh the poor misunderstood serial murderer, look at all the comments. I am a very compassionate person but if my own child did crimes of this nature I would turn him in myself and shun him the rest of his life, even til after he was dead. He's an evil pos and there are a lot of families who are hurt because he killed innocent family members for the "fun" of killing them. I bet these posters wouldn't be so compassionate to this savage murderer if it was their family member who got killed.
@The Voice of Reason
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I have no compassion for the KILLER, I'm talking about his family. Why harass them again, when they already have enough grief and shame?Â
My god,this is what the PASTOR said? I would NEVER go to this man's church. He is supposed to be offering support and comfort to the relatives, not adding another insult and horrible comment to an already beseiged family. Does he think they aren't miserable enough already?
@tcm
 I think the family's church is some kind of extreme bible-thumper hell 'n' damnation CULT-type and Keyes had extreme response to their pressure on him . Seems they all have a  real hard time dealing with being in the real world one way or the other, mentally.
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 @whirledworld Baptists?
 @tcm ~  Um-hmm... sounds like a real"nice" guy, doesn't he...?    Â
Yes. He was somebody's child and I am sure this wasn't what his parents to have happen. I can't imagine the pain.
my sympathy to his family especially his mom, he may have been a monster however he was still someones child and when we have our children we do not raise them to grow up this way and unfortunately some do turn out bad no matter how much we love them. Â Also my sympathy to all the families of the people he murdered. Â There is never closure however there is some peace you can find that he can never do this to anyone ever again. Â
 @granny4life Amen.
 @granny4life ~  Very well said, granny4life... a very compassionate post...