More Murders Linked to Serial Killer Keyes

Before admitted serial killer Israel Keyes killed himself in an Alaska prison last week, the 34-year-old gave up details about his spree in a series of interviews that raised the number of murders from eight to at least 11 or 12. But authorities say they can't know for sure whether there's more. It's chilling stuff, as reported by AP, the New York Times, and the Alaska Dispatch:

• Keyes killed because he enjoyed the rush, with strangulation his preferred method. "He would have this term, he would say, `A lot of people ask why, and I would be, like, why not?'" says a police officer.
• He planned his killings meticulously, making more than than 30 multi-day trips around the country over the last decade. He hid "kits" in different locales—New York, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, and maybe elsewhere—to help him carry out the murders and cover them up.
• His job as a construction contractor provided the travel cover, and he robbed banks to help finance the trips.
• Keyes had a girlfriend and a daughter about age 10, and kids were off limits as victims. "He was very conscious of his daughter Googling him years from now and having to deal with the fallout from this," says a US attorney in Alaska. "This is a guy who really cared about his family. And he would say I'm not trying to kill them or give them heart attacks."

• Keyes said he spent most of his life thinking people only pretended to be nice. "And then he realized at some point only he was pretending," says the attorney.

(More Israel Keyes stories.)