Kidnapping, murder charges for man accused of abducting barista

Frontiersman.com

ANCHORAGE — Police say they have formally charged with kidnapping and murder a contractor accused of slaying Samantha Koenig, 18, and disposing of her body in a Palmer-area lake.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Israel Keyes, until now only identified as a significant player in Koenig’s abduction and murder, was charged Wednesday with her murder.

Keyes allegedly killed Koenig the morning after he abducted her from the coffee stand where she worked.

He demanded and received ransom money from her father, using Koenig’s debit card to withdraw the money from ATMs in Alaska and Outside. He was arrested in Texas.

Neither the press release nor the affidavit filed with the charges against Keyes shed any new light on how Koenig’s remains were brought to the Valley, why, or how investigators figured out where to find her.