Found a few other things that relate to the native tribe's mythology. While he might have been misinterpreting it it doesn't mean that he wouldn't have used it in that misinterpreted form. For example he had to drive past Thunderbird to dispose of the one lady in the Lake up in Alaska. Thunderbird is one of the mythological creatures who formed the universe in that tribe. He worked for them.
I suspect it's possible that he may have been trying to create pictures with where he put people or where he was picking. Possible that's what it means when he drew the one with the 5 points for 5 victims. He also indicated that victims in Canada don't count. To me that suggests the geography is relevant. He also didn't want the one counted for 2. 2 in one place disrupted something.
He went to Mexico a few times and if Canadians didn't count I suspect that any Mexican or people on the other side of the Mexican border also didn't count.
Since my interest in IK I have wondered if geography played a role that was more significant than convenience or comfort. His sick sense of humor suggests that he takes pleasure in having inside jokes with himself. For example, on TCBS podcast there is a suggestion that he used the hair from his victims as part of his disguise in some bank robberies. It could be argued that this was nothing more than a method of disguise that is no different from using victim’s cars for crime, but the hair just seems like such a strange and calculated choice that would appeal to him as humor. It was like he wanted to see the security camera footage and laugh at how stupid he looked while spreading fear in these small communities. He seemed to think that these small towns were full of dummies, like in his interviews when he says that he thinks his acts of arson were written off as accident because small town cops and firefighters have no idea what they’re doing.
The biggest signal that he might have been using geography or place names with calculated significance was the ATM withdrawals using SK’s card. The locations had biblical implications: Lordsburg, Humble, and Shepherd. There was also Willcox, but I’m not aware of any theological meaning to that place or its name.
I just can’t shake Humble Shepherd as a coincidence. This is a term from the Bible, and with Lordsburg directly before.. I have no doubt that it was intentional. I am wondering if these biblical references were supposed to be meaningful because he knew he would be getting caught on this trip OR if he didn’t intend on getting caught and he was trying to send a false message to taunt and confuse cops and the public. I have also noticed some other possibly significant names. I am fully aware that some of them are REALLY reaching, and a lot of biblical references could be found just about anywhere. I just found these interesting and worth sharing:
The curriers - currier is a word for messenger. Messengers are a big part of religion. If you believe (like I also do) that Keyes stalked some of his victims, then he may have selected the curriers based on their name.
Common ground coffee shop - Common ground is a phrase often used in religion, especially Mormonism where they seek to find common ground in order to recruit new followers. Maybe he was using this high profile victim and subsequent ATM activity to find “common ground” between his true killer self and his facade by being caught. This could explain why he threw his code out the window and chose someone in the city where he lived and kept her in his own backyard. (Ok yes this was a reach)
Ok so this one is definitely reaching: Jimmy Tidwell. If he is a Keyes victim, it seems like he would have been a more randomly chosen one. However, if Keyes knew his last name, perhaps he would have linked him to the Church of Wells. Being in Texas for his sister’s wedding might have caused him to search out a victim with a link to the events that were happening in his life.
I was about to say that I couldn’t think of a biblical link to tie in Feldman, but then I realized something.. Keyes didn’t want to speak about Feldman. Maybe Feldman wasn’t part of his pattern, so he denied his part in her murder. Maybe this is the same with Lauren Spierer. They didn’t fit into his little game, they were like bonus kills, and he wanted to have this appearance of an elaborate plan. He also didn’t count his likely kills in other countries, as they just didn’t count for him. Sidenote: I also think that Feldman and LS (if she was a victim) didn’t count for Keyes because they were too easy. Feldman was a prostitute and Lauren was inebriated. No thrill of the hunt.
The female psychologist in TCBS suggests that IK only claimed the murders that he was most proud of. I think this sentiment fits with what I’m saying - he only claimed the ones that he hunted, planned, and had this “deep” anti-Christ agenda - and maybe that happened to be 11. The way IK would say that “you’ll know the details someday” but was likely planning his suicide.. maybe he thought that he was giving away enough pieces that they would be solved based on this biblical connection? Maybe Keyes didn’t even have 11 biblically linked victims, but he just claimed this number for the symbolism and the real number is much higher. The Bible uses 11 as a symbol of disorder and rebellion, although I don’t really believe that Keyes chose 11 for the numerical symbolism. Just thought I would throw it out as it fits into what I’m saying.
Just to also throw it out there: 12 has huge significance in the Bible. There were 12 disciples, 12 sons of Jacob (making up the 12 tribes of Israel), and 12 symbolizes the completeness of Israel. I REALLY wonder if IK thought he was being soooooooo clever by saying he had 11 victims, making himself the 12th in order to “complete Israel.” And then his 12 blood skulls with “we are one” which are another attempt at being poetic.
And I can’t help but to mention that IK (possibly) had full intentions of being caught from a kidnapping on February 1st 2012 (2/1/12) and he killed himself on December 1st 2012. 12/1/12. Very similar and significant dates for Keyes. This feels like a little bit too much to be a total coincidence.
As much as I might be reaching on the victim connections, maybe they are accurate and Keyes was also reaching in order to make loose connections. Based on his suicide note and blood skulls, I really think that Keyes had this idea that he was “deep” and poetic. He thought he was smarter than everyone by creating this pattern and no one could figure it out. I believe that he knew he was going to be caught by making those ATM transactions, and he was setting up this pattern which he perceived as being genius.
In TCBS I heard that IK said that all of his crimes were related. I really wonder if he had this little inside joke that he chose some aspect of each crime as a link to religion. Maybe to spite his family and upbringing, but also maybe just to laugh about and have a little mind game to keep to himself and for web sleuths to crack with our “true crime BS.”
This could all be giant major coincidences... I really don’t know if I believe that Keyes cooked this up, or if I have some crazy confirmation bias when it comes to this case. I have read almost all of IK’s dedicated threads on here but I hadn’t seen this mentioned anywhere. When I saw the satanic place names being mentioned, I had to make an account and put in my 2 cents! I’d love to hear what anyone else thinks!
