Authorities say a man who confessed to kidnapping and killing an Essex couple in June 2011 has committed suicide in an Alaska prison.
Federal authorities say Israel Keyes, who was found dead Sunday in his Anchorage cell, previously confessed to killing Bill and Lorraine Currier.
They were last seen leaving their jobs on June 8, 2011. Co-workers reported them missing the next day.
Bill Currier’s mother, Marilyn Chates, says police told her months ago that Keyes confessed to the random killings. She says Keyes didn’t know her son or daughter-in-law. She says he traveled to their town a day before the killings and left a day after. The Curriers’ bodies have never been found.
Chates was shocked to learn on Sunday that Keyes was dead. But she expressed relief that her family wouldn’t have to sit through a possible trial.