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When a Killer Vlogs His Murders
When a killer VLOGS his MURDERS...
The following podcast episode is not legal advice. Do not rely on the information in this presentation without speaking to a licensed attorney.
No one discussed in these videos has been formally diagnosed by EWU and our psychological analysis is based on the general behaviors and traits of the people discussed.
When a killer VLOGS his MURDERS...
The following podcast episode is not legal advice. Do not rely on the information in this presentation without speaking to a licensed attorney.
No one discussed in these videos has been formally diagnosed by EWU and our psychological analysis is based on the general behaviors and traits of the people discussed.
Alright, so how do you feel, kayleen?
Speaker 2:No more high school, yay.
Speaker 1:Feel different. No, yeah, you got to tell Tamara to get your stuff out of the house. Oh, no. Well, before you know, a while ago, I used to sit here and think, you know, this whole thing is just crazy at times, and then I'd think about it, and then it would make sense and it's like, okay, this is what I've got to do.
Speaker 3:I hate bugging my husband and my daughter. Anyway, he set this up for me, so he's like really sweet.
Speaker 1:At this point I don't know what's going to happen. I may get caught right away. I mean, I could basically be dead in two weeks or three weeks, I don't know. It's all up to chance. At this point, we haven't done the part that I'm not looking forward to. I'm getting pretty close to that time.
Speaker 3:And I'm so excited because I can actually afford these deals. My husband he gave me some money to go in here. I'm so excited.
Speaker 1:Part of me has a hard time even imagining doing what I'm going to do, but as I think about it, I always come up to the same conclusion every time. I'm starting to get more okay with it.
Speaker 4:Though Lynette and Kayleen Keller of North Bend, washington, didn't yet know it, something was off with husband and father Peter Keller. What follows is found footage that just might be some of the most disturbing recordings ever filmed, documented like a YouTube video. The video diaries Peter created provide a rare glimpse into the mind of a killer and document how something that may have begun as an innocent hobby ultimately manifested as unbelievable cruelty. I sit here and bake the non-stop I think about it.
Speaker 1:It's like how did I get so fucked up?
Speaker 4:The majority of the following footage has never been seen before it has been analyzed by a licensed professional counselor.
Speaker 1:Okay, looks like everything's working. Just checking the camera out, since it's the first time watching myself. I hate watching myself, man, that's the way other people see me, so it's going to take some getting used to not used to talking into a camera, let's see. So here you can look at the trail. There's not much of a trail. I try to keep it as hidden as I can so other people will stay off of it, which has worked so far. It's pretty far out, so nobody's been up here yet. I usually come up with a between a 30 and 40 pound pack Every time I bring a load of something up. I'm actually starting to get a lot up here. I try to make it as easy as I can during the transition time. So far I've got a bed, blow-up bed mattress with blankets and pillows and clothes and stuff to keep me comfortable. So we'll see how long I last doing this, I don't know.
Speaker 4:Just what exactly Peter was doing isn't yet clear. It's incredibly rare to have self-recorded footage of a killer and is especially interesting in this case, because the scope of Peter's chilling plans could hardly be imagined from the casual conversations he has with the camera.
Speaker 1:I basically come up here on the weekends or on a Friday, a weekday, whenever the weather permits or, depending on what I'm doing, at least once a week, and I tend to stay up here for about well, with travel time, probably around nine hours a day or each time, which is a long time.
Speaker 4:When he wasn't traversing the wilderness with his camera and dog. 41-year-old Peter was also a father and a husband.
Speaker 3:Hey Dad, okay, I got this babe Because you guys want me to take that picture.
Speaker 4:He and his wife Lynette had an 18-year-old daughter named Kaleen, and the three appeared to be a normal, happy family. Hi However, Peter's mysterious project in the woods would eventually take a terrible toll on his day-to-day life.
Speaker 3:Kaleen Keller.
Speaker 1:All right. So how do you feel Kaleen?
Speaker 2:No more high school yay.
Speaker 1:Feel different.
Speaker 3:No, you don't feel different. You got a new life ahead of you. No more freaking school, no high school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to sell tomorrow to get your stuff out of the house.
Speaker 3:No, she's saying it with us forever. I'm sorry, Carson Forever.
Speaker 4:Kaleen graduated high school just a few months after her father started recording his video diaries and was on track to start at Bellevue College in the fall. In addition to her interest in environmental preservation and gaming technology, she also appears to have shared her father's interest in cameras and dabbled in the hobby of videotaping as well.
Speaker 1:Can you take a picture of me and sell me on eBay?
Speaker 3:I'm so sorry, I've used your support. I changed street from your place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't like that number. Come on please.
Speaker 4:Lanette also sometimes used the camera to film videos she uploaded to YouTube.
Speaker 3:Hi everyone, it's me Lynn. Okay, I'm trying this different. My webcam hasn't been working yesterday and all today, so I have a lot of videos to show. I've been so upset that my webcam hasn't been working because, you guys know, if I don't do videos, it's either because I'm in pain or I just can't get my webcam to work, and so I don't like doing the videos on the cameras or my phone, because I just always forget on how to do it and I hate bugging my husband and my daughter. Anyway, he set this up for me, so he's really sweet and, as a result, wasn't able to work full-time.
Speaker 4:Instead, she made and sold custom paper flowers and shared her scrapbooking hobby in local fairs to bolster the family's income. From an outside perspective, it appeared that, although the family faced challenges, they were sticking together and making things work, but, as later events would reveal, all wasn't going as well as it appeared.
Speaker 1:I can watch me open this thing. This thing is always a fit so heavy. That works good.
Speaker 4:This impressive structure, affectionately nicknamed Camp Keller, was what kept Peter occupied in the woods for so long. Disguised as part of the hillside, the only thing that might give its presence away is a temporary tarp stretched over part of the roof, but Peter took care to conceal that with brush.
Speaker 1:This is something I wanted to do probably since I was a teenager to make a home underground somewhere so I didn't have to live around people. Just now I have the means. I'm able to actually pay for it. I've spent a lot of money on this so far Thousands of dollars, thousands more on guns and other stuff, the hardware, and I'm going to need everything I can think of.
Speaker 4:The bunker was a shocking feat of engineering, considering all of Peter's supplies were either gathered from the forest around him or carried in from his house, which was about an hour's hike away.
Speaker 1:All right, I'm getting ready to move. One of these big beams in this thing is pretty heavy, soaked with water, which makes them very heavy, makes it a real bitch. This should be fun. Hopefully my technique that I thought up is going to work. We'll find out. One of my projects today is to take all this wood that I've cut up recently and stack it up, pull it down a little bit more out of the way hidden, so if somebody stumbles out here it's not as noticeable. I just haven't been able to do it because it's just been so wet and nasty. But today is a good day, nice and sunny, barely dry, and so that's what I'll do. This is kind of an outside look. Just put my wood pile on this side.
Speaker 4:In addition to the tools and materials he needed to build the bunker, peter carried a significant amount of food, drinks and creature comforts into the camp. He brought enough to set up a kitchenette, complete with an emergency vodka stash. The entire complex was powered with a generator, which Peter somehow managed to bring up the mountain. He even went out of his way to engineer a wood-burning stove made out of an inverted metal garbage can. He rigged a chimney to funnel the smoke up and out of the residence. This smoke would ultimately provide a valuable clue as to the camp's location. Other highlights of Peter's stash include multiple five-gallon buckets, which could not have been easy to move, heavy-duty chains and a hacksaw. But as impressive as the wilderness construction may be, the question remains as to why Peter built it in the first place.
Speaker 1:I just feel like I'm getting knocked back every time financially. My wife is just going to suck all the money out that I have.
Speaker 3:And I'm so excited because I can actually afford these deals. My husband he gave me some money to go in here. I'm so excited.
Speaker 1:At this point I don't know what's going to happen. I may get caught right away. I could basically be dead in two weeks or three weeks, I don't know. It's all up to chance. At this point I don't think anyone knows where I'm at, but if they put it together at this point, I have to take that chance. So it's just going to be a point of you know, go as far as I can, I do, have my escape and that's death and I'm okay with that. So I'm getting to the point where I'm just trying to live and pay bills and live as a civilian and go to work. It just freaks me out. It's actually more comfortable for me to think about living out here, robbing banks, pharmacies, just taking what I want for as long as I can. At least it'll be exciting, it won't be boring and I don't have to worry about Lynette or Kayleen and everything will be taken care of. It'll just be me.
Speaker 4:Peter's complaints are all too common, but could indicate the presence of major depressive disorder. Additionally, peter is doing a lot of fidgeting in this video, signifying that, despite what he's saying out loud, his thoughts might be giving him a lot of anxiety. Perhaps this stems from the fact that, as some of Peter's cryptic comments end, there's a much darker aspect to his fantasy than he lets on.
Speaker 1:Well, I wanted to get a video log in because we haven't done part that I'm not looking forward to. I'm getting pretty close to that time. I'm guessing, probably a couple months away, maybe three. So yeah, I know I can. Once I do this, I could either die then Maybe something will happen or a few days or weeks, or maybe even years. My goal is to make it ten years, but that's the other hard part Either to not care about dying and to still care about the project.
Speaker 4:Peter's comment that he wants to survive for ten years out in the woods complicates an already strange situation even further. He isn't just aiming to leave his day-to-day life and job behind. There are Lynette and Kaylene to think about, and so far he hasn't shown any interest of bringing them along on his adventure. There's a disturbing reason for this.
Speaker 1:Part of me has a hard time even imagining doing what I'm going to do. But as I think about it, I always come up to the same conclusion every time. I'm starting to get more okay with it. Other times I feel like I'm more than ready. I've tried to make it in this world and it just isn't happening. I'm forty now and I am running out of time. I don't even question it anymore. It just seems like everything makes so much sense now. You know just the more I've thought about it, the more I understand it. I don't really feel bad about it, it's just the way it is. Certain things happen that cause this to happen. So I just kind of accepted it and just rolling with it. You know, I've been wondering what I'm doing is the right thing? And I think it is.
Speaker 4:These statements, though shocking, actually align with the earlier theory that Peter was suffering from a serious depressive disorder. It's not uncommon for untreated major depression to turn into thoughts about self-injury and sometimes homicidal thoughts. In some cases, the thought is that by killing those closest to them they'll actually be sparing them from the hardships to come. In fact, up to 75% of offenders in cases like these have been reported to be clinically depressed at the time of the offense.
Speaker 1:They know, as I do this for our hot hour, it's like I just sit there baking on stove. I'm thinking about it.
Speaker 2:I'm like how?
Speaker 1:did I get so fucked up? How did so many things go wrong? I don't think it's all my fault. I think it's more my upbringing shitty family life. I was just too ugly, Nobody cared.
Speaker 4:Peter's recollection of feeling off back in his teen years also supports the depression theory, as it's common for symptoms to emerge during adolescence. Additionally, it's known that individuals with unresolved trauma can become stuck developmentally. This could very possibly be what happened to Peter, as he previously mentioned that he'd wanted to build a camp like this since he was a teen. If he became emotionally stuck at that point in his life, it could explain his apparent resentment for his family, along with the continued desire to depart from society.
Speaker 1:Yeah, basically last year has been really tough on me. I've been coming to terms, realizing just how pathetic that had come. There's just no hope. But uh, it's tough. I wasn't interested in anything anymore. I've been motivating myself. All I did was work on this. This is the only thing that can make me feel better. But uh, I think I've come to terms with it. I'm starting to feel better now. I'm not quite sure why exactly, but it's just that I'm getting this further along. Uh, maybe I've just come to terms with what I am, that situation and kind of working through it. You know, I've tried. I always keep going back to the same, the same person I am. I guess it's also because I don't have anything. I never did, no money, my looks are horrible, short, no personality. I mean, I'm okay with it, it's just I understand now very clearly this is the only thing I have.
Speaker 4:More of his video diaries reveal just how calculated he was about this awful endeavor.
Speaker 1:Well, it's about two weeks before the end. This is going to be my last video, probably before. Until after that. That's terrible. Well, it's about two weeks before I finally drop out of society and start this project. Well, it's about two weeks before we finally drop out of society, fully commit to this. It's probably going to be my last video until after that. Here we can see that Peter actually does retakes instead of being fully candid like other videos.
Speaker 4:Suggest this, along with the comments he's made about his appearance seem to indicate that Peter is actually doing. Retakes Seem to indicate that Peter cares deeply about how people view him. The retake suggests he's purposely curating how he appears to anyone who views these tapes. He wants to make the best possible impression. Again, this could tie back to major depressive disorder and childhood trauma.
Speaker 4:Teenagers often act as though they have what's known as an invisible audience the idea that people are watching them all the time and judging their looks and actions. From what we see in the videos, peter seems to still be acting like this at age 41. This type of behavior can also be found in individuals with narcissistic tendencies. The question of Peter's intentions would be one of the first mysteries police faced when they became involved in the situation on April 22nd 2012.
Speaker 4:It was a quiet day in the mobile home park where the Keller family lived when, seemingly out of nowhere, several neighbors heard what they believed to be an explosion. When they saw flames coming out of the windows of the Keller home, the neighbors summoned the fire department. Firefighters swarmed the home, climbing on top of it, even as the blaze ate through the roof. They had no idea just how seriously they were risking their lives until later, once the fire was doused and investigators entered the residence they discovered Peter Keller was nowhere to be found. Iwu spoke with Cindy West, a retired police sergeant who worked on the Keller case, in an exclusive interview.
Speaker 5:I was actually the public information officer and it was a I think it was a weekend, because I was actually heading out of town and I got the phone call. So I turned around, came back into town and arrived up there in North Bend and then the investigation started there and as the investigation went on it just snowballed from what the heck happened to wow, this is bigger than I think anybody thought at the start.
Speaker 4:For those of you who aren't familiar, a public information officer handles all inquiries about an active case, providing private citizens, as well as the media, with information that's been approved for release.
Speaker 4:As such, cindy was intimately familiar with the inner workings of the Keller case. The day of the fire, tracking down Peter became the police's highest priority. In just a few hours they located his vehicle parked downtown. The keys were left inside, but there was no evidence as to where he might have gone. When they entered his workplace to ask where Peter might be, all his co-workers could offer was that Peter had already left for the day, and it stated that he might be back tomorrow, next week or possibly never. Police also discovered that Peter had recently withdrawn $6,200 from the family bank account. Everything suggested that Peter was either in danger, running or both. For now, police had no idea where he could be hiding, but they weren't clueless for long. Police got lucky when searching Peter's home and unearthed a hard drive containing Peter's video diaries. Combined with what else was discovered in the residence, the investigation went from serious to downright bone chilling.
Speaker 1:Well before you know, a while ago I used to sit here and think, you know, this whole thing is just crazy at times. And then I think about it, and then it would make sense and it's like, okay, this is what I've got to do.
Speaker 4:Peter's decisiveness in this clip, paired with the horrific details of what police had found in the remains of his home, would likely be shocking to even the most seasoned law enforcement official. They were at a complete loss when it came to explaining how and why this had happened. Only time would reveal the haunting truth. When it came to the video entries, they supplied more than just a record of Peter's thoughts. As it turned out, other entries in the video diary and the accompanying photographs would become the key to tracking Peter. Retired Sergeant Cindy West was able to share the creative technique the police ended up using.
Speaker 5:They had photographs that Keller had taken on the mountainside as he's constructing this bunker, from nothing's there to a little bit more, to a little bit more. In one of the photos you can see I couldn't see it it looked like a power line in the distance. So you're looking off the mountain toward which would be north Bend, the city. You can barely see this power line. And something else Again, I didn't think it was a power line, but our detective, mike Mellis, says I think that's a power line, I think that down there is probably the city and then, according to these other photos, there's a couple streams nearby. So he does a lot of investigation and says well, it's got to be in one of these two points.
Speaker 4:Then and I'm like I don't know how he came up with that, but he was exactly right- Combined with reports of Peter's truck being regularly parked at a specific trailhead, this was enough information for police to start canvassing the area to search for Camp Keller.
Speaker 4:It took six days, but eventually they succeeded. The smoke visible in this footage came from Peter's makeshift chimney and was instrumental in leading the police to Camp Keller. However, rushing in and making an arrest wasn't going to be an option. They had no idea how many people might be inside or what their intentions were. Remember, Peter had been stockpiling weapons and ammunition at home and thanks to his videos, which was discovered when police reviewed the recordings that weren't destroyed in the house fire, they knew he likely had firearms at his camp. Little did they know what else they would uncover. They also knew that there was a chance they could be dealing with a hostage situation. A direct approach could endanger Peter's life if he was being held captive or spook him if he had hostages of his own. They needed to make whoever was inside come to them.
Speaker 2:You guys have a number of three sides. Can you get to that window and break it out or throw a gas in there? Brian, there's a. There looks like a slot or a window that's locked open in the back directly towards the dirt wall. But I couldn't see it. You got something over it. Maybe you got to control a logger or something. But if we throw a number two in that ditch, you should cycle right up into the tarp. You push it right into the structure.
Speaker 4:That's exactly what they decide to do. The response team keeps the bunker surrounded in the hopes that the gas canister will drive those inside out of the bunker and straight to the waiting forces. But after about 10 minutes nothing has changed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, anticipating. Finally, the first one you sent in is anticipating. You want me to throw a 98 under the window, the open window where you first gas? Yeah, if you can do it from your position.
Speaker 4:With the gas canisters having no effect, the team is forced to reconsider their tactics.
Speaker 2:For planning purposes. If this gas isn't going to work, we may have the command post try to locate like a wildland fire pump and hose that can pump a large volume of water into this place. But I think we could probably utilize this creek. We just need a hose and a pumping station to get it up to where we want it. We've got new photos showing this bunker may have multiple levels. Big coffee.
Speaker 4:This information actually came from Peter directly, and the self-recorded videos that they found in his burned out house.
Speaker 1:Well, this is the end of the day. I'm getting wrapped up, getting ready to leave I don't know if you can see me, but kind of, one last slit at everything. That's my fireplace wood stove, whatever.
Speaker 2:Pretty dark.
Speaker 1:Now we're going upstairs this is where most of my supplies are Pretty well stocked up my window Going down on the wood stove, and that pretty much wraps it up for today.
Speaker 4:Finally, police resorted to throwing a grenade towards the bunker. When even an actual explosion failed to get results, police knew that they would have to be the ones to approach. After a full day of besieging the bunker, they decided to break through the roof. You might be wondering why a house fire investigation demanded such an extensive response. As a matter of fact, it didn't. After assessing the situation, investigators concluded that they were dealing with arson, but that would all change when they made their way into the home and stumbled upon a disturbing discovery. It wasn't a subtle attempt either. The remains of a red gas can were found melted onto the stove where it had been placed in a skillet to heat up until it ignited.
Speaker 4:Police found several other gas cans throughout the residence, boxes of ammunition and a homemade explosive device. Investigators could only assume it was meant to be triggered by the fire in order to destroy the house and everything inside. Had the fire team arrived just a few moments later, they could have gone off while they were on the roof, potentially costing them their lives. Police believed that this evidence was meant to be destroyed in the fire, along with the video diaries, but those items were hardly the most shocking thing they discovered. There were two bodies in the bedroom of the Keller home untouched by the fire. Tragically, the bodies were identified to be those of Lynette and Katelyn Keller. They had both been shot in the head. It seems that what Peter's video diaries have been hinting at the entire time was death.
Speaker 1:Part of me has a hard time even imagining doing what I'm going to do, but as I think about it, I always come up to the same conclusion every time. I'm starting to get more okay with it.
Speaker 4:With this understanding, so many things began to make sense. Killing his family was the task. He wasn't looking forward to the hurdle he would overcome with his sickening do what you gotta do outlook. This also explains why he was so worried about getting caught. A killer loose in the woods certainly warranted a manhunt. Retired Sergeant Cindy West was once again willing to share her thoughts on the tragedy.
Speaker 5:I don't think either of them knew it was coming. Again, based on the conversations that we had with friends of both of them, it sounded like he was a loving, great husband. So I think they're both blindsided by it and I don't know. This case just racks my brain. There's no way it's ever going to resolve in my brain because you just think why. Not only did he kill his wife and his daughter but, based on the friends and neighbors, he had this dog that went everywhere with him hiking or apparently to go build a bunker, you know, for all these years, and he killed the dog too. He was afraid that the dog would give him away in the bunker and so he killed the dog too. Again, there's no explanation. I mean, I get that he obviously had some sort of mental illness. Dipstick wasn't hitting the oil with him, but it just makes you shake your head. I've seen a lot of stuff in my career, a lot of bad things you just shake your head about. You know, sometimes when things happen. But this case really, really got to me.
Speaker 4:Cindy shared with us what happened when police finally made entry into Camp Keller, and what they find inside the bunker is even more shocking than anyone expected.
Speaker 5:When our attack 30, aka SWAT guys discovered the bunker, of course they surround it and make sure everybody's safe, let everybody know what's going on before they hail to him saying hey, you know, come on out with your hands up. Yada, yada, all that. And it was just a short time after they initially made tried to make contact with him that they heard a pop. So they didn't know. Did he have an accidental discharge? Was it something else? They didn't know.
Speaker 4:When the walls of Camp Keller were finally breached, police discovered that Peter had stayed true to his word and ended his life when faced with capture soon after the police surrounded his stronghold. Perhaps this was Peter's only intention all along. He wanted to achieve this teenage fantasy of living out underground in the woods before he died. But he had no end game other than his own death.
Speaker 5:Well, the fact that he was found was significant. We're worried what he might do to somebody else. If he's, you know, raised enough to kill his wife and his daughter, then what was he going to do to somebody else? But I think there was a sense of relief that it was over, that he had been apprehended you know, not apprehended, but that he was finished with his crime spree, that nobody else got hurt. There was so much potential for injuries to citizens and all the officers involved that it was definitely a sense of relief.
Speaker 4:Ultimately, the case was closed and no charges were filed due to Peter's death. If Peter had survived, he would have faced two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. There was no question that he was the one who had set the fire. As gas cans identical to the ones left in the house were discovered inside Camp Keller, the camp was turned over to Keen County Department of Natural Resources. Peter's cash hoard was donated to a memorial scholarship established in memory of Lynette and Kayleen.