CARACoL

Thank you for visiting our website. The image you see is a detailed artistic re-creation of Israel Keyes' cell on the day of his death. In the top left portion of the image, there is a watermark-like pattern resembling a bloody shirt pressed against the wall, creating a faint, watery imprint. The word "caracol" appears on the wall, with letters about seven to nine inches tall, seemingly drawn with two fingers. Below the word, there is a hand swipe across the wall that appears random and is not an intentional underline or connected to the writing. On the bench, the phrase "if the only blood was mine, I would spill it" is written. The letters are approximately four inches tall and were likely drawn with a single finger. To the right, you’ll notice three milk cartons and a container, all filled with blood. These were meticulously clean, showing no fingerprints, though some light drips of blood run down the sides. It’s important to note that the swipe mentioned earlier does not contain any hidden writing—it’s simply part of the artistic interpretation.

Thank you for taking the time to read about this project. The image shown is a re-creation of Israel Keyes' cell following his suicide, and we want to provide some important context behind its creation. During an interview with the FBI, we were shown the actual photos from Israel's cell but were not allowed to keep them, as doing so would have bypassed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) restrictions. Immediately after the interview, we carefully sketched the image from memory, using the milk cartons in the cell as a frame of reference to ensure accuracy and scale. Our intent was not just to release the chilling phrase, "if the only blood was mine, I would spill it," without context. We wanted to avoid a situation like the one surrounding Samantha Koenig's ransom note, where images were recreated without full understanding. The re-creation provides a visual context for the scene and allows viewers to form their own theories, without the risk of confusion with the original photos. We were fortunate to collaborate with contemporary Canadian artist Heather Horton Whedon, whose careful attention to detail helped bring this image to life in a way that encourages thoughtful reflection.

There are many avenues to explore with this new information, and we are actively pursuing all of them. We will continue to provide updates and share any new findings as they come to light in future episodes of *Somewhere in the Pines*. Stay tuned for more in-depth analysis and discoveries as we dive deeper into this complex case.