I got in the car today for a normal mom carpool run. My radio is usually tuned to the kids’ music stations. Today, it happened to be tuned to news radio and the topic was Peter Keller. I got shivers.
It’s almost been 3 months since Peter Keller murdered his beautiful wife and daughter, Lynnette and Kaylene, in their North Bend home; set the home on fire to hide the crime; and then retreated to an elaborate bunker on Rattlesnake Ridge, preparing for the end of the world.
It was a week-long manhunt in the Snoqualmie Valley, something that seemed like a movie set. There were even swat teams dropped into forests by helicopters. It all ended in a weekend standoff and Peter Keller taking his own life.
Today, the King County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to announce the findings in the Peter Keller Case. It was officially determined that one of the guns found in Keller’s bunker was the weapon used to murder his wife and daughter. Police also released some footage of Keller’s video diaries.
I listened to Lynnette’s sister and brother talk about what a caring, wonderful woman their sister was and how happy Kaylene was; how much she loved video game design and wanted to study at Redmond-based DigiPen Institute of Technology, a leader in education and research of computer interactive technologies; and how much Kaylene loved her boyfriend.
I then sat in my car listening to the audio of one of those Keller video diaries It was eerie. I will never understand it. I am not sure it is understandable. He didn’t seem mad – just matter-of-fact. I think I listened because I thought I could figure out why someone would do such a thing to the people he supposedly loved. I got no answers.
There were tears in my eyes in my eyes when Lynnette’s family said they were taking all proceeds from the estate (including thousands of dollars found in Keller’s Rattlesnake Ridge bunker) and establishing a scholarship to DigiPen in Kaylene’s name. It will be “geared toward individuals who emulate Kaylene’s persona,” they family said.
A great quote: “Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” I hope the family can find some peace now. If that is possible.
Anyone wishing to donate to Kaylene’s scholarship fund can do so at www.seattlefoundation.org/kaylene or at www.kaylenesfund.com.
You can read more about the Keller press conference HERE.
