A Santa Barbara man has been named a person of interest in the Los Angeles “death warrant” stabbings that have grabbed national headlines.
The LAPD is looking for David Ben Keyes, who also goes by Courtney Anthony Robinson, in possible connection with the stabbings of three homeless people as they slept on city streets between July 3 and July 19. The victims, two men and one woman in their fifties, were all stabbed in the back and survived, though one remains in the hospital. At each scene, a typewritten and signed “death warrant” note was left, leading authorities to believe the incidents are related.
Santa Barbara police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood, noting Keyes has not been labeled a suspect, said his department has had “low-level contact” with him in the past. In those instances, he went by the name Courtney Anthony Robinson. The death warrants, the LAPD says, were signed “David Ben Keyes.”
Authorities in both jurisdictions emphasized they still don’t know if the name on the death warrants is the name of the actual suspect, and they only want to question Keyes at this point. Harwood asked that anyone with information about the man’s whereabouts to call the department’s on-duty watch commander at (805) 897-2376. Anyone who sees Keyes should call 9-1-1.
Keyes, who describes himself as a musician and has this song featured on his Facebook page, dropped out of contact in recent weeks but appears to have been in the Santa Barbara area as recently as last Sunday, tweeting, “David current agenda:Re-structure the Holy Roman Catholic Church into a military tribunal & draftin letters&press releases in Santa Barbara.” Police say he may be homeless and traveling between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
His Facebook page lists his hometown as Santa Barbara and his bio states: “David Ben Keyes CEO/CFO of David Ben Keyes Industries as well as a musician and scribe: orthodox/ Grand Inquisitor 17 Pope XVII Holy Roman Catholic Church & Empire – David Ben Keyes corporation $250 billion dollar Beverly Hills defense contract and Entertainment Company in Beverly Hills and Hollywood Studios in the private sector currently being funded.” Multiple profile pictures depict him at various Santa Barbara locations. In some he’s holding guns, and in one he’s carrying a knife.
While Keyes appears clean-cut in most of the photos dated in 2011, the more recent booking photo released by Santa Barbara police shows his appearance has notably changed. The booking photo’s date and the reason Keyes was taken into custody were not disclosed.