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Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced Tuesday, June 30, that Ralph Keppler, of Lynbrook, was sentenced for the 2016 crime that led to the woman's death in 2018.
Keppler pleaded guilty in Dec. 2019 to the charges of murder, conspiracy, and criminal possession of a weapon, Singas said.
According to Singas, on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, at around 10:30 p.m., Theresa Kiel was walking towards her apartment door at 5 New York Avenue in Long Beach.
Kiel and Keppler were involved in a business dispute at the time of the attack.
The victim was inside the entrance corridor to the apartment complex when she was attacked by Keppler and struck several times on the head and face with a metal barbell.
Kiel suffered severe brain damage, a shattered skull, a depressed right eye, and lost teeth.
She was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital at the time and was in a vegetative state until she passed away on November 10, 2018, at the age of 56.
Keppler fled the scene and returned to his Lynbrook home that he shared with Kiel’s daughter, Francesca.
"Ralph Keppler deserves every day of his 22 years to life in prison and we hope that today's sentence helps Theresa's family and friends in the mourning process," Singas said.
Prior to the murder, Francesca Kiel allegedly purchased a GPS tracking device that was placed on her mother’s car. She allegedly set up email alerts that notified her when her mother’s car was in the vicinity of her mother’s home or place of work.
Francesca Kiel also allegedly called a Long Beach taxi company on the night of the murder, the same taxi company that picked up Keppler in the vicinity of the murder scene.
Keppler, who worked as a New York City correction officer, was arrested at Rikers Island by members of the Long Beach Police Department on Jan. 24, 2018, on attempted murder charges. Those charges were upgraded when Theresa Kiel passed away.
After the initial arrest of Keppler, the District Attorney’s office and the Long Beach Police Department continued the investigation and it revealed the alleged involvement of Francesca Kiel.
Francesca Kiel was arrested on Nov. 11, 2018. She is due back in court on Tuesday, July 14.
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