Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Murdering Girlfriend's Mom

A Lynbrook man pleaded guilty today to murder and other charges for a 2016 attack on his girlfriend's mother that eventually led to her death two years later.

Ralph Keppler, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is due back in court on Jan. 24, and is expected to be sentenced to 22 years to life in prison.

“Ralph Keppler stalked Theresa Kiel for more than a week and then brutally attacked her outside her Long Beach home, leaving the woman in a persistent vegetative state until she succumbed to her injuries nearly two years later,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “This defendant was remarkably calculating in his plan to murder Theresa Kiel. Thanks to the hard work of the Long Beach Police Department, Nassau County Police Department’s Electronics Squad and my prosecutors, we were able to unravel this plot and hold this defendant accountable for this senseless murder.”

On Dec. 4, 2016, around 10:30 p.m., 54-year-old Theresa Kiel was walking to her apartment at 5 New York Ave. in Long Beach, and was in the entrance corridor when she was attacked by Keppler. He struck her several times in the head and face with a metal barbell, causing severe brain damage, a shattered skull, a depressed right eye and losing teeth.

Theresa Kiel and Keppler were involved in a business dispute at the time of the attack.

Theresa Kiel was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital after the attack and was in a vegetative state until she died on Nov. 10, 2018.

After the attack, Keppler fled the scene and returned to the home in Lynbrook that he shared with Theresa's daughter, Francesca.

Before the attack, Singas said that Francesca bought a GPS tracking device and put it on her mother's car. She also set up email alerts to notify her when the car was near her mother's home or office, Singas said. Francesca also allegedly called a Long Beach taxi company on the night of the attack — the same taxi company that picked up Keppler near the apartment that night, Singas said.

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 died.

After Keppler's arrest, the district attorney’s office and the Long Beach Police Department continued the investigation, which revealed the involvement of Francesca Kiel, Singas said.

Francesca Kiel was arrested on Nov. 11, 2018. She is due back in court on Jan. 6, 2020. Francesca Kiel was indicted on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy, second-degree criminal facilitation and first-degree hindering prosecution

Keppler has been fired by the Department of Correction.