Nassau Woman Gets 13 Years For Role In Her Mother's Murder

LYNBROOK, NY — A Lynbrook woman on Thursday was sentenced to 13 years in prison for her role in her mother's murder.

Francesca Kiel, 23, pleaded guilty July 14 to first-degree manslaughter. Her boyfriend, Ralph Keppler, 30, also from Lynbrook, pleaded guilty in December 2019 to second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison June 30.

“Francesca Kiel and her boyfriend meticulously planned the attack and murder of her own mother, Theresa Kiel, in December 2016,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. “This was a particularly challenging investigation, because the co-defendants had worked hard to cover their tracks both before and after the attack. Thanks to extraordinary detective work from the Long Beach and Nassau County police departments, we unraveled this case and brought Theresa’s killer to justice. Our condolences are with Theresa’s mother and brother, as well her many friends and coworkers in the Malverne School system.”

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, prosecutors said. He was accused of striking her several times in the head and face with a metal barbell, causing severe brain damage, a shattered skull, a depressed right eye and lost teeth.

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

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

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

Before the attack, Singas said 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 was accused of 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 corrections 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. He was subsequently fired from his job.

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.

“The diligence of the Long Beach Detective Division during the course of this two-year investigation uncovered Francesca Kiel’s involvement in the murder of her mother Theresa Kiel," acting Long Beach Police Commissioner Philip Ragona said in a statement. “This is some of the finest work I’ve seen in my thirty years of police work.”