Daughter sentenced in mother’s barbell bludgeoning

Francesa Kiel was sentenced Thursday on first-degree manslaughter charges for her guilty plea in the death of her mother, Theresa Kiel.

News 12 Staff

Sep 24, 2020, 10:09 PM

Updated 1,452 days ago

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Francesca Keil, a Lynbrook woman who pleaded guilty for her role in her mother’s murder, was sentenced Thursday to 13 years in prison.
On Dec. 4, 2016, Theresa Kiel was bludgeoned with a metal barbell in the breezeway of her New York Avenue apartment building and left for dead. Police would later arrest Ralph Keppler, a city correction officer and boyfriend to Francesca Keil.
She was also arrested for aiding in the murder. The pair eventually pleaded guilty. Keppler received 22 years to life in prison. Francesca pleaded to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Prosecutors say the murder was over money – specifically, a business deal with Keppler that went bad. Detectives say Francesca Keil knew about the planned attack and helped track her mother with a GPS device in her car.
During her virtual sentencing, Judge Christopher Quinn said to Keil, "I can't understand how you got to the point where we are today."
Keil apologized to the court. "I know I have asserted emotional, physical, psychological pain and suffering. There is no excuse for my actions." She added: "Nothing can compare to the self-loathing that I have for the role I played in this."
It fell flat for Theresa’s former neighbor, Laura Stone.
“I mean she's a snake and so is her boyfriend for doing this. I heard those screams,” she said.