The Murder of Theresa Kiel
For this case, I watched an episode of Killer Couples. It’s season 16 episode 7.
A beloved New York teacher is attacked outside her home.
Background
Theresa Ann Albano grew up in New York, in the borough of Queens. She would eventually go on to live in Long Beach, a beach town best known for their boardwalk.
Theresa’s husband, a prominent dentist, passed away in 2004. She was dedicated to her two kids, Vincent and Francesca. Theresa supported her own children, the children she taught, and was developing a tutoring program for the homeless people in the area. Theresa was described as very loving and helpful.
Theresa Kiel
The Attack
On December 4, 2016, a local man named Franklin Cusma, was just finishing up his workout.
At 10:30pm, he witnessed a woman being followed to the alcove of her apartment by a dark figure. Franklin was only able to see their silhouettes, but could see that the woman was being struck in the head by a heavy object.
Franklin walked over to the woman, and instructed other neighbors that had come outside, to call 911. He took off running after the assailant, who was several seconds ahead of him.
Franklin was able to track the person to a dark alley, but lost him. When het returned to the apartment complex, the Long Beach police were already there. The victim was identified by the neighbors as Theresa Kiel, who was 56-years-old.
As Theresa was being put into the ambulance, her son, Vincent, arrived at the scene. Vincent was contacted by another resident after the attack happened. Vincent told the police that he had just been with his mom out at dinner hours earlier.
The Search
At the crime scene, the police found a large gash in the wall. At one point, the attacker had missed Theresa and hit the wall.
Theresa’s purse and wallet had been found near her body. Nothing had been taken, so robbery was ruled out. Due to the horrific nature of the crime, the police believed it was personal.
Franklin described the attacker as a male about 6’3 or 6’4.” He said the man was wearing a hat, vest, and something covering the bottom part of his chin.
The police brought in cadaver dogs, but the dogs weren’t able to find the assailant. Not far from the crime scene, the police found a bar from a barbell. It had blood on it, so it was believed to have been the murder weapon, and was collected.
The police were able to find surveillance footage from the alleyway. Unfortunately, it was very grainy. A second surveillance camera captured Franklin chasing the assailant. The figure was carrying a duffel bag, so the police believed he had changed his clothes sometime after the attack.
A Family Feud
The police went to the hospital to check on Theresa. They learned that she was in a very vegetative state, and was on life support.
The police spoke to Michael, Theresa’s brother, and her son, Vincent. They told the police that they hadn’t been able to get into contact with Francesca.
Vincent told the police that Francesca had moved out 10 months earlier after she started dating his friend, Ralph Keppler. Ralph worked as a New York corrections officer, and had been 26 at the time, and Francesca was 18.
Vincent said the arguments started when he and Ralph worked on developing a dating app together. Ralph and his family invested about $130,000 in the app. Vincent said Ralph took an interest in Francesca, which angered him and his mom.
Vincent said Ralph and his anger turned Francesca against the family. Francesca moved in with Ralph and his grandfather in Lynwood. Vincent told the police that he didn’t think Francesca would hurt their mom.
Ralph Keppler and Francesca Kiel
A Possible Motive
Around 1:30-1:45am, the police drove out to Lynwood to speak to Ralph and Francesca. The couple was separated and interviewed.
Francesca was stunned after she was told that her mom was severely injured. She told the police that she and Ralph had been home all night wrapping presents and watching football. Francesca had taken several photos, including a selfie that was time stamped 11 minutes after the time of Theresa’s attack.
Ralph told the police the same story. He said the only time he left the house was that morning around 11 to buy a lottery ticket for his grandfather.
Ralph and Francesca were asked about the recent tension between them and the Kiel’s. They didn’t deny it, but Ralph said Theresa had been stealing money from their investors. Francesca said many of the investors were angry, and Ralph’s family sued her and Vincent.
The police spoke to these investors, but they weren’t angry. They were all cleared quickly. The only people who were angry with Theresa were her daughter and Ralph.
The GPS
The police obtained Theresa, Ralph and Francesca’s phone records. There were several messages between Theresa, Vincent and Francesca. The conversations always revolved around Ralph.
In Ralph’s messages, he spoke about his angry and hatred towards Theresa. He spoke about her losing her job and everything in her life. He also spoke about something happening to her, and making it look like an accident.
Theresa’s friends came forward, and said Theresa was afraid of Ralph. Theresa had written to her friend that Francesca had moved in with a psychopath. She was mostly afraid of the safety of herself and Vincent, but believed Ralph would hurt Francesca too.
The police investigated every phone call that Ralph and Francesca made. They found a 1-800 number that led them to a company called SPYTECH. Francesca had made a purchase with her credit card for a GPS tracking device. It was delivered in November 2016, just two weeks before her mom was attacked.
In Francesca’s emails, the police found the alerts from the GPS device. Francesca had been tracking her mom from when she was at school, home, etc. Francesca and Ralph had both been aware of anytime they needed to change the batteries in the GPS device too.
The Plot
On December 4, Francesca had called a local taxi company. The taxi license plate and taxi number were tracked down. The driver said she picked up a man who matched Ralph’s description. She said he climbed into the back row, ducked down, and was acting very paranoid. The person was dropped off at the train station, and paid $18-19 for a $5 fair.
Ralph was described as very large, boxy, and stocky. The person on the surveillance footage seemed to match Ralph. He was taken into custody on January 24, 2018. He was charged with attempted murder.
Ralph’s DNA was taken to be compared to the DNA found on the barbell. He refused to talk, and asked for a lawyer. Ralph was arraigned, and a $50,000 bail was set for him. Ralph was able to post the bail.
The police didn’t have enough evidence against Francesca. Francesca’s friends told the police that Ralph controlled her. He convinced her that her family would take away her inheritance that she received from her father’s death. Theresa worked hard to get her daughter back, but she chose Ralph instead.
In November 2018, the lab results from the barbell came back. Theresa’s blood was found on it, along with unknown male DNA. The unknown male DNA that had been found on it originally was a match to Ralph’s.
Over 24 warrants were obtained for any electronic devices. Under Francesca’s username on her computer, there were various internet searches. Some of the searches included, weakest part of the skull, single blows to the head, and how reliable DNA was.
The Convictions
On November 10, 2018, Theresa Kiel succumbed to her injuries, and passed away. She had been left in a vegetative state, and was never able to recover.
Ralph was re-arrested, and charged with murder. Francesca was also arrested, and she also refused to talk.
The police believed on December 4, Francesca tracked her mom from the diner she was at with Vincent to her home. Francesca had called a taxi for Ralph, who was lying in wait when Theresa came home.
Francesca was able to use both phones in Lynwood to establish an alibi. It was believed that the selfie of them was uploaded to Francesca’s camera roll after it was stored in the cloud for awhile.
In December 2019, Ralph was offered a plea deal. The prosecution presented the defense with the mountain of electronic evidence they had against him. Ralph pled guilty, and was sentenced to 22 years to life. He will be eligible for parole in 2040.
Francesca Kiel also accepted a plea deal, but for manslaughter. She was sentenced to 13 years, and will be eligible for parole in 2031.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Francesca will be eligible for parole in just 9 years. I believe she and Ralph both plotted to kill Theresa. Ralph was angry at Theresa for allegedly stealing his money, and turned Francesca against her own mom. I believe they are both evil, and should never get out of prison. My heart goes out to Vincent, and the rest of Theresa’s family.
Sources
https://www.nassauda.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1259
https://people.com/crime/woman-helped-boyfriend-kill-mom-barbaric-barbell-beating/
