Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: Afton Ferris and Michael Schallert (Killer Couples)

Episode Date: May 18, 2023

We are bringing you a special bonus episode featuring a case from Oxygen's hit series, “Killer Couples.”  A loving couple are found shot to death in their home, forcing police to pursue a pair of desperate lovers on a cross-country manhunt. Season 16, Episode 01Originally aired: April 17, 2022 Watch full episodes of Buried in the Backyard live or OnDemand for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of One Piece Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Snap listeners. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today for oxygen true crimes hit series Snap killer couples you can also watch full episodes live or on demand on the free oxygen app by clicking the link in our description enjoy a

Peaceful beach side community is rocked when a beloved school teacher falls victim to a vicious crime She was beaten over the head with a blunt object. She suffered devastating injuries. I heard screams, just absolute screams from everywhere. I instructed everyone just to call 911. I wanted someone there so I could go chase the sky. As authorities race to track down a dangerous criminal, the investigation zeroes in on a business deal gone bad. She was getting money from a whole bunch of friends.

A lot of people were upset because they never got any of their investment back. The truth reveals a harrowing betrayal and a secret romance that emboldened deadly passions. As human beings, we always tend to lash out with the people that we love the most. I think those two feeding off of each other came together and make this the perfect storm that caused this crime. The evening is winding down in Long Beach, New York, a barrier island off Long Island South Shore. It's a beach community, very family oriented, very social. The 2.1 mile boardwalk is our crown jewel. You can find people every day, even in the winter, exercising, enjoying it. It consistently ranks in the top of the safest cities to live in the United States.

On this night, however, the usual calm of the beach community is shattered at 10.30 pm. When local resident Franklin Kusma witnesses something out of the ordinary. I was doing a normal boardwork workout. And I noticed someone was walking into their foyer and they were going home and someone kind of ran up behind them. And all of a sudden, I heard lots of screams. It was very dark. You could see like with a little silhouette shadow

of an exactly what was happening. Someone, all of a sudden sudden took out something really big, and started hitting them over the head with it. I immediately started running towards the whole situation. When the assailant notices Franklin approaching, they take off running. I ran over to the scene, and I saw this woman in the grounds. She was really in bad shape.

She was completely unresponsive. People started coming out of the apartment building, and I said, you call 911, I instructed everyone just to call 911. I wanted someone there so I could go chase this guy. He was already a good 15-20 seconds head of me, so I ran after him as fast as I could. As I was catching up to him, he kept looking back, and I was gaining ground. I chased him a long way,

and I was close to him. He went into a very dark alley. It was so dark, I was kind of like walking through the alley with my hands on my head, wondering when he was going to try and hit me. It was so dark, I was kind of like walking through the alley with my hands above my head, wondering when he was going to try and hit me. That's when I lost him.

Because it was extremely dark. After losing the assailant's trail, Franklin returns to check on the victim and finds long beach police have already arrived on the scene. The initial responding officers found the victim lying in the courtyard outside of an apartment with heavy blunt-forced trauma injuries about her head and face. She was in a pool of blood, she was beaten severely.

The victim was unconscious and unresponsive. The fire department immediately gave medical aid. Neighbors identify the woman as 56-year-old Teresa Keel, a local schoolteacher who lives in the building with her two adult children, neighbors identify the woman as 56-year-old Teresa Keel, a local schoolteacher who lives in the building with her two adult children, 18-year-old Francesca, and 24-year-old Vincent. Around the same time Vincent or son shows up

at the apartment building and sees the commotion and says, you know, that's my mother. Vinson told us that he had been out to dinner with his mother earlier in the night when the attack occurred. A resident that lives in that complex called Vincent right away, and he came to the scene. It was a miracle she was still alive. And they rushed to the hospital. It was a miracle she would still live, and they rushed to the hospital.

The crime scene was established. They began to interview the neighbors, to determine who this woman was, and what might have happened to her. Originally from neighboring Queens County, New York, Teresa and Albano had dedicated her life to children. Teresa was very loved by her community, especially the schools in which she taught.

She was the teacher that everybody wanted to have. The kids loved her, the parents loved her, and her colleagues loved her. Terri Keel was just a wonderful woman. Her husband had passed away in 2004. He had been a prominent dentist up in Glencove Long Island. She had basically raised her children single-handedly. That included Vincent and her daughter Francesca.

She was very dedicated to her two children. She was always there for them when they needed her, especially when their father passed away. Despite their loss, Francesca and Vincent thrived under their mother's care. While Francesca shined academically, Vincent excelled at sports. He discovered that he had a real knack for tennis. Vincent went all the way up to tournament levels

and was a bit of a tennis phenom in the area. In 2015, Francesca graduated from Law Beach High School. She got a job waitressing, and at the time her mother encouraged her to go to a national community college to help further her education and open up more opportunities for her and Francesca did and she started attending class with her. Vincent was also coming into his own. He was starting to develop apps. coming into his own, he was starting to develop apps. And Teresa was 100% in supports,

and was a big champion for Vincent and trying to help him push this forward and get these things done. She had also earned her doctorate while she was working. She was just a great person. Teresa had actually been working on creating a tutoring program for the homeless in the area. She was very friendly, she was very willing to help you if you needed help.

But now the 56 year old schoolteacher is clinging to life after a brutal assault. And Long Beach police are trying to piece together what happened. A review of the crime scene showed that there was a deep gash in the wall close to where Teresa Kiel's body was found, indicating that whatever instrument was used to injure Teresa Kiel at some point, missed her, and struck the wall, and took a deep gouge out of the wall. Her pocketbook was next to her, nothing was taken from her pocketbook.

Her wallet was still in her pocketbook. So we knew this most like it wasn't a random attack, because nothing was missing. The injuries to Teresa Keel's head in particular, We knew this most like it wasn't a random attack because nothing was missing. The injuries to Teresa Kiel's head in particular and the violence of the entire attack led us to believe that this was a personal encounter. This just spoke of rage of somebody who had hatred and rage for this woman, for whatever

reason. Based on the evidence of the scene, detectives believe Teresa likely knew the perpetrator, but who had attacked her? Oftentimes you don't have an eyewitness to a crime, but we were really fortunate to have Franklin Kuzma be the eyewitness who happened to be there finishing a workout and who was willing and courageous enough to get involved and actually pursue a guy who had just viciously attacked Theresa Keele.

He was, um, let's say, about 6'4, maybe 6'3. He was wearing a big hat. He had on a vest, and he had on something that covered his, kind of, like, his bottom chain a little bit, and you really couldn't make out who it was. When Franklin told us what had happened with chasing this subject, we knew we had to broaden our search. Long Beach police had K-9 and every officer out there looking for the person who committed

this horrific assault because they wanted to make sure that if he was in the area that they could apprehend him safely. The The The The The The The The The The The The The After a period of time elapsed, it appeared that perhaps the person

Discaped our efforts to locate him. And officers began calming the area of any type of physical evidence Now that we know the route that he took. And in a back alley, over a fence, officers located the weapon. They found the bar from a dumbbell. It did have what appeared to be blood evidence on it, and that was preserved and secured by them.

The weapon was discovered in an alley. I went to that residence, and I discovered that there was video in the alley, and found that the subject was captured on the video. Coming up, as the man hunt for the assailant intensifies, the police unearthed evidence of a stalker. The GPS tracker had to have been placed on Teresa Kiel's car because the movement of the tracker was predominantly

between the places where she spent the majority of her time. In their search for the assailant, detectives have discovered home security cameras in a back alley near the crime scene. I located the owner of the video and downloaded the video and found that the subject was captured on the video, but that for the LED bulbs that light up the video at night were defective, so all we could get was a shadow of the individual. Detective secure more security footage in the area and watches their witness Franklin Kuzma chases the assailant down. The assailant who was seen on the surveillance video was also carrying a duffel bag. So it's our belief that he changed clothes and took the clothes that he wore during the assault with him.

Unfortunately, detectives can't identify hospital to speak with Teresa's family. There, they learn Teresa's prognosis is grim. Teresa suffered devastating injuries. The right side of her skull was basically caved in. She is entirely dependent on life support now. She's in a vegetative state. I responded to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. We spoke with Vincent Keel at the hospital,

and we also spoke with Teresa's brother Michael. Vincent and Teresa's brother, Michael. Vincen and Teresa's brother were extremely, extremely devastated over what happened to Teresa Kim. When detectives questioned Teresa's family about the whereabouts of Teresa's daughter, Francesca, Vincen tells them that they haven't been able to get a hold of her. According to Vincent, his sister had moved out 10 months earlier, following a dispute with their family.

Francesca had lost all touch with her family. She did not speak to any of them, including her mother. She had no contact with the family, she did not speak to any of them including her mother. She had no contact with the family whatsoever. Suspicious of this new piece of information, detectives ask Vincent to elaborate on the family conflict, he explains that the hostility stemmed from Francesca's relationship with his former friend, 26-year-old Ralph Kepler. Ralph Kepler was a New York City corrections officer.

He was also an entrepreneur. He was very, very interested in starting new businesses and making money off of those businesses. As one of his ventures, Ralph had invested in a dating app that Vincent Keel was developing. Vincent and Ralph were very good friends and based on their friendship and entrepreneurial spirit. Ralph Kepler and his family invested

approximately $130,000 into the app. Vincent tells police that while they were working together on the app, Ralph had also taken an interest in his 18-year-old sister, Francesca. She meets Ralph Kapler, who was very handsome, very well-built, and older than her by a few years. And, you know, this handsome older man is lavishing her with attention. They became romantically involved. Francesca, by all accounts, fell pretty hard for him. She was medley in love with them.

But according to Vincent, the relationship had developed in secret, leading to conflict in the keel family. To recent, Vincent did not approve of Francesca dating Ralph. There was obviously a lot of bad blood. Vincent and Ralph started to butt heads, and their friendship started to deteriorate. The worst part, according according to Vincent was that Ralph and his anger had turned Francesca against him.

The more involved with Ralph Kepler that Francesca got, the bigger the rift between Francesca and her mother. And ultimately Francesca Keel moved out of her mother's house and moved in with Ralph, who lived with his grandfather in a house in Limbroke. While Vincent doesn't think his sister is capable of harming their mother, detectives want to talk to her immediately.

The detectives from Long Beach drive up to Lindbrook to Francesca's home where she lives with Ralph. At 1.30, 1.45 in the morning. When detectives introduce themselves to Francesca and Ralph, the couple appears surprised to see them. surprise to see them. They bring them to the house and talk to them separately to get their stories about what happened that night. We spoke to Francesca. I advised her that her mother had been very seriously injured. And Francesca was stunned into silence.

Then the detectives proceeded to ask her, what were you doing this night, where were you? She conveyed to me that she had been home with Ralph all day, wrapping presents, and watching football. As proof, Francesca produces photo she and Ralph took during the time Teresa was attacked. She showed us the photo that was timestamped and date stamped, seeming to show Ralph Kepler and Francesca Keel, wrapping Christmas presents within moments

of the brutal assault on Teresa Kiel. Ralph is also talking to the officers on the other side of the house. And he tells them the same things that Francesca told them that they were wrapping presents and they're watching football and they have pictures of them wrapping presents to back it up. He said the only time he left the house was earlier that morning at approximately 11 a.m. and that was to go by a lottery ticket for his grandfather. With Ralph and Francesca cleared as persons of interest, detectives aim to gather more

information that might lead them to a new suspect. They asked the couple about the recent tension with Teresa. They don't deny it and claim their anger is valid because Teresa had stolen thousands of dollars from investors. Teresa was soliciting money from people to help fund a Vincent's app. She got tens of thousands of dollars, and Francesca told the police that a lot of people were upset because the app never materialized. Ralph Kepler and his parents sued Vincent and Terry.

There were some other investors involved that also, and they wanted their money back Friends Chesco was pointing to that as a possible bow to for the attack on Teresa The Bahamas what if you could hang out with celebrities live in a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean with all your best friends and have it be 100% paid for. FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried made that dream a reality, but U.S. prosecutors say he was hiding a dark secret. Barely 30, the young crypto billionaire became a powerful financial figure, but in just one month, his exchange would collapse, and SBF would find himself in handcuffs.

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your podcasts. Hey, prime members, you can listen to episodes Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. The Oceanside community of Long Beach, New York, is reeling after news has spread that 56-year-old Teresa Keel was viciously assaulted outside of her apartment. Those injuries were just so overpowering and so dramatic. I just couldn't believe it, frankly.

I was just emotionally struck by it, and I broke down, frankly, because, you know, it was just heartbreaking for me. Detectives are speaking to Teresa's daughter Francesca, and Francesca's boyfriend, Ralph Kepler, who believe that the attack may be the result of Teresa's recent business dealings. When they were interviewing Francesca, they asked her, does anyone have a reason to attack your mother?

And Francesca tells them that some people are saying that she's a crook who's stealing money from people and using her son's app to lie her own pockets. Ralph Kepler and his parents sued Vincent and Terry. There were some other investors involved, also. So that's why she came to me. Armed with this new information, detectives begin tracking down investors and question them

about their dealings with Teresa Keel. They start speaking to other people who invested in the app, just to see if any of them could possibly be part of it. While detectives confirmed that Teresa had faced civil litigation, the investors claimed there was no basis for a lawsuit. The investors basically got their money back. In that case, of course, was dismissed. There wasn't any sign of animosity between the parties.

They were ruled out fairly rapidly as being involved. It was clear it wasn't them at that point. The detectives do look at everybody that potentially could be involved. They look to see what activity's been in the area. They look to see what offenders might have been recently released, who might be doing these type of crimes.

But in Long Beach, being a very safe community, there is not a whole lot of that type of activity. The next step is look at phone records and begin methodically plotting through the records. The victim can't speak for herself, so we have to ask her electronic devices to speak for her. Who might have threatened her? What might have happened? We hope that the phone and the analysis of it can provide that information. We found some contentious texts between Ms. Keel

and her daughter and her son indicating that there were problems in the family relationship. Some of these problems appeared to be related to business dealing for them. Contrary to Francesca and Ralph's claims, the animosity found in the text messages leads investigators back to Ralph Kepler. The person who was most angry over the whole money issue was Ralph. And Ralph, of everyone who had lost their money to the app,

Ralph was the most aggressive. Teresa Keel kind of managed the investment money. Ralph Kepler was under the assumption that the money was being misappropriated, and that's where the conflict started. We saw a number of different text messages where he expressed extreme hatred towards Teresa Kiel. Ralph Kepler was sort of blatant in his communications.

It was not only threatening them in emails and so forth, but in photographs and other communications. As detectives continue digging into Teresa's life, they receive more information that Teresa was scared of Ralph. Friends of Teresa came forward to the police and one of them had a text message that Teresa had sent her. It said that Francesca had moved in with a psychopath who wanted to quote, kill her and Vince. Teresa killed knew how much Ralph hated her and was concerned that ultimately he was going to harm her

or her son or possibly her daughter. Detectives immediately secure search warrants for Ralph Kepler and Francesca Keel's cell phones. They look for any information that Ralph was involved and whether or not Francesca knew about it. Detectives went through phone records in particular Francesca Keel through phone records, in particular, Francesca Keele's phone records. One of the detectives actually researched every call

that was made in the month's leading up to the attack on Theresa Keele. He came across a 1-800 number, and he looked into what that 1-800 number was, and he saw that it belonged to a company called Spytech. They're basically an outfit that sells among other things GPS tracking devices. We were able to ask them to provide any information they had regarding purchases made by Ralph Kepler or Francesca Keele.

Turns out that a purchase was made by Francesca using her credit card of a GPS device. The receipt showed that it was delivered by overnight or next day mail and turned on on November 25th, 2016. Once the detective learned that a GPS tracking device was purchased by Francesca Keel about two and a half weeks before her mother's assault, we did a search warrant and we asked the company for the GPS records. When we got the GPS tracking device records and we realized that the GPS tracker had to

have been placed on Teresa Keel's car because the movement of the tracker was predominantly between the places where she spent the majority of her time. The police using that information started going through all of Francesca's emails. And they found among them, they found alerts from the company and the tracking device, and they realized that Francesca had set specific alerts

so that she would know when her mother was either at home or at work. Detectives have to wonder, had Francesca betrayed her mother for her boyfriend. Or is it possible Ralph had made the purchase without Francesca's awareness? Well, the only person besides Francesca who would have access to her credit card and her email

and her passwords was Ralph, who she was living with. We applied for a warrant for the cell sites for Ralph Kepler's phone and Francesca's phone. We were given Theresa Keel's cell sites, and we had a warrant for the GPS for Spite Tech. And we put the four cell sites together, and we were able to simultaneously look at direction travel on the car, and the other phone numbers

associated with Kepler and Francesca's phone. It was our understanding based upon some detectives from the Nassau County Electronics Department that these GPS trackers have batteries, but they don't last forever. You have to take the batteries out and change them every couple days.

So there were multiple times when we saw Ralph and Francesca's phone meet up with the GPS and it was our belief that they were changing the batteries on the GPS to make sure that it would continue to track Theresa Keel's movements. This told us that Francesca, as well as Ralph, were tracking Teresa's movements for weeks leading up to the assault. Coming up, as police build their case to take down their primary suspects, questions about the crime's true mastermind begin to mount.

The more involved she got with him, the more dependent she was on the road. questions about the crime's true mastermind begin to mount. The more involved she got with him, the more dependent she got on him. That was the perfect storm of personalities there, and it turned out to be horrible. Nearly a month into their investigation, Long Beach, New York police have zeroed in on 18-year-old Francesca Keel and 26-year-old Ralph Kepler as the primary suspects in the attack on Francesca's mother Theresa Keel. After learning the couple had been tracking Theresa for weeks prior to the assault. Most investigations are methodical.

It's take a record, look it up, find out about it, move on to the next step. This can go on for months. Search warrant process and subpoena process takes time. To apply to a judge for a warrant is a very serious matter. Search warrant process and subpoena process takes time. To apply to a judge for a warrant is a very serious matter. They don't undertake it lightly. So the investigation slowed down at this point as we collect information.

Detectives continue digging into Francesca Keel's phone records and find more incriminating evidence. In addition to the call to the GPS company, there was also a call placed to the Long Beach Taxi Cab Company right around the time of the attack. Francesca wasn't in Long Beach at the time when she made the call. Our cell sites put her in Lindbroke

where she lived with Ralph Kepper. It was our belief she was calling for a getaway car for Ralph Kepler after the attack. We're able to determine the license number and the taxi number of the taxi, and we're able to get records from the taxi company. We did find a cab driver who picked up a mail, matching Ralph Kepler's description. She said he jumped into the back row, ducked down.

She described him as acting very suspicious, very paranoid, looking around quite a bit, told her, take me to the rail, and then paid her, I think it was $18 or $19 for $5 fair, and jumped out right next to the train station. To solidify their case, detectives track down more surveillance footage from the night of the attack. From the initial videos, we could see that this subject was a large, stocky individual. It appeared to be very muscular, very strong, but he was very quick.

Ralph Kepler has a very specific body type. He is extremely well built and he's very boxy. He's tall, he's big, but he's also very square. So when you saw the assailant running down the road, there's almost no question that it could be anybody other than Ralph Kepler. On January 24th, 2018, more than a year after the attack on Theresa Keel, detectives take Ralph Kepler into custody. Long Beach Police Department detectives arrested Ralph Kepler at his job as a corrections officer of Rikerers Island. Ralph Kepler was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Theresa Keel.

Now that Ralph was under arrest, we were able to get a court order for a swab of his cheek. And that's what we did. The DNA sample is sent to the lab to compare with DNA on the bloody barbell found near the scene of the crime. Meanwhile, detectives attempt to speak with Ralph. Unfortunately, he is unwilling to cooperate any further. I don't advise you to do right until you will dance with questions.

You won't learn very first. At that point, he was brought to court and arranged on those charges. so you will dance with questions. You're more than 30 percent. MUSIC At that point, he was brought to court and arraigned on those charges. My office asked that he remain incarcerated during the pendency of the criminal case. The judge did set bail in the amount of $500,000. Ralph Kepler ultimately posted that bail.

MUSIC Despite their belief that Francesca played a role Ralph Kepler ultimately posted that bail. Despite their belief that Francesca played a role in the crime, authorities don't have enough evidence to arrest her. But Francesca's friends offered detectives insight into a relationship they claim had turned toxic. Initially, when Ralph and Francesca started to date, Francesca was still close with her family and very close with her mother. But the more she became involved with Ralph Kepler,

the more she started to be pulled away from her family. Ralph would tell her things that her family was against her, that they did not have her best interested heart, that they were going to take her money. She had an inheritance from her father who passed away, and Ralph made her believe that her family was going to take that inheritance from her. Francesca's mother worked hard to try to get her back into the family.

And I think this caused Ralph Kepler to push even harder to control Francesca. Get her away from the family basically so he could have complete control of her for himself. She was addicted to Ralph Kepler. She was completely under his control, completely submissive to him. And I think Ralph Kepler, in the end, had Francesca convinced that her mother was a monster. Finally, in November 2018, detectives received the results of the murder. a monster. Finally, in November 2018, detectives received the results from the crime lab. After the barbell was recovered, it was processed by the lab.

And it was determined that Theresa Keel's blood was, in fact, on that barbell. There were other male profiles that were unknown at the time. So after Ralph was arrested, and once that swab was taken, his DNA profile was compared, and he matched. At that point, my office, along with the police department, completed over 24 search warrants for social media, electronic devices, cell phone evidence,

computer evidence, just trying to see how deeply Francesca was involved. And we were able to retrieve some internet searches that were done under Francesca Keel's username. And as soon as we read those internet searches, it was game over. There were searches about how reliable is DNA evidence. We found searches about single, hit, death blows, weakest part of the skull, strongest part of the skull, brain death,

how to kill someone and get away with it. There were a tremendous amount of searches. Then nearly two years after the attack, authorities received tragic news. On November 10, 2018, we were notified that Teresa Kielin passed away. She was beaten severely over the head and really never recovered from those injuries. She was essentially in a vegetative state until ultimately she succumbed to those injuries. She was essentially in a vegetative state until ultimately she succumbed to her injuries.

It was a slow and painful way to die. It took years. When Teresa passed away after the medical examiner issued their findings and cooperation with the DA's office, it was determined that we would re-arrest Ralph Kepler for murder and we would also arrest Francesca Kiel for murder.

Unfortunately, when she was arrested, she decided, again, speaking with the police, she had a right to remain silent. She was advised of those rights. She decided to again, speaking with the police, she had a right to remain silent. She was advised of those rights. She decided to exercise those rights. Coming up, as the case heads to trial, investigators hope that one of the Kochan spiriters might turn on the other.

At this point, both sides have articulated bad blood between each other. At this point, both sides have articulated bad blood between each other. We have to keep our focus very wide and look for anything that may come up. Two years after the attack that left Theresa Keel on life support, the 56-year-old schoolteacher has died. And her daughter Francesca Keel and Francesca's boyfriend,

Ralph Kepler, have been indicted for her murder. Ralph had managed to apparently turn Francesca from, you know, a devoted daughter into a cold murderer. That is just over the top insane, just over the top insane. Well, how do you convince the daughter to kill her mother? Prosecutors theorize that on the night of December 4th, 2016, Francesca tracked her mother's movements

to the diner where she would have her last meal with Vincent. She would have got a geo alert when they got there, but they would have known when she left the diner as well because the cars tracked continuously. So knowing that she was there and that Theresa would soon be going home, Francesca ordered the cab to take Ralph to the apartment where he would lie in waits for Theresa

and that attacker. At the same time, Francesca used both her and Ralph's phones to establish an alibi. What we think happened was that they'd taken a picture in a social media platform and left it up in, say, the cloud. And then what happened was right after the incident, Francesca, would have taken those pictures from that social media platform, taken it down to both phones, and saved the picture to the camera roll. I believe that there were burn-of-phones involved

and that one had called the other from these burn-of-phones. During that time, after he said whatever he said to her, whether it's a code or he said he did it, I don't know. She then took her phone and his phone and downloaded these pictures from this third party, Cloud App, and then saved them on to both phones at the same time. and downloaded these pictures from this third party Cloud app and then saved them on to both phones at the same time. She sat there and waited for the moment when her mom was going to die to create an alibi.

She had an opportunity to pick up a phone. She had an opportunity to stop it. She had an opportunity to say, don't do this to my mother. She elected not to do any of those things and to provide an alibi for a boyfriend. She's 100% part of this crime. In December 2019, the state meets with Ralph's defense team to discuss a plea agreement. The detectives found those extremely important internet searches. It was my job to make sure that the defense attorney knew about them right away.

And as soon as we went to court, and I informed the court as well as the defense attorney, as to the amount of and the content of the internet searches. That is when shortly thereafter, Ralph had agreed to plead guilty. Ralph accepted a sentence of 22 years to life. The maximum sentence for murder in the second degree in New York would be 25 to life. In exchange for his agreement to plead guilty, the judge gave him a commitment

that he would basically save three years and be sentenced to 22 years to life. He will have to do at least 22 years behind bars and could potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars. spend the rest of his life behind bars. MUSIC My office ultimately offered Francesca a plea to manslaughter in the first degree, as long as it was conditioned upon her serving 13 years in jail.

And once we made that offer to Francesca, she accepted it soon thereafter. It was shocking to me that a guy at the point where Francesca was willing to serve her own mother up on a silver platter to Ralph Kepler. Their hatred for this woman, somebody who was well loved by the community, someone who was well loved by her family, someone who was well loved by the children that she taught, that's what ultimately led to her violent death. who was well loved by her family, someone who was well loved by the children that she taught. That's what ultimately led to her violent death.

She was just a great person, she really was, and did not deserve to die. If those two never got together, they never dated, Teresa Kiel would be alive today.