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KILLER'S SON GETS $30
MILLION FOR LOSS OF MOTHER
DATE: March 1, 2008
PUBLICATION: Palm Beach Post
As a jury was about to announce Friday how much money 13-year-old
Fredchen Keller should get from the estate of his late father, who
murdered the boy's mother, attorneys reached a settlement that gives the
boy $30 million.
The settlement cost Fredchen $10 million. Minutes after the terms were
explained to Circuit Judge Edward Garrison, the panel awarded him $40
million. The "global settlement" also increases the amount of money
other members of the family of Rosemarie Keller -- who was murdered by
her ex-husband, Fred Keller -- received in recent trials.
Wolfgang Keil was awarded nearly $3.2 million in February in the trial
of his personal injury lawsuit against Keller's estate. Keil was shot
twice and seriously wounded in the same November 2003 incident in which
his sister was slain. Under terms of the settlement, Keil now receives
$5.5 million.
"I think that's what someone deserves who loses their mom," Keil said of
the money his nephew Fredchen will get. "I lost the same person. I
didn't get compensated for that or my injuries."
Rosemarie Keller's estate received nearly $6.4 million in settling its
wrongful death case in February against Fred Keller's estate. That is
now reduced to $4.8 million as part of the settlement. But unlike the
February settlement, this one excludes Fredchen, who is a 70 percent
beneficiary of his mother's estate. So Rosemarie Keller's four siblings
and her mother will actually receive more money than under terms of the
first settlement.
The global settlement also makes Keller's estate virtually nontaxable
because it is equal to or in excess of the value of the estate, said
John Farina, an attorney who helped broker the agreement.
Now an administrator ad litem will be appointed for Fredchen to
determine whether the settlement is in his best interest. If he thinks
it is, Garrison must give final approval. If that doesn't happen, the
jury's verdict will stand, as will the verdicts in the trials of Keil
and Rosemarie Keller's estate.
Fredchen was not present at the trial. "He knows there's a trial going
on. We don't get into details," said David Bovi, who with his wife,
Angie, has custody of the boy. Angie Bovi is Rosemarie Keller's sister.
Keller shot and killed 34-year-old Rosemarie Keller 11 days after she
received half of his assets in a divorce judgment. He was convicted of
murdering his fifth ex-wife and attempting to murder Keil in the
incident, and sentenced to life in prison last year. He died in August
at the age of 73.
Attorney Ted Babbitt urged the jury to return a verdict of $60 million
to Fredchen for the loss of his mother's companionship and guidance and
for his past, present and future pain and suffering. "It's a lot of
money, but this is a lot of damage," Babbitt said.
The $60 million likely exceeds the value of Keller's estate, which some
attorneys place at about $40 million. The total amount of the global
settlement is $40.3 million.
Babbitt's fee will be $1.5 million rather than $2 million because the
settlement earmarks less money for Fredchen than the verdict. He seemed
unconcerned at losing $500,000, saying there may not have been enough
money in the estate to pay it anyway.
Attorney Steven Rothman, representing the executor of Fred Keller's
estate, told jurors that an appropriate verdict would be between $6.5
million and $13 million.
Rothman acknowledged that Fredchen has suffered from the loss of his
mother and will continue to do so. But he said the boy has coped well
with the tragedy.
"This boy certainly could have crumbled," he said. "He could have become
a social misfit. But he didn't. He's tough. He's resilient."
The jury took one hour to reach its verdict. That's when attorneys
informed the judge that they had reached a settlement after many months
of trying.
"I think like any other case, the closer you get to the end, the more
frantic is the pace to negotiate," said Rothman's co-counsel, Peter
Sachs. "We couldn't have cut it much closer."
Psychologists testified during the trial about Fredchen's reluctance to
talk about his father's murder of his mother, his fear of change and his
distrust of people as a result of the crime.
"He's never going to get answers to some of the things that will torment
him," psychologist Stephen Alexander said. It may be that by doing
something worthwhile with the money he will get, he can salvage his
mother's legacy, Alexander said.
By doing that, the psychologist added, "he may find salvation ... and
put to rest what happened to his mother."
~ larry_keller@pbpost.com
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