Sunday, December 27, 2009

Palm Beach, FL: The decade: Fred Keller convicted of killing ex-wife Rosemarie, but case took years in courts

By MICHELE DARGAN
Daily News Staff Writer
Saturday, December 26, 2009



At the beginning of the decade, most Palm Beachers didn't know Fred Keller.

But from the day he shot and killed his ex-wife on Nov. 10, 2003, he became ongoing headline news.

It took two felony murder trials and three civil trials to sort through the complicated tale of the May-December romance that turned deadly.

In May 2007, Keller was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting death of his 34-year-old, fifth ex-wife, Rosemarie "Rose" Keller, and the wounding of her brother, Wolfgang Keil.

Keller's first trial, in February 2005, ended in a mistrial, with a deadlocked jury favoring conviction.

Keller, 73, of Palm Beach, died of leukemia Aug. 25, 2007 — less than two weeks before a restitution hearing at which he stood to lose his multimillion-dollar fortune to his victims.

A trilogy of civil trials followed involving Keller's multimillion-dollar estate. It reached resolution in May 2008 with his then-13-year-old son, Fred "Fredchen" Keller Jr., receiving the largest settlement of $30 million. Also included in the global settlement was $5.5 million for shooting victim Keil and $4.8 million for the estate of Rosemarie Keller.

The lakefront Keller estate, at 1480 N. Lake Way, was broken up and sold in two separate deals. One lot, measuring just under a half-acre and with 105 feet of lake frontage, was sold in July for $3.67 million. The second, just under 1 acre and with 175 feet of lake frontage and a small beach, was sold in August for $5.73 million.

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