Babbitt Johnson Wins $40 Million For Orphaned Son

A Palm Beach County jury took one hour to award 13-year-old Fredchen Keller $40 million from the estate of his late father, who murdered his mother. Ted Babbitt and Stephan Le Clainche of the West Palm Beach plaintiff trial law firm Babbitt, Johnson, Osborne & Le Clainche, P.A., argued the case on the boy’s behalf. Fred Keller, who had made his fortune in commercial real estate, shot and killed 34-year-old Rosemarie Keller in his real estate office Nov. 10, 2003, 11 days after she received half of his assets in a divorce. He was convicted of murdering his fifth ex-wife and attempting to murder Fredchen’s uncle, Wolfgang Keil, in the same incident, Keil was shot twice and seriously wounded. Fred Keller was convicted of murder and attempted murder and died in August at age 73 while serving a life sentence. The verdict was close to the estimated $40 million total amount of the estate. The damages were mostly for Fredchen's pain and suffering and loss of parental support and guidance. Any money he wins in a damage award will not be subject to inheritance taxes. "What happened to this child was horrific and will have a long-lasting effect on him," Babbitt said. He told jurors that the boy’s trauma made him the most deserving heir of his father’s estate. Read and view June 27, 2008 Dateline NBC report “The Model and the Millionaire” on the Fred Keller case.