Kriti Mehrotra
It was back in November 2003 when the entire world turned upside down for the Keil family as 34-year-old mother of one Rosemarie “Rose” Keil was shot to death by her ex-husband Fred Keller. The truth is, as chronicled in NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Model and the Millionaire,’ this happened mere ten days following the finalization of their divorce, and her brother also got injured in the process. So now, if you simply wish to learn more about the latter — Wolfgang Sven Keil — with a specific focus on his experiences as well as current standing, we’ve got the crucial details for you.
Who is Wolfgang Keil?
Although born and raised in a happy home in Frankfurt, Germany, as one of two boys in six kids, Wolfgang moved to Florida as soon as he got the chance in the 1990s thanks to his sister Rose. After all, she’d tied the knot with local real estate mogul Fred following a whirlwind romance starting in 1992 despite their 34-year age gap, only for him to essentially make her family his own. The former actually wasn’t the sole sibling to have relocated to the US in these years, yet he was the one reportedly being groomed by the millionaire as his business’ unofficial heir/successor.
However, everything changed once Rose filed for divorce in 1999 due to Fred’s controlling nature, especially as it led to a bitter court battle over the division of his fortune regardless of their prenup. This feud reportedly stemmed from the young German native claiming she was much more than his wife; she was even his business partner since she’d helped him expand his wealth over seven years. Ultimately, a judge sided with her on October 30, 2003, resulting in the two parties setting up a meeting ten days later to really divide the estate equally, just for Wolfgang to be there too.
But alas, no one could’ve ever expected Fred would open fire mere minutes into this meeting in the conference room of his office, driving Wolfgang to fight for the weapon and pull the trigger too. While the latter was shot once each in the chest and back, the former endured a mere superficial wound across his face — and Rose, she sadly passed away from her wound almost immediately. The two men were subsequently rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital, where the German native fought not only for his life but also for justice by telling investigators Fred’s actions were deliberate.
Where is Wolfgang King Now?
Wolfgang actually testified to all this during his former brother-in-law’s trial for murder in 2005 too, revealing to the jury that he was reading some documents when he suddenly heard a bang. “I smelled gunpowder. I was in shock [upon having been shot in the chest]. I couldn’t believe what was happening,” he candidly elucidated. He then broke down and added Fred immediately turned to pull the trigger at Rose with “this mean look on his face. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s a look I’ll never forget.” That’s when he jumped up to grab the gun, causing him to suffer a second shot in the chaos before gaining control of the situation and firing once at Fred.
In the end, Wolfgang’s testimony played an integral role in Fred’s conviction as well as his sentence of life in prison, which in turn gave the entire Keil family some much-needed closure. Though things changed for him again once the latter passed away while still behind bars in 2007, especially since a civil lawsuit ended with a court ascertaining he deserved $5.5 million of the millionaire’s remaining estate. Nevertheless, from what we can tell, this fortune hasn’t changed the now 51-year-old’s lifestyle — he seemingly continues to reside in Palm Beach, Florida, to this day, where he serves as a real estate associate for Keller Williams Realty.
Read More: Rose Keil Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
