Husband accused of killing wife and trying to flee to Mexico takes a plea deal in NC
A man caught near the Mexico border two years ago — after he was accused of murdering his wife in North Carolina — has taken a plea deal with the state just as his trial was slated to start.
Rexford Lynn Keel Jr., who goes by Lynn Keel, pleaded no contest on Monday to charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, WITN reported. A plea of no contest is not an admission of guilt.
Lynn Keel faces between 32 and 41 years in prison as part of the agreement.
The disappearance of Lynn Keel’s wife, 38-year-old Diana Alejandra Keel, unfolded over 10 days in March 2019.
Diana Keel’s 18-year-old daughter reported her missing on March 7, 2019, McClatchy News previously reported. Five days later, a Department of Transportation worker found a decomposed body in the woods in Edgecombe County. Investigators later identified the body as Diana Keel.
Her husband was immediately identified as person of interest and questioned by investigators.
During a news conference with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office the day after Diana Keel’s body was discovered, investigators said there had been a previous “domestic issue” between the couple. Law enforcement also said Lynn Keel’s first wife died at the same house in 2006 from a fall on the back steps.
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for Lynn Keel’s arrest on March 15.
Law enforcement caught up to him two days later in Arizona about 34 miles from the Mexico border with a large amount of cash, The News & Observer reported. He was in his dad’s gold 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck, as both of his vehicles had been seized by law enforcement.
The trial against Lynn Keel was set to begin Monday when state prosecutors announced the plea deal.
WRAL reporter Kennan Willard, who was in the courtroom, tweeted that Diana Keel died from blunt force trauma to her head, face and neck and was days away from leaving her husband. He said prosecutors told the court that Lynn Keel had a “heated argument” with his wife before she died.
“Keel went on to ‘savagely beat’ Diana in her bedroom, clean the room and roll her body up in a tarp,” Willard tweeted. “Prosecutor says Keel told them Diana was probably still alive at that point.”
Lynn Keel had also taken out a $1 million life insurance policy on his wife before her death, Willard said.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 3:44 PM.
