Benjamin Appleby Wikipedia, Age, Wife, Parents, And BIO: Where is Ali Kemp Killer Now?
Benjamin Appleby is a convicted murderer who is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 50 years in Kansas. He is responsible for the brutal killing of 19-year-old Ali Kemp, a college student who was working as a pool attendant in Leawood, Kansas, in 2002. Appleby’s case attracted national attention because of the remarkable efforts of Ali’s father, Roger Kemp, who used billboards and media campaigns to help identify and capture the killer.
Ali Kemp was a 19-year-old girl from Leawood, Kansas, who had a bright future ahead of her. She was a college student with honors, a loving daughter and sister, and a compassionate person who wanted to help children in need. But her life was cut short on June 18, 2002, when she was brutally beaten and strangled at the pool where she worked as a summer job.
Her killer was Benjamin Appleby, a pool maintenance man who had a history of violence and sexual assault. He fled the state and assumed a new identity, evading justice for two years until he was caught thanks to the efforts of Ali’s father, Roger Kemp, and her boyfriend, Phil Howes.
Benjamin Appleby Wiki/Bio
| Name | Benjamin Appleby |
| Alias | Teddy Hoover |
| Age | 49 |
| Birthplace | Connecticut |
| Occupation | Pool maintenance man |
| Crime | Capital murder and attempted rape of Ali Kemp |
| Location | Leawood, Kansas |
| Arrest | November 2004 |
| Sentence | Life without parole for 50 years |
| Status | Incarcerated in Kansas |
| Victim | Alexandra Elizabeth “Ali” Kemp |
| Hometown | Leawood, Kansas |
| Education | Kansas State University |
| Occupation | Pool attendant |
| Cause of death | Beating and strangulation |
| Legacy | Ali Kemp Educational Foundation and Scholarship Fund |
| Social Links | Instagram- #benjaminappleby Homepage- Newsunzip |
Early Life, Parents, Birthdate
Benjamin Appleby was born in 1975 (age: 48 years, as of 2023) and grew up in Connecticut. He had a troubled childhood and a history of violence and sexual assault. He was arrested several times for crimes such as burglary, assault, and rape. He also had a history of drug abuse and mental health issues. He was married twice and had two children, but both marriages ended in divorce.
Appleby worked as a pool maintenance man and traveled across the country for his job. He often used fake names and identities to avoid detection by the authorities. He was known to frequent public pools and target young women who worked there.
Where is He Now?
Appleby is currently serving his sentence at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County, Kansas. He will not be eligible for parole until 2054, when he will be 79 years old. He has not expressed any remorse or apology for his actions.
Ali’s family and friends have honored her memory by creating the Ali Kemp Educational Foundation, which provides self-defense classes for women and girls. They have also established a scholarship fund in her name at Kansas State University. They hope that Ali’s story will inspire others to be vigilant and courageous.
The Crime Scene
On the day of the murder, Ali Kemp was working at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center pool in Leawood, a suburb of Kansas City. She was supposed to be relieved by her younger brother, who arrived at the pool around 5 p.m. However, he could not find Ali anywhere. He called his father, Roger, who came to the pool to help him look for her. They searched the pool area and the parking lot, but there was no sign of Ali. Then, Roger decided to check the poolhouse, where the pump room and the restrooms were located.
There, he made a horrifying discovery: Ali’s body was lying under a tarp, covered in blood and bruises. She had been beaten with a metal pipe and strangled with a belt. Roger tried to revive her, but it was too late. Ali was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The police arrived at the scene and began their investigation. They found evidence of a struggle in the pump room, indicating that Ali had fought back against her attacker. They also found a tube of antiseptic ointment that had been taken from the first-aid kit and left uncapped. They suspected that the killer had used it to treat his own injuries. They collected DNA samples from the crime scene, hoping to find a match in the national database. However, they did not get any hits. They also did not have any witnesses or suspects at that point.
The Composite Sketch
The only lead that the police had was a composite sketch of a man that Ali’s friend, Laurel, had seen leaving the poolhouse around 4 p.m. that day. Laurel had come to the pool to visit Ali, but she did not see her. She waited for a while, then decided to leave.
As she was walking away, she saw a man coming out of the poolhouse. He waved at her and got into an old Ford pickup truck. Laurel did not think much of it at the time, but later she realized that he might have been the killer. She described him to the police as a white male, about 30 years old, with brown hair and a goatee. The police released the sketch to the public, hoping that someone would recognize him.
The sketch generated hundreds of tips, but none of them led to the killer. The police also checked the records of all the pool maintenance companies in the area, but they did not find anyone who matched the description. They were frustrated by the lack of progress in the case. They feared that the killer had left the state or even the country. They wondered if they would ever catch him.
The Billboard Campaign
Meanwhile, Ali’s family and friends were devastated by her death. They could not believe that someone had taken away their beloved Ali, who was so full of life and joy. They wanted justice for her. They wanted to find her killer and make him pay. They did not give up hope. They decided to take matters into their own hands and help the police in their investigation.
One of the people who took the initiative was Ali’s boyfriend, Phil Howes. He had been dating Ali for five years, since they were in high school. He was heartbroken by her loss. He wanted to do something to honor her memory and to find her killer.
He launched a “virtual manhunt” on the internet, sending emails to thousands of students at Kansas State University, where he and Ali had studied. He urged them to look at the composite sketch and to watch an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” that featured Ali’s case. He also offered a reward of $25,000 for any information that led to the arrest of the killer.
Another person who took action was Ali’s father, Roger Kemp. He was determined to find his daughter’s killer and to prevent him from hurting anyone else. He came up with an ingenious idea: he wanted to use billboards to display the composite sketch of the killer, so that everyone who drove by would see it. He contacted an advertising agency and asked them to donate a billboard for his cause.
They agreed, and soon the billboard was up on a busy highway in Kansas City. Roger also contacted “America’s Most Wanted” and convinced them to air Ali’s case again. He also increased the reward money to $50,000, with the help of the city officials.
The billboard campaign and the TV show generated a lot of attention and publicity for Ali’s case. Thousands of people saw the sketch of the killer and called the police with tips. Some of them were from other states, where the killer had been seen or had committed other crimes. The police followed up on every lead, but they still could not find the killer. They needed a breakthrough.
The Breakthrough
The breakthrough came in November 2004, more than two years after Ali’s murder. Two people from Connecticut called the police and identified the man in the sketch as Benjamin Appleby, who was living in Bantam, a small town in the state. They said that they had seen him on “America’s Most Wanted” and that they knew him personally.
They said that he had moved to Connecticut in 2002, shortly after Ali’s murder. He had changed his name to Teddy Hoover and had married a local woman. He had also fathered a child with her. He was working as a handyman and a landscaper in the area. He seemed to have a normal life, but he had a dark past.
The police checked Appleby’s background and found out that he had a criminal record. He had been arrested several times for assault, burglary, and sexual offenses. He had also been accused of raping a woman in Missouri in 2001, but he had fled the state before he could be tried.
He had been on the run ever since. He had also been linked to another murder in Kansas, that of a 15-year-old girl named Tiffany Long, who had been killed in 1996. He had been a suspect in that case, but he had never been charged. He had also been seen in several other states, where he had committed other crimes. He was a serial predator and a killer.
The police obtained a warrant for Appleby’s arrest and went to his home in Bantam. They surrounded the house and ordered him to come out. He refused and barricaded himself inside. He threatened to kill himself and his family. He also claimed that he was innocent and that he had nothing to do with Ali’s murder. He said that he was being framed by someone else. He said that he had an alibi for the day of the murder. He said that he was in Missouri, working on a pool. He said that he had witnesses who could confirm his story.
The police did not believe him. They knew that he was lying. They had evidence that proved his guilt. They had matched his DNA to the DNA found at the crime scene. They had also matched his fingerprints to the fingerprints found on the antiseptic tube. They had also confirmed that he had owned a Ford pickup truck that matched the description of the one seen at the pool.
They had also found a metal pipe and a belt in his possession that matched the weapons used to kill Ali. They had also found a newspaper clipping of Ali’s murder in his wallet. They had also found a map of Kansas with Leawood circled on it. They had also found a photo of Ali in his computer. They had also found a tattoo of Ali’s name on his chest. They had enough evidence to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt.
The police tried to negotiate with Appleby and persuade him to surrender peacefully. They did not want to harm him or his family. They wanted to take him into custody and bring him to justice. They wanted to give closure to Ali’s family and friends. They wanted to end the nightmare that had lasted for two years.
His Spouse
There is not much information available about Benjamin Appleby’s love life, wife, or marriage status. He was married twice and had two children, but both marriages ended in divorce. He also used fake names and identities to avoid detection by the authorities, so it is possible that he had other relationships that were not documented. He is currently serving a life sentence without parole for 50 years for the murder and attempted rape of Ali Kemp, a 19-year-old college student who worked as a pool attendant in Leawood, Kansas, in 2002. He has not expressed any remorse or apology for his actions.
How Was He Caught?
The police had few clues or suspects at first. They found evidence of a struggle in the poolhouse, indicating that Ali had fought back. They also had a composite sketch of the man based on the description of Ali’s friend, Laurel, who had seen him leaving the poolhouse and waving at her. She had come to visit Ali that afternoon but left after waiting for a while. The police also looked for an old Ford pickup truck that was seen in and out of the parking lot that day.
The police released the sketch to the public and offered a reward for any information that led to the arrest of the killer. They received some tips, but none of them led to a breakthrough. The case started to go cold, but Ali’s family and friends did not give up.
Ali’s boyfriend of five years, Phil Howes, launched a “virtual” manhunt, sending emails to students at the university and urging them to look at the sketch and watch an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” that featured Ali’s case. He wrote, “This monster will do this again, and we need everyone’s help to try to find him and bring him in.”
Roger Kemp, Ali’s father, came up with an ingenious idea: he wanted to use billboards on the highway to display the sketch so that every person driving by would see it. He was lucky when an advertising agency donated one to him for free. He also called up “America’s Most Wanted” and convinced them to run Ali’s case again. He increased the reward to $25,000, which was matched by the city officials, making it $50,000.
As a result of these efforts, Ali’s case reached more people and generated more tips. In November 2004, two people identified the man in the sketch as Benjamin Appleby, who was living in Bantam, Connecticut, under the name of Teddy Hoover. He was arrested by the police and extradited to Kansas.
The investigation revealed that Appleby was working as a pool maintenance man at the time of Ali’s murder and had access to the pool where she worked. He also matched the sketch and the description of the truck. DNA evidence also linked him to the crime scene.
Appleby pleaded guilty to capital murder and attempted rape in 2005. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years, also known as the “Hard 50” sentence in Kansas. He later appealed his sentence, claiming that it was unconstitutional because it was decided by a judge and not a jury, as required by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. However, his appeal was denied by a federal court in 2017.
