April 8, 2004

The Life Imprisonment Minimum Term Section
High Court, Room CL 1.5 Clifford’s Inn
Fetter Lane, London EC4A IDQ

Re: Robert Noble’s Minimum Term Tariff

To The Honorable High Court Judge:

My name is Lisa Braden-Klenner. I’m one of the two surviving sisters of Alyson Ilene Kaplan who was brutally murdered by Robert Noble while she was innocently vacationing in London on January 31, 2003. My family has asked me to write this letter to you on their behalf regarding the minimum tariff sentencing for Robert Noble; it would be too painful for them to do so.

My family chose me to write this letter because I have been a School Psychologist for 15 years and I am considered an expert in the human brain and human behavior. I’ve reviewed the available information (e.g., Noble’s confession, the court transcripts, etc.) and it is my professional belief that Robert Noble is very likely to murder someone again once he has served his sentence. It is not normal nor is it typical to wonder, “What it would feel like to kill someone” and it is certainly not usual to act upon those feelings.

Once a person like Mr. Noble has murdered someone, they typically will kill again, but next time he will be more careful and clever in order to avoid detection. Mr. Noble did not appear to turn himself into the authorities because he felt guilty about killing my sister, he turned himself in because he knew he would eventually be caught and he was hoping for a lighter sentence by being “honest”. He is obviously a manipulative and calculating man, but he is not sorry for what he did to our family or for the precious life that he stole from my sister and from us.

Alyson’s murder has truly devastated my family, particularly my youngest sibling, Tara Kaplan. Tara is only 19 years old and she has been living in a mental health facility since shortly after Alyson’s death. Despite medication, intensive group and individual counseling and the support of a very caring staff at this facility, Tara does not appear to be anywhere near becoming independent or even functional in society. She continues to have night terrors, suicidal ideation, self-injurious behaviors and a sense of hopelessness about the future because she lost her best friend, her sister Alyson.

None of us will ever be the same and it is our hope that you will remember our pain as well as the safety of other future innocent people who may have the misfortune to cross paths with Mr. Noble, when you are considering his Tariff.

Mr. Noble deserves the maximum sentence possible. Alyson’s murder was not an accident. It was not just a flare of emotion. It was a planned, calculated act. Mr. Noble deserves the same consideration he gave my sister Alyson – NONE!

Thank you for your consideration of this statement.

Sincerely,
Lisa Braden Klenner

On 31 January 2003, while on vacation in your country, life, as we know it, ended for our daughter, Alyson Kaplan. I must speak for her now, since she cannot. I ask the court to understand the circumstances and take the time to consider my comments even though some may consider them lengthy. It will only take a few minutes. I have to deal with Alyson’s loss forever.

Losing one’s child under any circumstances is horrific. Imagine losing your child to a predator who planned to find a victim; a predator who sought vulnerable circumstances, in horrible weather, with stranded people all around; a predator who deceived your child by befriending her during the confusion of a storm and transportation breakdown; a predator who then ended your child’s life in a violent, painful, unforgiving pursuit of personal gratification while she struggled to defend herself; a predator who then pursued what little financial gain her belongings could provide as if they were trivial items of no meaning.

That nightmare is just a starting point for the impact on our family. The enormity of devastation, shock and disbelief are almost impossible to put into words, but I will try.

This is a heinous assault perpetrated not only on Alyson, but our entire family. My wife, Joanne, and I lost our 20-year-old daughter. Alyson’s younger sister, Tara, lost her best friend. Alyson’s older sister and brother, Lisa and Drew, have to explain to their respective children how they lost their aunt. We will never come to grips with this tragedy.

What has this predator done to us?

Since that dreadful day of 31 January 2003, family friends and our small community have all come together to try to cope with the tragic loss of life of a young woman who was bubbling over with intelligence and love for others. Her popularity was evidenced by the nightly candlelight vigils outside our home which were attended by her friends and our neighbors night after night. This ongoing tribute, attended by hundreds of parents with their children, filled the night with the sights and sounds of lighted candles, quiet sobbing, prayers, songs and hymns. The pain and suffering of everyone was evident by the outpouring of grief.

I have to cry quietly. I have to grieve alone, late at night, when everyone has shut down. I must be the strength and glue that holds our family together. Without that, we, as a family, are destroyed.

It seems as though the suffering will never subside. Time will have to be my ally. My nights are sleepless and tearful, full of dread and ghosts. The very core of my being is going through a severe test, and there is no greater test than holding your wife, Alyson’s mother, in your arms while she sobs as only a mother who has lost her first-born does. I hold her while I search for answers and comfort that do not exist.

A distressing aspect of this case was the fact that her body could not be released until the defense team completed certain formalities – the ridiculous perpetuation a crime against morality by the predator and his lawyers - all for naught. No additional information of value was obtained. It was just a delay tactic that kept us from our efforts to bring some closure, religiously and emotionally, and an end to our family’s suspended agony. It was as if the predator was sitting in our home, every day, laughing about the pain he caused us while Alyson’s body deteriorated in a far away place.

Because of the delay, Joanne and I, accompanied by close family friends, traveled to London to identify and view Alyson before there was any further deterioration to her appearance. I would like to say that the American Embassy in London and The Metropolitan Police were very helpful in organizing our stay. But the predator, a man who admitted to and described his violent and selfish rampage, and his counsel, showed no sensitivity to time or common decency. They waited until a judge and the coroner forced them to release the body.

It has been seven weeks since Alyson’s death and the trauma has not diminished in any way, I cannot put into words the enormous emptiness that is left in our lives. We miss Alyson so very much.

In an effort to try to come to terms with Alyson’s death and the way she died, Joanne, Tara and I have been attending a therapist on a regular basis. Although this may help some over time, it is clear this dreadful crime will adversely affect our entire family, for the rest of our lives.

I understand from the police that the motive for the murder appears to have been robbery and Alyson’s privileged lifestyle. My fear is that the defendant’s actions are deemed to be excusable, when quite clearly they are not. In what society is it excusable to deceive, beat, abuse and strangle to death because of a few possessions and one’s station on life? Where is it written that admitting such acts, (given one is on camera with the victim), is grounds for leniency of any nature?

The defendant has not only taken the life of our beautiful young daughter – he has taken the “life” out of myself, my wife Joanne, Alyson’s 18 year old sister, Tara, Alyson’s older sister, Lisa, and brother, Drew, as well as extended close family and friends.

I am enclosing just a few impact statements from close relatives, friends and the community, which reflect only a small portion of the over 800 letters received to date. Alyson affected many lives in so many positive ways.

I have also enclosed a copy of Alyson’s memorial service, held 23 February 2003, without the body, while the defense delayed. There is also a five-minute video of Alyson as she was growing up during various stages of her short life. Please spend just a few minutes watching a small portion of her life and you will see why she was so vital to everyone. Her affect was as a ripple on a smooth lake, her loss of seismic proportions.

And please don’t forget your obligation to Alyson.

We will never get to enjoy her 21st birthday.

We will never get to enjoy her graduation from college.

We will never get to see her flourish in a career.

We will never get to see her marry.

We will never get to see her children.

She will never be at another family holiday gathering.

She is not a candidate for rehabilitation.

She is not even eligible for a life sentence.

She is not eligible for parole –EVER.

Alyson was put to death. A sentence not allowed under your laws.

Alyson was never a threat to your society.

This predator is, and always will be.

I hope your decisions in this case correctly reflect the lifelong suffering that this predator’s actions have caused to all who knew and loved Alyson.

I hope your decisions reflect the severity of the sentence this predator has served on Alyson, and my family.

Donald Kaplan

Joanne Kaplan