More On: millionaire dentist
A millionaire dentist who shot and killed his wife on an African safari was found guilty
Monday, a Pennsylvania dentist who was worth a lot of money and liked to hunt big game was found guilty of murder and mail fraud for shooting and killing his wife on an African safari trip almost six years ago.
After a three-week trial in a Denver federal courthouse, a grand jury found Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph, 67, guilty of shooting and killing his wife of 34 years, Bianca Rudolph.
He was also found guilty of mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance payments after the death of his wife, which he said was both accidental and self-inflicted and happened in October 2016.
Jurors agreed with the prosecutors who said Rudolph killed his wife in cold blood as part of a plan to take the life insurance money and start a new life with his mistress of 20 years.
They said Rudolph shot his wife while on a hunting trip in Zambia on Oct. 11, 2016 and was overheard years later shouting out “I killed my f**king wife for you!” during an argument with the other woman, Lori Milliron, while out to dinner.
During the trial, the wealthy dentist said he was innocent and that Bianca Rudolph had shot herself in the chest while putting away a shotgun while he was in the bathroom. He said that his wife was in a hurry to pack her bags because she was eager to get home from the trip.
But prosecutors said it was impossible for her to have shot herself. They showed proof that the shot that hit her heart came from between two and three-and-a-half feet away.
Prosecutors said Rudolph had planned to kill his wife because she wanted more control over the couple's money and wanted him to fire Milliron.
Rudolph's lawyers said he had no reason to kill his wife for Milliron because he and his wife had been in an open relationship since 2000, which meant they could have sexual relationships with other people.
They also said that, since he was worth more than $15 million at the time, he didn't need the money from the life insurance payouts, which went into a trust for the couple's children. The insurance company's investigators found that the shooting was an accident and gave the family almost $5 million.
Prosecutors said that Milliron, who is in charge of Rudolph's dental franchise in the Pittsburgh area, found out about the murder after the fact. They said she lied about the case and her relationship with Rudolph to a federal grand jury.
The same jury also found her guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder, blocking a grand jury, and lying to a grand jury twice. Two other charges of lying were dropped against her.
Rudolph could go to prison for the rest of his life or be put to death.
