On Monday, August 21, a dentist from Pennsylvania, USA, who had killed his wife in 2016 while on an African safari and subsequently profited from her death, was given a life sentence and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.
After being found guilty of killing his wife of 34 years, Bianca Rudolph, by shooting her in the heart on their final morning of their hunting trip to Zambia, Larry Rudolph received his punishment in a federal courtroom in Denver.
Prosecutors claimed that Rudolph killed his wife in order to earn life insurance payouts and start a new life with his longtime mistress Lori Milliron.
Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company,” the victim’s brother Vincent Finizio told Rudolph before the judge sentenced him.
On October 11, 2016, Rudolph allegedly grabbed the weapon used in the murder and put it back in its protective case to make it seem as though his wife accidentally shot herself while packing.
The United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Cole Finegan, issued a statement in which he claimed that the outcome "shows that no matter how much money, prestige, or power you have, you will be held accountable for your crimes."
In addition to being found guilty of mail fraud, Rudolph was also found to have obtained significant insurance benefits after the passing of his wife. Along with his life sentence for that offense, he was also given a 20-year sentence.
The court decided that he must pay $2 million in fines and nearly $5 million in restitution. He was also told to give up two houses, his vehicles, including an Aston Martin DB-11 and a Bentley Bentayga, and other things he had acquired with the money from the insurance.
All of the assets, according to the defense, were worth close to $9 million.
Rudolph has maintained his innocence in the hopes that, if his appeal is successful, he will be set free.
He said Bianca Rudolph shot herself as she hurried to pack for the trip home, but the prosecution contended the wound couldn't have been caused by the victim.
Additionally, Rudolph's attorneys argued that since the married couple had been in an open relationship for more than ten years, their client had no justification for killing his wife for Milliron. He didn't require the cash from the life insurance payouts, they added.
After being found guilty of being an accessory, his girlfriend Milliron, who oversaw Rudolph's Pittsburgh-area dental company, received a 17-year jail term in June.
