A wealthy American dentist has been sentenced to life in prison over the 2016 death of his wife, Bianca Rudolph, at the end of a safari in Zambia.
US District Judge William Martinez also imposed over an estimated $15 million in financial penalties against Larry Rudolph, who was also convicted of mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife as he began a new life with his longtime girlfriend.
Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wife’s death in the southern African nation was an accident. His lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said he and fellow defense lawyer, Margot Moss, were hopeful they would win an appeal.
Free man
“And we’ll be back to get a fair trial and then Larry can walk out of here a free man," Markus said.
Prosecutors say Rudolph, who owned a Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, shot his wife of 34 years in the heart with a shotgun on her last morning in Zambia, and then put the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing. The couple had been hunting game during their trip.
They also claim the setting, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the nearest police station, was the perfect place to try to get away with the crime, where they say he rushed to have his wife cremated and intimidated officials investigating her death.
Lavish retirement
They allege the goal was to live a lavish retirement with his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, with the help of the insurance money. Milliron was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June after being convicted of being an accessory. She has filed an appeal.
The penalties for Rudolph include a combination of restitution, fines and property forfeiture. Rudolph also got a 20-year prison term to be served at the same time as his life sentence for his mail fraud conviction. Martinez ordered Rudolph serve his sentence at a prison with health care faciliti es because of his unspecified heart problems.
Larry Rudolph was arrested nearly five years after the death following an FBI investigation that sent agents traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses.
