Dentist convicted of killing wife on African safari set to be sentenced to life in prison
DENVER (AP) — A wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari in Zambia is expected to be sentenced to life in prison Monday for a murder prosecutors say capped off a lifetime “spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power.”
At the hearing in a Denver federal court, US government prosecutors will also seek to get an estimated $25 million in restitution, seized property and fines from Larry Rudolph. He was also found guilty in federal court last year for mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife, Bianca Rudolph.
Larry Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wife’s death in the southern African nation in 2016 was an accident. His lawyers plan to appeal the conviction.
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 he rushed to have his wife cremated and intimidated officials investigating her death.
They allege the goal was to live a lavish retirement with his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, with the help of the insurance money. She was sentenced to 17 years in prison in June after being convicted of being an accessory. She has filed an appeal.
“The murder was the culmination of a lifetime spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power,” prosecutors said in a court filing outlining their sentencing proposal.
Larry Rudolph could also get more time in prison for mail fraud in addition to paying a nearly $10 million fine, forfeiting millions in assets and paying the insurance companies back, according to what the prosecutors are seeking.
It is unclear if any family members or friends of Bianca Rudolph will confront the dentist during the hearing.
The couple’s two adult children, Julian and AnaBianca Rudolph, have so far opted not to to speak much publicly about the death, although AnaBianca testified against Milliron at her sentencing. They are fighting for some of the financial penalties the government wants their father to pay, asking the court to treat them, not the insurance companies, as the victims of the insurance fraud. In a court filing, they say they have “suffered considerable financial harm” and are entitled to restitution.
Investigators in Zambia and for the insurers concluded Bianca Rudolph’s death was an accident. The insurance companies, some based in Colorado, then had to pay out the life insurance because of her death, according to the defense in court documents.
But Rudolph was arrested nearly five years after her death following an FBI investigation that sent agents traveling around the world to collect evidence and interview witnesses.