Millionaire Dentist Guilty of Murdering Wife in Zambia
On Monday, millionaire dentist Lawrence Rudolph, 67, was been found guilty of murdering his wife in 2016. The jury found him guilty on one count of murder of a U.S. national in a foreign country and one count of mail fraud after a day and a half of deliberations. The verdict comes at the end of a three-week trial in a federal courtroom in Denver.
The Daily Mail and the New York Times report that Rudolph’s wife, Bianca Rudolph, was killed after a shotgun in their cabin fired. The two were in Zambia on a hunting trip, and she was allegedly in a hurry to pack. The defense have maintained that the rush to pack caused Mrs. Rudolph to be careless and accidentally shoot herself in the heart. She died on October 11, 2016, the morning that she and her husband were meant to travel back to the United States.
The prosecution argued that Rudolph planned to kill his wife of 34 years to cash in for her $4.8 million life insurance claim. They also argued that Rudolph wanted to be with his girlfriend, Lori Milliron, who had been Rudolph’s mistress for 20 years.
Rudolph has maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He reports that he and his wife had agreed to an open marriage. The two did not want a divorce, but each person was free to pursue sexual relationships with other people.
The defense tried to argue that the case was built on gossip about the defendant’s affairs, cash payments to his girlfriend, and whether the funeral he organized for his wife was nice enough. He also argued that Rudolph had no need for his wife’s life insurance, as he was already worth $15 million from his very successful career as a dentist.
Regardless of the defense’s remark on the subjective nature of the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Rudolph’s funeral, there was some suspicion surrounding the event. Rudolph arranged for his wife to be cremated, citing the inconvenience of transporting a body internationally. However, prosecution introduced evidence that Rudolph had previously arranged for several large animals to be transported back to the U.S. as trophies. Additionally, former friends of Mrs. Rudolph testified that she would not have wanted to be cremated, due to religious reasons.
More compelling was the evidence that the prosecution presented regarding the actual shooting. Although Zambian authorities deemed the death as an accidental shooting, and investigators for the insurers reached the same conclusion, the prosecution had evidence that proved that Bianca Rudolph’s wounds came from a shot fired from two (2) to three and a half (3.5) feet away. They also said that the barrel of the gun was too long for her to have shot herself.
Rudolph’s partner, Lori Milliron was found guilty of perjury and of accessory after the fact.
Both Rudolph’s son and daughter have also maintained their father’s innocence and supported him throughout the trial.
Lawrence Rudolph will be detained until his sentencing on February 1, 2023. He faces a maximum sentence of either life in prison or death for the charge of murder, and up to 20 years for the charge of mail fraud.
Picture from CBS News.
