Wealthy dentist Lawrence Rudolph found guilty in wife's death on 2016 African safari
A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife at the end of an African safari was found guilty of murder and mail fraud Monday. The verdict for Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph' came from a jury in a Denver federal court following a trial that lasted three weeks.
Rudolph was charged with murder and mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime.
Rudolph maintained his innocence. His attorney suggested his wife of 34 years, Bianca Rudolph, shot herself while trying to pack a shotgun in a hurry as they prepared to return from Zambia to the United States in 2016. Larry Rudolph previously said he was in the bathroom, heard a gunshot, and found his wife bleeding, dead on the bedroom floor, "48 Hours" reported earlier this year.
But prosecutors countered that evidence showed that was impossible because the wound to her heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet away.
As "48 Hours" previously reported, Larry had his wife's body quickly cremated in Zambia, which led a friend of Bianca's to doubt this was an accident. Soon after Bianca's death, the friend called the FBI. According to an FBI complaint cited by "48 Hours," she also said Lawrence was having an affair and had been verbally abusive to Bianca. The friend also told the FBI that the couple fought over money.
Prosecutors also accused Rudolph's girlfriend and manager of his Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, Lori Milliron, of lying to a federal grand jury about the case and her relationship with Rudolph.
She was found guilty by the same jury of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of a grand jury and two counts of perjury before a grand jury. She was found not guilty on two other counts of perjury.
Prosecutors alleged that Rudolph decided to kill his wife to regain control over his life after Bianca Rudolph asked for more say in the couple's finances and demanded that Milliron be fired. Rudolph's attorneys called that a false narrative.