Dentist’s mistress and big game hunter who shot dead woman on safari sentenced to 17 years in prison
The girlfriend of the married dentist and big game hunter who shot dead his wife of 34 while on an African safari together faces 17 years in prison as an accomplice to the crime.
Lori Milliron, 65, was convicted Friday by a federal judge of the murder of Bianca Rudolph, which was committed so her husband could collect millions in life insurance policies.
The 57-year-old wife and mother of two adult children was shot in the heart by her husband Lawrence ‘Larry’ Rudolph while the pair were hunting in Zambia in October 2016. He claimed his wife accidentally shot herself while she was packing to go back home.
After her death, the Pennsylvania dentist fraudulently claimed $4.8 million in life insurance payouts. Following an FBI investigation, Rudolph was charged with his wife’s murder in 2021, his sentencing originally scheduled for this week has been postponed.
At the hearing, Milliron told the judge she was innocent of the crimes, but the judge proclaimed that the long sentence was deserved based on the evidence that Milliron encouraged the heinous act.
The killer is waiting to hear if he will receive a life sentence after killing his wife who he said he had an open relationship with (pictured together)
Prosecutors alleged that Rudolph killed his wife of 34 years to be with his girlfriend, Lori Milliron (pictured)
Bianca and Larry’s children – son (pictured left) and daughter Ana (back right) walk into federal court at the July 13, 2022 trial in Denver
When graphic images were shown during the trial and the family’s heartbreaking testimony was heard, the judge denounced Milliron for appearing ruthless.
Milliron was also convicted of giving false and misleading testimony to a grand jury about the money and the nature of the relationship with Rudolph.
John Dill, Milliron’s attorney, claimed the jail time was “excessive” for these types of charges and said he would appeal.
Bianca’s children were in court, telling their father’s mistress how she had destroyed their family during their testimony.
Bianca’s daughter, Ana Rudolph, told Milliron that she had “plotted” to eliminate her mother.
She looked straight at her and said, “Lori, you took my parents away, but despite all you’ve done, you’ll never take my soul away.
She added, “This may be hard to understand…because you don’t have one.”
Rudolph claimed that an unknown shotgun he and Bianca had brought to hunt a leopard accidentally went off and injured her as she hurried to pack
Despite martial issues, Rudolph said he and his wife, with whom he shared two children, agreed to remain married but were free to engage in sexual relations with other people.
Last summer, a three-week trial took place in Denver, Colorado, where Rudolph was found guilty of murder and mail fraud.
A jury of six men and six women sided with the plaintiffs – who believed that the dentist pre-planned to murder his wife of 34 years in cold blood to start a new life with Milliron.
Milliron was found guilty by the same jury of accessory to murder, obstruction of a grand jury, and two counts of perjury before a grand jury.
She was found not guilty of three other counts of perjury.
Rudolph maintained his innocence and the two adult children he had with his wife were in court to support him during the trial.
Rudolph’s attorney, David Markus said out of court. “We believe in Larry. We believe in his family.’
Bianca died after being shot by a Browning rifle in their cabin as she was packing as they were about to leave Zambia and begin their journey home to the US.
Rudolph practiced dentistry out of Three Rivers Dental in Pittsburgh which made him a small fortune
At around 5 a.m. on October 11, 2016, game wardens and scouts heard a shot coming from their cabin.
When they got there, they found Bianca lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Rudolph’s defense team had argued to federal prosecutors that Bianca accidentally shot herself.
But prosecutors alleged that Rudolph killed his wife to be with Milliron, who had been the dentist’s mistress for 20 years.
Rudolph said he had been in an open marriage with his late wife Bianca since 2000.
‘I didn’t kill my wife. I couldn’t kill my wife. I wouldn’t kill my wife,” Rudolph told the jurors.
Rudolph was charged with the murder in December 2021.
The 67-year-old said he was in the bathroom when he heard his wife say ‘come here and help me’ before hearing the gunshot and finding his wife bleeding on the floor.
In opening statements, the prosecution told jurors that Rudolph was overheard blurting out, “I killed my goddamn wife for you!” during an argument with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse in 2020 after learning that the FBI was investigating his wife’s death.
Rudolph denies admitting to his wife’s murder.
He said he and Milliron argued about their finances and how the COVID-19 pandemic, then at its inception, would affect the Pennsylvania dentist franchise that had made him a small fortune.
But he was annoyed because he said his main concern was the FBI’s investigation.
Rudolph was charged with the murder in December 2021. A jury later found him guilty and he is awaiting sentencing.