Bianca Rudolph loss of life: How a Denver jury decided an “accident” on an African safari was homicide

This story was initially printed on April 15, 2022. It was up to date on September 7, 2022.

Larry Rudolph, who ran a multimillion greenback dental empire in Pittsburgh, and his spouse Bianca, each expert massive sport hunters, traveled to a favourite location — Kafue Nationwide Park in Zambia in 2016. Nobody would have imagined Bianca would by no means make it residence, or that the journey would finish years later earlier than a jury in a Denver federal court docket the place they heard allegations of a cover-up, fraud, and an affair Dr. Rudolph had along with his workplace supervisor, Lori Milliron.

CBS Information correspondent Debora Patta, on task for “48 Hours,” explores this complicated investigation in an encore presentation of “Dying on Safari” airing Saturday, September 10, 2022  at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Rudolph claims Bianca by chance shot herself when the rifle she was loading right into a case discharged. On the time, Zambian police dominated her loss of life as an accident.

On August 1, 2022, jurors discovered Rudolph responsible of murdering his spouse. He was convicted on one depend of the homicide of a U.S. nationwide in another country and one depend of mail fraud, for cashing in additional than $4.8 million in life insurance coverage claims.

The jury additionally discovered his longtime lover Lori Milliron responsible on fees of being an adjunct after the very fact to the homicide, obstruction of justice, and two counts of perjury earlier than the grand jury.

In line with police in Zambia, on the ultimate day of their safari, October 11, Rudolph claimed Bianca was packing a gun within the bed room of their cabin when he heard a shotgun blast from the toilet. He stated he discovered his spouse bleeding, mendacity face up on the ground with a shotgun wound to the center. Spencer Kakoma, a sport scout on that safari, additionally heard the shot and says he ran to the cabin inside 15 seconds.

Kakoma stated he witnessed Bianca clearing the gun of reside ammunition the night time earlier than. He says Rudolph first claimed Bianca died by suicide, taking pictures herself deliberately whereas he was within the rest room. Later, Rudolph had a special model of occasions, now not claiming it was a suicide, however as an alternative saying Bianca by chance shot herself whereas packing up the gun.    

Issues weren’t including up for Kakoma. He says Rudolph was totally dressed when he rushed over to the cabin after listening to the gunshot. However native police say Rudolph informed them he was wrapped in a towel.

Native authorities went to the scene and photographed the physique, which was later moved to a funeral residence to await cremation. A U.S. Embassy official determined to journey to the funeral residence to analyze. Unbeknownst to Rudolph, the official, a former Marine with many years of weapons expertise, inspected Bianca’s physique, measuring the shotgun wound and taking images.

That’s the place the story may need ended if it wasn’t for a buddy of Bianca’s. In line with an FBI felony criticism, when the buddy realized Bianca was cremated, it raised suspicions as a result of she believed “cremation to have been in opposition to Bianca’s needs as a result of Bianca was a strict Catholic.”

The FBI criticism says Bianca’s buddy informed an FBI agent Rudolph had been having an additional marital affair and “had been verbally abusive up to now and that the 2 had fights about cash.”

However in a doc filed by Rudolph’s attorneys, they declare Bianca’s will “expressly directed cremation.” Additionally they say Bianca knew about her husband’s affair, indicating it might not have been a motive for homicide.

The buddy additionally informed the FBI agent, “Larry isn’t going to divorce her as a result of he does not wish to lose his cash and he or she’s by no means going to divorce him due to her Catholicism.”

“She opened up a Pandora’s field as to why Lawrence Rudolph would wish to kill his spouse,” says Mary Fulginiti, a former federal prosecutor and CBS Information guide.

Inside a month of returning to the USA, the FBI says Rudolph began submitting claims on his spouse’s life insurance coverage insurance policies, price nearly $5 million.

Rudolph was arrested in December 2021, greater than 5 years after Bianca’s loss of life. At his trial Larry Rudolph denied taking pictures his spouse for the insurance coverage or to be with Lori Milliron    

Rudolph’s attorneys declined to speak to “48 Hours” earlier than the trial, however they offered the next assertion:

“Dr. Rudolph is harmless. The Zambian authorities who have been there and investigated stated so. The insurance coverage firms who paid the declare after they investigated stated so. Unusually, 5 years later, the feds introduced fees with none actual proof — no eye-witnesses, no forensics, no something — apart from some hypothesis sprinkled right into a chasm of conjecture.”

Rudolph, who stays in custody, might face a most penalty of life in jail for the homicide cost. The mail fraud cost carries a most jail sentence of 20 years.

Milliron stays free with an ankle monitor till the 2 are sentenced in February 2023.