A multimillionaire Pennsylvania dentist, Lawrence Rudolph, is accused of murdering his wife, Bianca Rudolph, on an African safari trip. He collected nearly $5 million in life insurance benefits after her death in 2016.
Bianca and Rudolph shared a passion for game hunting. The pair travelled from their Phoenix home to the southern African nation of Zambia in late September 2016, carrying two guns for the hunt.
Determined to add a leopard to her collection of animal trophies, Bianca looked forward to killing the leopard after killing other animals during their two-week trip. However, she never made it home.
Lawrence Rudolph: Wife Bianca Rudolph’s Murder
Lawrence Rudolph’s wife Bianca Rudolph died suffering a fatal shotgun blast at dawn in their hunting cabin while she was packing to return to Phoenix. Prosecutors argued that he killed his wife of 34 years.
The prosecutors argued that the multimillionaire Pennsylvania dentist murdered his wife to collect almost $5 million in life insurance payments and establish a new life with his mistress of 20 years.
Someone overheard Rudolph yelling, ‘I killed my wife for you!’ during an argument with his mistress in 2020, stated the prosecutors. Presently, the court charged him with foreign murder and mail fraud in the death of his wife.
Rudolph testified at his trial that the accident shotgun discharge killed Bianca while she was packing in a rush in Zambia in 2016. The couple reportedly carried two guns, a Remington .375 rifle and a Browning 12-gauge shotgun, for the hunt.
The wealthy dentist mentioned that he was using the bathroom in their cabin when he heard the shot. He came out to find Bianca bleeding on the floor from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Rudolph stated that she was quickly packing because she was rushing to get home. The dentist faces a maximum term of life in prison if not the death penalty if convicted of Bianca’s murder in the trial.
Lawrence Rudolph: Girlfriend Lori Milliron
Lawrence Rudolph’s girlfriend, Lori Milliron of 20 years, is also on trial, reportedly accused of dishonesty to a grand jury and being a supplement after the fact. The dentist denied the overheard confession that he killed his wife.
He stated that he and Lori were arguing about their finances and COVID-19’s effect on his successful practice. The dentist said what he told Lori on that occasion, ‘Now they’re saying I killed my wife for you.’
After three months of Bianca’s death, Lori moved into the home in Arizona, where the dentist moved a few years earlier. The executive director of the community association said that for another house in the same subdivision, Rudolph and Lori presented $3.5 million.
After a friend from South Africa tipped, the FBI opened the probe into Bianca’s death. The friends stated that they suspected foul play considering Rudolph’s alleged history of marital infidelity.
On top of that, the dentist’s decision to cremate his wife’s body, despite her being a devout Catholic, also made him more suspicious. He didn’t tell his two children and family about Bianca’s death.
Where Is Lawrence Rudolph Now?
Lawrence Rudolph testified at his trial on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, that the accident shotgun discharge killed Bianca while she was packing in a rush in Zambia in 2016.
The dentist pleaded not guilty and took the stand in defence at his trial in Denver, CNN affiliate KMGH detailed. The FBI arrested the dentist in Mexico and handed him to the US to face federal charges in December 2021.
David Markus, Rudolph’s lawyer, argued that he had no financial motive for murder. The wealthy dentist was worth over $15 million at the time of Bianca’s death, while the insurance payout went to a trust for their children.
‘This is an outrageous prosecution against Dr Larry Rudolph, a man who loved his wife of 34 years and didn’t kill her,’ Markus said in a statement.