Crime

Wealthy Dentist and Big Game Hunter Lawrence Rudolph Found Guilty of Killing Wife on Hunting Trip

Lawrence Rudolph's wife Bianca died in 2016 from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest while on vacation in Zambia

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Published on August 1, 2022 09:44 PM

Lawrence Rudolph, a wealthy dentist and big game hunter who has been found guilty of murdering his wife Bianca Rudolph while on a hunting trip in Africa.

Along with murder, a Colorado, federal court jury also convicted Lawrence, 67, of mail fraud in Denver Monday, according to CBS News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Fox News.

His girlfriend Lori Milliron was also found guilty of being an accessory, obstruction of justice, and two counts of perjury. As for the other three counts of perjury she was facing, Milliron was found not guilty, per Rolling Stone.

Lawrence could get life in prison, while Milliron could get up to 35 years. Their sentence hearings have not been scheduled yet.

Larry Rudolph — Larry and Bianca Rudolph. Facebook

"We are disappointed in the jury's verdict, but that is our system. Lori Milliron is innocent of the charges and we will continue to fight to exonerate her," Milliron's lawyer John Dill tells PEOPLE.

Lawrence's lawyer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

After a three-week trial, the jury found the dentist did kill his wife in 2016. Bianca died from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest. He initially claimed she must have shot herself as she packed her gun away following their hunting Safari in Zambia.

Prosecutors alleged he killed his wife of 34 years so he could collect millions of dollars in life insurance benefits and continue his relationship with his girlfriend Milliron, who was being tried alongside Lawrence.

During the trial held in U.S. District Court in Denver, a federal prosecutor claimed Lawrence admitted to the killing while at dinner with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse when he learned in 2020 that the FBI was investigating his wife's death, the Associated Press reported.

Last week, Lawrence told jurors, "I did not kill my wife. I could not murder my wife. I would not murder my wife," the Associated Press reported.

The couple was getting ready to leave their hunting camp in Kafue National Park on the morning of Oct. 11 when Bianca died from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest.

Per the AP, Larry testified that a shotgun the pair had obtained to hunt a leopard accidentally went off. He said that he was in the bathroom when he heard the gunfire and found his wife bleeding on the floor afterward.

Federal authorities got involved in the case after a friend of Bianca's told authorities on Oct. 27, 2016, that she wanted the FBI to investigate her friend's death because she suspected foul play, claiming that Lawrence had cheated on his wife and had been having an affair at the time of her death.

During the trial, Lawrence testified that he had an open relationship with his wife and said they were "reasonably happy" with that decision, according to AP.

According to a federal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, the consular chief at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia told the FBI Lawrence asked him about having his wife's body cremated shortly after her death.

The consular chief told the FBI he had "a bad feeling about the situation, which he thought was moving too quickly. As a result, he traveled to [the funeral home] with two others from the embassy to take photographs of the body and preserve any potential evidence," the complaint said.

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The consular chief told the FBI that Lawrence was "livid" when Lawrence discovered he had gone to see Bianca's body and taken photographs.

Authorities have also said that Bianca could not have shot herself with that type of shotgun because of its long barrel. A Colorado medical examiner opined that "it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Ms. Rudolph to reach the trigger of this weapon even if it was placed in the case with the muzzle pressed against her chest."

An arrest warrant was issued for Lawrence on Dec. 22, 2021. He was indicted in early January 2022 in Colorado, as that is where one of the insurance companies involved in the payout he received following her death is based.