Dentist facing life for killing wife during safari tells mistress to get new boyfriend as he'll 'die in prison'
DENVER, COLORADO: A wealthy Pennsylvania dentist, who was found guilty of fatally shooting his wife on a safari in 2016, was reportedly heard telling his mistress that he will perish in jail. Lawrence 'Larry' Rudolph, 67, was found guilty by a federal jury in August of shooting his wife Bianca Rudolph in the heart with a shotgun in Zambia, and then collecting $4.9 million in insurance benefits to begin a new life with his mistress Lori Milliron.
Rudolph was found guilty of murder and mail fraud following a three-week trial that took place in Denver, Colorado, in the summer. Announcing the verdict for the dentist, a jury of six men and six women agreed with the prosecution's allegations that he had plotted to kill his 34-year-old wife in cold blood to start a new life with Milliron, who had been his mistress for 20 years.
READ MORE
Milionnaire dentist Lawrence Rudolph FOUND GUILTY of killing his wife on African safari in 2016
While the court is yet to announce if Rudolph will face a life sentence, he recently admitted to his mistress on a prison phone call that she should look for a new boyfriend as he will die in jail. According to Daily Mail, Milliron told Rudolph in the intercepted phone call that "I didn't expect at 65 years old that I was gonna have to have a new career."
To which Rudolph replied, "You should look for a new boyfriend, while you can. Well, I just wanted to tell you I love you." Then Milliron said, "Take care of yourself. Never, never give up. Please." But he admitted, "It's not about giving up, Lori. It's just about facing reality. I'm a dead man. I'm gonna die in prison. And I don't want to take you with me, or anybody else. It's not fair." Milliron, who was also found guilty of giving false and misleading evidence to a grand jury regarding the money, is currently living at their nearly finished custom-built house in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
The court heard that Bianca died after being shot by a Browning shotgun in their cabin where they were staying during their safari in Zambia. Gamekeepers and scouts heard a gunshot coming from their lodge on October 11, 2016, at 5 am. Upon their arrival in the room, they found Bianca with a gunshot wound to her chest. While the prosecutor alleged Rudolph killed her to claim the insurance money, his defense claimed Bianca mistakenly shot herself while packing their stuff.
Rudolph also revealed that he had been sharing an open marriage with his late wife since 2000, "I did not kill my wife. I could not murder my wife. I would not murder my wife," Rudolph told jurors. The dentist claimed he was in the restroom when he heard the gunshot. Rudolph was charged in December 2021 for the murder.
The prosecutors also told jurors that Rudolph was heard screaming 'I killed my f***ing wife for you!' during an argument with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse in 2020. But he denied admitting to his wife’s murder. David Markus, an attorney representing Rudolph at his murder trial, denied that his client made the statement to Milliron, claiming that a witness, who allegedly overheard their conversation, was mistaken. He told the jury that Rudolph really said, "They're saying I killed my f-----g wife for you.” The incident on October 11, 2016, was ruled an accident by Zambian authorities two days later, according to the defense. The insurers' investigators came to the same conclusion and eventually paid $4.8 million.
Citing the insurer investigator’s report, Markus argued that Rudolph had no financial motive for murder, being worth more than $15 million when his wife died and said the insurance payout went into a trust for their children.