Lover of dentist who murdered his wife on safari for her breaks her silence from jail
Lori Milliron, 67, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for her role as an accessory to the brutal murder of Bianca Rudolph, who was shot in the heart by her husband Lawrence 'Larry' Rudolph during a hunting trip in Zambia.
The shocking case has now been featured in the new Hulu docuseries Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari, which argues the Pennsylvania dentist's own arrogance became his downfall.
But his lover, who was accused of being his 'partner in crime ' still insists she she's not a killer.
Speaking from prison in the ABC News Studios production, Milliron vehemently denies she pressured Rudolph into killing his wife of 34 years to be with her.
'There was no ultimatum. Why would I wait 15 years to give him an ultimatum? It just didn't make sense,' Milliron said over the prison phone in video obtained by Business Insider.
Milliron and her lover were ultimately nabbed after a bar worker claimed he overheard Rudolph yell: 'I killed my f***ing wife for you' during an argument.
'I'm not violent. I didn't kill anybody. I didn't hurt anybody. But they really wanted to put me in jail,' Milliron said from jail.
Speaking from prison in the ABC News Studios production, Milliron (pictured left with lover Larry Rudolph) vehemently denies she pressured Rudolph into killing his wife of 34 years to be with her
Rudolph was charged in December 2021 for the murder.
The 68-year-old claimed his wife accidentally shot herself while she was packing to head back home.
He said he was in the bathroom when he heard his wife say, 'come here and help me' before hearing the shot and finding his wife on the floor bleeding.
'The police did an investigation and they said it was an accident,' Milliron said.
'Everyone believed that it was an accident, so I assumed it was an accident as well.'
After Bianca's death, her dentist husband fraudulently claimed $4.8 million in life insurance payouts.
During his trial, the prosecution told jurors that Rudolph was overheard blurting out: 'I killed my f***ing wife for you!' during an argument with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse in 2020, after he learned that the FBI was investigating his wife's death.
Rudolph has denied confessing to his wife's killing.
Rudolph claimed what he actually said was, 'Now they're saying I killed my f***ing wife for you.'
He said he and Milliron were having an argument about their finances and how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect the Pennsylvania dental franchise that had made him a small fortune.
But he was irritated because he said his top concern was the FBI's probe.
A jury of six men and six women sided with prosecutors - who believed the dentist pre-planned to kill his wife of 34 years in cold blood to begin a new life with Milliron.
Milliron was found guilty by the same jury of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of a grand jury.
She was also convicted of providing false and misleading testimony to a grand jury about the money and the nature of the relationship with Rudolph.
Milliron was found not guilty on three other counts of perjury.
During the hearing, she told the judge that she was innocent of the crimes, but the judge proclaimed that the lengthy sentence was deserved based on the evidence that Milliron encouraged the heinous act.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Extra bobbies on beat reduce knife crime by up to 25pc, says Cooper
Extra bobbies on the beat have helped slash knife-enabled robberies by up to 25 per cent, Yvette Cooper has claimed. Seven forces reported falls of between 2 per cent and 25 per cent in muggings involving knives after targeted police campaigns against crime. Tactics included increasing visible patrols of bobbies on the beat, using drones, knife arches and detection dogs to support police on the ground, and deploying plain clothes officers. It followed a 14 per cent increase in knife-enabled robbery in the seven areas in the year to June last year amid a sharp decline in charging rates for the offences. The seven areas accounted for 70 per cent of knife-enabled robbery in England and Wales. Data published earlier this week showed just 5.1 per cent of robberies in London last year resulted in a perpetrator being charged, down from 6.8 per cent in 2021. For theft from the person, just one in 170 (0.6 per cent) of offences resulted in a charge, down from 1.1 per cent in 2021. After the blitz, West Midlands saw a 25 per cent fall, British Transport police 24 per cent, Avon and Somerset 9 per cent, West Yorkshire 7 per cent, South Yorkshire 6 per cent and the Met Police 2 per cent. Only Greater Manchester saw an increase of 4 per cent. Ms Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: 'When we came to office, knife-enabled robbery was increasing at a concerning rate, but we have now started to drive numbers of those offences down through the work of our dedicated taskforces, and as a result, we have also seen the first small reduction in overall knife crime for four years. 'The drop in knife-enabled robbery in key problem areas shows the impact that our strong new action on knife crime is having, but we now need to supercharge these efforts through more smart and targeted interventions. 'Anyone can be a victim of knife crime, but new 'hex mapping' technology shows that the vast majority of knife crime is concentrated in a relatively small, hyper-concentrated number of areas.' Data from the Office for National Statistics' Crime Survey for England and Wales, show that the proportion of the public who say they never see an officer on the beat has doubled in the past decade. Respondents who had never seen a foot patrol in their area rose to 54 per cent in 2023/24 compared with 27 per cent in 2009/10. Labour has pledged to put an extra 13,000 officers into neighbourhood roles. A ban on ninja swords also comes into force on Friday, as part of the Government's commitment to halve knife crime in the next decade. At least 1,000 of the weapons have been handed in as part of a surrender scheme. The Government has also pledged to tackle the sale of weapons online as part of Ronan's Law, which was introduced following the death of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was murdered with a ninja sword bought online. This would require retailers to report bulk or suspicious knife orders to the police, put in place more stringent age-verification checks and impose significant fines on tech executives whose platforms fail to prevent illegal sales. Pooja Kanda, Ronan's mother, said: 'Ronan was just 16 years old when his life was stolen by a 22-inch ninja sword that should never have been so easy to buy. Ronan's Law is not only a step towards justice for my son, but for every parent who wants to see their child come home safely. 'This law is about saving lives, closing dangerous loopholes, and holding those responsible to account. The Government's knife surrender scheme has been a sign of commitment to tackling the scourge of knife crime. While there is still much more to do, these are significant steps in the right direction.' The Home Office has also said a 'surrender van' will be deployed at this year's Notting Hill Carnival.
BreakingNews.ie
13 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Acquitted law professor Diarmuid Phelan in legal fight with State over 'enormous' trial costs
The State appears to have suggested that even people of means should make legal aid applications, which a barrister for law professor Diarmuid Phelan, who was acquitted by a Central Criminal Court jury of murdering a trespasser on his farm, has argued is "entirely contrary" to spirit of the scheme. A judge will give her ruling in September as to whether the State should pay the "enormous" legal costs for Mr Phelan following a trial that ended last January. Advertisement The costs issue was raised this evening on the last day of the Trinity term before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford, who presided over the 10-week murder trial that ended on January 3rd last. Law lecturer Mr Phelan, who has assets valued in the millions, instructed two senior and two junior counsel at his trial and did not receive legal aid. He also called expert witnesses who gave evidence following the close of the prosecution case. Mr Phelan maintained from the outset that he had no intention of shooting the deceased Keith Conlon and had acted in self-defence when he fired three warning shots. The jurors unanimously agreed with the defence case following the trial that Mr Phelan was entitled to defend himself when he came under threat on his own land. Mr Phelan (56) went on trial in October 2024 after he pleaded not guilty to murdering father-of-four Keith 'Bono' Conlon (36) at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on February 24, 2022. Advertisement Mr Conlon from Kiltalown Park in Tallaght, was seriously injured in the shooting incident on February 22 and died at Tallaght University Hospital two days later. The defendant is a barrister, law lecturer and farmer who owns Hazelgrove, formerly a golf course in Tallaght. It was the defence case that this was an unintended killing and what Mr Phelan had been trying to achieve in discharging the shots was not to strike Mr Conlon. Opening the application on Thursday evening, Sean Guerin SC, who was one of two senior counsel representing Mr Phelan at his trial, told Ms Justice Lankford that the starting point - and also expressly the most important consideration - in awarding costs was the verdict. Advertisement Counsel submitted that Mr Phelan was entitled to his costs and the onus was really on the prosecution to show why he shouldn't succeed in the application. He said there was no substantive reason as to why costs should not be awarded. Mr Guerin said one of the prosecution's submissions, which had previously been handed into the court, was that Mr Phelan had the option of applying for legal aid but had chosen not to do so. The lawyer said legal aid had been put in place because of the desperate injustice done to people who couldn't secure the means to defend themselves and to protect those of limited resources. The barrister said the State appeared to be suggesting that even people of resources or means should make a legal aid application, which he suggested was a complete misunderstanding of what the legal aid scheme was. "There is no suggestion of that in the authorities and is entirely contrary to the word and spirit of the statutory scheme of legal aid," he added. Mr Guerin went on to say that the personal financial consequences was that Mr Phelan had to bear "the enormous costs" of being on trial in the Central Criminal Court for nearly three months. "The court doesn't need to be told what those financial consequences are and how they weigh on anyone who has to meet their defence". Advertisement Opposing the application, John Byrne SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), argued there was no presumption in favour of costs and one cannot simply say they had been acquitted so were entitled to their costs. He said a more complex and nuanced enquiry was required by the trial judge. The barrister said an award of costs is a discretionary order and it was "too simplistic" to say an acquittal gives rise to a presumption in favour of costs being awarded. Ms Justice Lankford said she had not finalised her view in relation to awarding costs but asked both parties to articulate their views if she decided to award Mr Phelan his costs but confined it to legal aid costs. She noted there was quite a wide discretion in case law, where 50 per cent of costs had been awarded to applicants. Mr Guerin told the judge there was no warrant for doing so as those weren't the costs his client had incurred. He said legal aid was not a guide or a measure as to what are the appropriate costs in a case. "If the court concluded Mr Phelan is entitled to his costs, then the appropriate order is for the adjudication of those costs in the usual way". Advertisement Whereas, Mr Byrne said the discretion seemed to be very wide and awarding legal aid costs was not something the court couldn't do, provided it set out the basis for it. Ms Justice Lankford said she hoped to deliver the court's judgement as to whether Mr Phelan can recoup his legal costs from the State in the first week of September. Ireland Young man jailed for raping teenage girl and engag... Read More Mr Phelan's trial heard that Keith Conlon and others were trespassing on Mr Phelan's land at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane in Tallaght on February 24, 2022. Mr Phelan shot a dog belonging to one of the trespassers due to concerns the dog might go after his sheep. An angry confrontation followed in which Mr Phelan produced a handgun and fired three shots, the third of which struck Mr Conlon in the head and caused his death. Mr Phelan said he acted in self-defence and that the fatal shooting was accidental. The jury had rejected the State's case that when the third shot was fired by Mr Phelan, the gun was pointed in the direction of Mr Conlon, who was shot in the back of the head when it was argued he had turned away to leave. It was in those circumstances, the prosecution said, that Mr Phelan intended to either kill or cause serious injury to Mr Conlon. Instead, the jurors accepted Mr Phelan's position that he was acting in self-defence after two trespassers were "coming to fulfil the threats they had made" and that he was fearful and facing an "imminent attack" as the men closed in on him.
The Independent
43 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man who burned a Virginia city councilman intended to kill him, police say
Police say a man who doused a Virginia city councilman in gasoline and set him on fire told investigators he wanted the attack to be fatal, according to charging documents available Thursday. Officials say the motive appears personal and unrelated to Lee Vogler's work as a public official. After Wednesday's attack, the 38-year-old father of two was flown by medical helicopter to a burn unit in North Carolina. The hospital hasn't provided an update on his condition. According to police, witnesses and Vogler himself, Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, poured gasoline on the councilman after barging into his workplace at a local magazine. Buck-Hayes chased Vogler outside and ignited the gas, later telling police he intended for the flames to kill him, according to the documents. Buck-Hayes has since been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding. Edward Lavado, an attorney representing him, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Thursday. At the scene, Vogler was able to tell multiple witnesses that Buck-Hayes had burned him, according to the charging documents. The complaint doesn't give details on how Buck-Hayes was taken into custody. The records were first reported by the Danville Register and Bee. Vogler has served on the Danville City Council for more than a decade and is known as a fixture of the small city near the Virginia-North Carolina state line, about 140 miles (230 kilometers) north of Charlotte. The police documents list a Danville address for Buck-Hayes as well. Andrew Scott Brooks, editor and publisher of Showcase Magazine, says the attacker forced his way into the office despite the door being locked and went straight for Vogler. 'The next thing, Lee is running through the office covered in gasoline, yelling for our officemate to call 911,' Brooks said Wednesday. Buck-Hayes was being held without bail in the Danville City Jail, records show.
