Girlfriend of Wealthy Dentist Who Killed His Wife on a Safari Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

The girlfriend of a wealthy dentist who was found guilty of murdering his wife on an African safari in 2016 was sentenced to 17 years in prison for being an accessory to the crime.

Lori Milliron, 65, was found guilty last July of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of justice and two counts of perjury based on her testimony before a grand jury, according to the Department of Justice.

She was sentenced to 17 years in prison and fined $250,000 last Friday, CNN reported.

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Milliron was charged last year alongside Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph, 67, a wealthy American dentist who was convicted of fatally shooting his wife, Bianca Rudolph, during a 2016 hunting trip in Zambia, the Associated Press reported. Rudolph’s sentencing, originally scheduled for this week, was postponed.

“Lori, you have taken my parents,” Ana Rudolph, daughter of the victim, said to Milliron in court last week, according to the AP. “Despite everything you have done you will never take my soul. This might be difficult to understand... because you don’t have one.”

Ana also told the courtroom that she believes Milliron “plotted to eliminate” her mother.

Judge William J. Martinez said that Milliron's lengthy sentence was due to evidence showing Milliron “encouraging” the crime, and the fact that she seemed “unrepentant” while viewing graphic visuals from the crime scene in court, the AP noted.

Rudolph has maintained his innocence in his wife’s death, claiming that as they were packing to leave their safari trip, she shot herself while he was in the bathroom, allegedly dropping the 12-guage shotgun and triggering the fatal shot, the AP reported. However, prosecutors countered that theory with evidence that showed her wounds were a product of a shot coming from 2 to 3.5 feet way.

Prosecutors also claimed that Rudolph had admitted to killing his wife while at a steakhouse with Milliron, allegedly saying “I killed my f---ing wife for you!” after learning his wife’s death was being investigated by the FBI.

The FBI got involved in October of 2016 due to how suspiciously quick Rudolph brought up cremating Bianca’s remains to a consular chief at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia, according to a 2022 affidavit obtained by Law & Crime.

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A friend of Bianca’s had also told the FBI of her suspicions as she knew Bianca was a devout Catholic and would have opposed cremation, the AP reported.

Prosecutors alleged Rudolph’s motive for killing his wife was to collect millions of dollars in life insurance and continue his relationship with Milliron. The trials took place in Denver, since the insurance companies were based out of the Colorado capital.

Milliron’s attorney, John Dill, told CNN that the defense plans on appealing both the sentencing and the jury’s verdict.

“We believe the sentence is excessive and bears no reasonable relationship to the two counts of perjury before the grand jury that formed the basis of the charges of obstruction and accessory after the fact,” Dill told CNN. “The answers she gave before the grand jury were not false. ... Ms. Milliron had no involvement in the death of Bianca Rudolph and she sympathizes with the family as victims of that tragedy.”