US dentist gets life in jail for killing wife during African safari

Washington, Aug 22 (IANS) A Pennsylvania-based dentist has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife while they were on an African safari in 2016, the media reported.

Larry Rudolph was sentenced on Monday by a Denver federal courthouse after he was convicted last year of fatally shooting his wife of 34 years, Bianca Rudolph, in Zambia, reports The New York Post.

According to prosecutors, Larry Rudolph "killed his wife in cold blood as part of a plan to receive life insurance payments and begin a new life with longtime mistress Lori Milliron".

“Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company,” the victim’s brother Vincent Finizio told Larry Rudolph before the judge sentenced him.

Prosecutors said the accused took the shotgun used in the heartless crime and placed it back in its soft case to make it appear that his wife shot herself by accident while packing on October 11, 2016. 

“This result shows that no matter how much money, prestige, or power you have, you will be held accountable for your crimes,” US Attorney for the District of Colorado Cole Finegan said in a statement.

Larry Rudolph was also found guilty of mail fraud, which is tied to the massive insurance payouts he received following his wife’s death, reports The New York Post.

He received a 20-year sentence to run along the life sentence for that conviction.

He is required to pay nearly $5 million in restitution and another $2 million in fines, the court ruled.

He was also ordered to forfeit two homes, his cars, an Aston Martin DB-11 and Bentley Bentayga, and other assets bought with the insurance money.

The defence said all the assets totaled nearly $9 million.