Kriti Mehrotra
When Larry and Lori Isenberg’s marriage of nearly 14 years suddenly came to an end in February 2018 after the former fell into the water during a romantic boat ride, it left their entire family shattered. This family was actually a blended one, comprising the former Timber business executive’s 2 children, his philanthropic wife’s 6 daughters, and a total of 15 grandchildren as well as one great-grandchild. However, as explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Kill Switch,’ the way they raised their kids before coming together was drastically different, with Lori always having a rather extreme soft spot for hers.
Lori Isenberg’s Daughters Always Respected Their Step-Father Despite Knowing Some of Their History
It was reportedly back around the early 1970s when Laurcene “Lori” Barnes tied the knot with her high school sweetheart, Steven Barnes, before settling down in their home state of Idaho itself. That’s also where they welcomed six adorable daughters into this world, all the while also establishing a name for themselves to provide for their growing family – he ran a janitorial service business, whereas she primarily worked at several non-profit organizations. As for their children, in no particular order, they are: Jessica Fay Barnes, April Eliza Barnes, Traci (or Tracy) Barnes, Amber Annette Barnes, Chrislyn Barnes, and one another.
According to the aforementioned original, these girls grew up in a rather cozy, comfortable home surrounded by love, care, and affection, yet not everything was as it seemed. That’s because their mother allegedly strayed from her marriage a few times, ultimately resulting in her relationship with Larry Isenberg after being hired to be his secretary around the late 1980s. However, when she finally decided to part ways with her husband, Steven, for good in the mid-1990s, she actually had a couple of her then-teenage daughters confront him and kick him out of their home.
It was only after this that her relationship with Larry Isenberg gradually began coming to light, with her daughters reportedly really respecting him for his patience, kindness, and hard work. This couple tied the knot and blended their families in 2004, raising their young ones together before becoming empty nesters and building a homestead oasis near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Little did they know, though, that their idyllic lifestyle would come crashing down in 2018 owing to the secret embezzlement by the once-prominent non-profit organization’s employee.
Lori Isenberg’s Fraudulent Activities Involved 4 of Her Daughters
According to reports, even after Lori’s daughters grew up, left home, and started paving individual paths for themselves, she never failed to offer them financial backing at every turn. However, since Larry was not one to spoon-feed, instead preferring to offer solid financial advice and overall support, she helped them in secret whenever she could, eventually driving her to steal. It was in the mid-2010s when she started embezzling from her non-profit workplace, the North Idaho Housing Coalition, by signing false invoices to be paid by the state and federal government, and pocketing it all.
Lori was caught in early 2018, with it internally being suspected that she had stolen close to $1 million over 3 years, but federal investigations soon ascertained a total theft of $579,495.75. She had done so by submitting false invoices for different companies she had set up in the names of 4 of her daughters — Amber, April, Jessica, and Traci — so she was fired for good. What followed was a tragic turn of events because, in her desperation not to have her embezzlement come to light so as to maintain her reputation and not have problems with her husband of 14 years, she ended up taking his life.
Lori Isenberg’s Daughters Are Paying For Her Mistakes
Lori was arrested on one count of grand theft as well as 40 counts of forgery within 2 weeks of Larry’s unfortunate death, to which she pleaded not guilty and was held on a $75,000 bond. She subsequently somehow managed to convince her daughter, Chrislyn, to put up the money, which she did, only for the 66-year-old to then flee the city when Larry’s remains also washed ashore. It was then determined that his cause of death was actually Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) toxicity, resulting in her soon being charged with second-degree murder too. She turned herself in to the police on July 25, 2018.
In the end, Lori pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft, for which she was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and ordered to pay full restitution of $579,495.75 with a fine of $20,000. As for her daughters, Amber, April, Jessica, and Traci all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program theft, for which they were handed down 3 years of probation, 100 hours of community service, as well as an order to pay over $15,000 in restitution.
Amber and Jessica, though, immediately agreed to forfeit at least $16,500 and $15,000, respectively, from what they had obtained from their part in the crime, with April also receiving an additional one month of house arrest. Furthermore, because of Lori’s decision not to abide by her bond, her daughter Chrislyn is reportedly also a felon now, owing the government $75,000, which she will have to pay over time. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when Lori was convicted and sentenced for murder in 2021, Chrislyn actually came forward to speak out against her mother and show that there were people in her brood who truly loved Larry.
Coming to the current standing of all of Lori’s daughters, from what we can tell, all of them prefer to lead their lives well away from the spotlight these days for privacy purposes. However, we do know that while Chrislyn is now a happily married mother of two, going by the name Chrislyn Woolston in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Amber is also a family woman who goes by Amber Hosking in Spokane Valley, Washington. It appears as if Traci is also a dedicated wife as well as mother based out of Rathdrum, Idaho, whereas April and Jessica are leading comfortable, healthy lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington, respectively.
