Naman Shrestha
NBC’s ‘Dateline: Safari Story’ chronicles the brutal killing of Bianca Rudolph during a trip to Zambia’s Kafue National Park in October 2016 and how her husband, Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph, staged it to be an accident. During the investigation, the detectives uncovered some dark secrets of the renowned dentist, including his extramarital affair with one of his employees, Lori Milliron. As it turned out, Lori was well aware of Bianca’s murder and, in fact, played a critical role in keeping it a secret. It would take the authorities more than six years to apprehend the accomplice.
Lori Milliron Allegedly Encouraged Larry to Kill Bianca
Apart from being an employee at Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Rudolph’s Three Rivers Dental office, Lori Milliron was also involved in a secret affair with the reputed dentist for over a decade or so. At the time, he was already married to Bianca T. Rudolph, with whom he shared two children — AnaBianca and Julian. Around 2016, as the extramarital affair intensified, Lori, a dental hygienist, allegedly gave an ultimatum to Larry. As per reports, she told him that if he could not leave or get rid of Bianca within a year, she would leave him for good.
Thus, when Larry and Bianca took a hunting safari trip to Zambia’s Kafue National Park in September 2016, the former shot his wife with a 12-gauge shotgun. Staging the murder as an accident, he then collected her life insurance claims in the following weeks in order to start an extravagant life with Lori, who played a part in covering up the crime. By using the money he got from Bianca’s life insurance policies, he built two luxurious houses, one in Arizona and the other in Pennsylvania. Lori and Larry led a lavish lifestyle for several years in their Arizona house before the investigators linked the two to the murder and arrested them.
Lori Milliron is Currently Incarcerated at a Florida Prison Facility
On January 5, 2022, Lori Milliron was called to provide information regarding Bianca’s murder to the grand jury. Instead of admitting the truth, she decided to tell several lies in order to prevent her boyfriend, Larry, from getting prosecuted. When asked about why he had made cash payments to her before his wife’s death, she told them that it was a generous act on his part and nothing else. Lori also claimed that he was innocent, which was why he had been irritated by the investigation. A few months later, in July 2022, she stood trial for Bianca’s killing alongside Larry Rudolph. She was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the murder, two counts of perjury based on her testimony before a grand jury, and obstruction of justice. She was acquitted of three other counts of perjury.
When she filed a motion to get a new trial, her request was denied in April 2023. A couple of months later, on June 23, 2023, her sentencing hearing took place. Bianca’s daughter, AnaBianca, took the stand and addressed the accomplice. She stated, “Lori, you have taken my parents. Despite everything you have done, you will never take my soul. This might be difficult to understand…because you don’t have one.” Finally, Lori Milliron was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for her involvement in the gruesome murder of Bianca Rudolph in October 2016. On top of that, she was also fined a total of $250,000.
Following the sentencing, her defense attorney, John Dill, expressed their intent to appeal the conviction and sentencing. He told CNN, “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. 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.” As of today, the 67-year-old woman is serving her sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Marianna in Marianna, Florida, with her release date scheduled for April 2036.
Read More: Bianca Rudolph Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
