A TROPHY hunter allegedly told his lover "I killed my wife for you" after murdering his spouse to bag a life insurance payout worth £4.2million.
Dentist Lawrence Rudolph, 67, is accused of killing his wife Bianca at a remote cabin Zambia, Africa, during a leopard-hunting safari.
Prosecutors allege Rudolph, from Pennsylvania, murdered his spouse for a £4.2million insurance payout – despite claims at the time in 2016 she shot herself.
At a court hearing in Colorado – the state where the insurance payments were made – it was alleged Rudolph admitted his guilt to his girlfriend Lori Milliron.
It's alleged he told her he'd murdered his wife while at a steakhouse in Phoenix, Arizona, after he found out the FBI were probing his wife's death in 2020.
Pointing at Ms Milliron, assistant US attorney Bishop Grewell said: "He killed his wife for her."
Read more world news
Inside ‘world’s first drug lord billionaire who lived like king in jail’
Horror moment drunk pub landlord stomps on punter’s head & shoves woman into wall
But Rudolph's lawyer, David Markus, argued the witness had overheard him incorrectly, and he had actually said "they're saying I killed my f***ing wife for you".
He told the court the shooting happened as staff were going in and out of the cabin to serve the couple breakfast.
Markus told jurors workers found Rudolph in shock following the shooting, and claimed his wife had accidentally dropped the weapon – causing it to go off.
Following a two-day investigation in Zambia, authorities concluded it to be an accident, as did insurance investigators, Markus said.
Most read in The Sun
PIERS MORGAN Mo lied to my face in front of millions – I've never been prouder of my friend
Inside Love Island Adam Collard’s £260k Newcastle home as he puts it up for sale
I deliberately snapped my arm to escape fatal car crash, says Towie's Yazmin
Love Island boss reveals truth behind Jacques' exit
Rudolph has been charged with murder and mail fraud.
If found guilty, he faces maximum sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Ms Milliron is charged with lying to a grand jury and being an accessory after the fact.
Mr Rudolph has always denied being responsible for his wife’s death, having told authorities in Zambia that he was in the bathroom when his wife shot herself as she packed away a shotgun as the couple prepared to return to the US.
Source: Read Full Article