PA Dentist Guilty Of Wife's Murder On African Safari

PITTSBURGH, PA — A Pennsylvania dentist has been found guilty of the murder of his wife after authorities said he shot his wife through the heart with a shotgun while on a safari in Zambia in 2016. The crime was carefully premeditated, police said.

Lawrence Rudolph, 67, of Pittsburgh, was also convicted on charges of mail fraud after he cashed in on $4.8 million in his wife's, Biana Rudolph's, life insurance. Lawrence Rudolph's girlfriend, Lori Milliron, who was the manager of Rudolph's dentist practice, was also convicted as an accessory to murder.

The incident occurred in Oct. 2016, as the Rudolphs were packing to leave their hunting camp, according to court documents.

Lawrence originally told police he was in the bathroom and Bianca was in the bedroom when the shooting occurred. Lawrence claimed that the gun was left loaded and accidentally discharged while Bianca was attempting to pack the gun into its case.

However, evidence given in the trial showed that it would have been impossible for the shotgun blast to have been self-inflicted since it came from at least a few feet away.

Police in Zambia initially ruled the death an accident. But the insurance companies involved soon began investigating the shooting, and soon the FBI joined the case after one of Bianca Rudolph's friends requested an investigation.

Milliron, Rudolph's girlfriend, began living with Rudolph shortly after Bianca's death. Authorities said she lied when asked to give testimony about payments given to her by Rudolph.

Sentencing is forthcoming in February. Rudolph faces either a life sentence or the death penalty.