What did Lawrence Rudolph do? US dentist enters trial for allegedly killing wife on African safari in 2016

A Pennsylvania dentist and big-game enthusiast, Lawrence Rudolph, is on trial for allegedly killing his wife on a picturesque vacation in Africa. The motive to do so was the $5 million in insurance proceeds he acquired in 2016. The jury selection process began on Monday, and opening statements are anticipated for Tuesday.

Rudolph, the founder of Three Rivers Dental in Pittsburgh and a former leader of a global safari club, is accused of killing his wife, Bianca Finizio Rudolph, and executing mail fraud and overseas homicide.

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Lawrence Rudolph and Bianca visited Africa to hunt large animals

In late September 2016, Lawrence Rudolph and his wife Biana visited Zambia with the intent of going on safari and hunting expeditions together.

Reports suggest that the couple enjoyed hunting big-game, and Bianca had hopes of bringing home a leopard. However, on the morning of October 11, 2016, as she was about to leave her hunting camp in Kafue National Park, she was fatally shot in the chest with a Browning shotgun.

Rudolph claimed to have been in the shower when he heard a loud gunshot, but he witnessed his wife bleeding and on the ground.

Lawrence Rudolph said in the criminal complaint, which was submitted in federal court in Colorado last year,

"The discharge occured while she was trying to pack the shotgun into its case."

He soon had her ashes cremated in Zambia before flying back to the US, where he filed claims with seven separate insurance companies, resulting in roughly $5 million in compensation. He has consistently maintained that her death was an accident.

The consulate chief informed the FBI at the American embassy in Zambia that he had spoken to Rudolph about having his wife's body cremated.

The chief said he had "a bad feeling about the situation, which he thought was moving too quickly. As a result, he traveled to the funeral home with two others from the embassy to take photographs of the body and preserve any potential evidence.

Due to multiple insurers involved in the settlement in Colorado, the trial is being held there.

Local officials declared her death to be an accident, but a friend of Bianca informed the FBI that Rudolph was having an affair at the time of his wife's passing. The friend further asserted that because of Bianca's fervent religious convictions, she would never have wished to be cremated. It was sufficient to warrant an investigation.

The federal murder charge carries a possible life sentence in prison or death. A maximum of 20 years is given for mail fraud. Additionally, penalties and other requirements can be applied.