What happened to Bianca Rudolph? Details about Dateline: Unforgettable on Oxygen subject explored

Bianca Rudolph, 34, was shot and killed during a hunting trip to Zambia on October 11, 2016. While preparing to leave the Kafue National Park camp, she was fatally shot in the chest with a Browning shotgun. Her husband, Larry Rudolph, claimed he was showering at the time and returned to find her bleeding on the floor. However, further investigation uncovered sinister motives behind Bianca's death, pointing to murder.

The complete story behind the horrifying murder of Bianca Rudolph is documented in a Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled Safari Story. The episode was released on January 23, 2025, on Oxygen. The official synopsis of the episode reads,

"A hunting safari in Zambia ends in tragedy when a shot rings out from the cabin of a dentist."

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What is the story of Bianca Rudolph?

Larry Rudolph was a multi-millionaire dentist (Image via Pexels)

As per a People article, published on December 23, 2023, Bianca Rudolph was the wife of Larry Rudolph, a dentist from Pittsburgh, who ran a multimillion-dollar medical agency. Both of them had a passion for hunting, and in September 2016, they traveled to Zambia, with a wish to hunt a leopard.

As per a CBS News article, published on July 2, 2023, it was the last day of their hunting trip, and the couple was getting ready to leave the camp. As per Zambian police, Larry claimed that Bianca was packing the loaded gun, in the bedroom of their cabin. Larry was taking a shower at that time and suddenly heard a shotgun blast from the bathroom.

Larry and Bianca went on a hunting trip of Zambia (Image via Pexels)

When he rushed to the cabin immediately, he found his wife lying on the bedroom floor, with a bleeding bullet wound on her chest. Spencer Kakoma, a scout in their safari, reported that the previous night he had seen Bianca cleaning her shotgun. Spencer revealed that Larry initially claimed that Bianca died by killing herself with the gun.

Eventually, he came up with a different story, which he narrated to the police saying, she accidentally shot herself while handling the gun. The Zambian local police advocated that Larry was in a towel when he rushed to the camp, after the gunshot. However, Spencer revealed that Larry was completely dressed, when he rushed into the scene.

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Investigation behind the murder of Bianca Rudolph

Bianca's cremation raised major suspicion (Image via Pexels)

As per the People article, the Zambian authorities ruled out her death to be an accident, however, the United States Federals did not believe the story. As per CBS News, a U.S. Embassy decided to travel all the way to Zambian, to the funeral home, where Bianca Rudolph's body was supposed to be cremated.

This was followed by an FBI report raised by one of Bianca's friends, who was suspicious of the cremation since she was a strict catholic. The friend also revealed to the authorities that Larry was involved in an extramarital affair. It was found that he was often very abusive to his wife. It was only after Larry returned to the United States that the FBI discovered the prime motive behind the murder.

As reported by CBS News, authorities found that after being dismissed by the Zambian authorities, and arriving in the United States, Larry started claiming his wife's life insurance policies, which summed up to $ 5 million.

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Larry Rudolph was arrested for the murder of Bianca Rudolph

Larry Rudolph was arrested and charged with Bianca Rudolph's murder (Image via Pexels)

After nearly five years of investigation, Larry Rudolph was arrested in December 2021 for murdering his wife, Bianca, to claim her life insurance. According to People, his longtime girlfriend, Lori Milliron, testified that Larry admitted to the crime during a heated argument. During his trial at the U.S. District Court in Denver, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bishop Grewell presented Lori's testimony as key evidence.

She said that Larry was shouting at her and saying,

"I killed my f-----g wife for you."

Larry Rudolph denied killing his wife, Bianca, claiming her death was an accident and denying any connection with Lori Milliron. However, in June 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lori Milliron was also convicted of encouraging the murder and received a 17-year prison sentence.

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Larry Rudolph's son sued the U.S. government for taking his father's money

Larry Rudolph was sent to lifetime imprisonement (Image via Pexels)

As per an ABC News article, published on December 20, 2023, Larry's son Julian Rudolph, initially denied the allegations put on his father for the murder. However, his perspective changed completely after seeing the grueling images of Bianca Rudolph's body from the scene and listening to Milliron's testimony in the jury.

Reportedly, Julian is having legal battles with the U.S. Government, after his father was sentenced to lifetime imprisonement. As per Julian, he along with his sister AnaBianca, are trying to the multi-millions their father received from Bianca Rudolph's death. However, as per Julian, the federal authorities have seized the money, along with Larry's assets, considering he committed fraud with the insurance companies.

Larry's son Julien Rudolph is claiming his father's seized money (Image via Pexels)

Most of Larry's money is already gone, considering his lavish spending habits and the rest is seized by the federal government. As per The Justice Department, and two federal courts, their actions are completely in accordance with the law. As per the Department, the money was seized to ensure Larry not benefitting from killing Bianca Rudolph.

The case is being handled by the U.S. attorney's office in Georgie, which stated,

"The Department of Justice is working in good faith with attorneys for the children of the victim to resolve disputes over how that goal can best be accomplished."

Larry Rudolph, who is behind bars, wants the seized money to be handled by his children.

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To know more about the murder of Bianca Rudolph, watch Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled Safari Story.