Death on Safari | Full Episode | Forensic Files

The story begins with an American couple, Dr. Larry Rudolph and his wife Bianca.
Larry Rudolph is a well-known dentist in the Pittsburgh area. Larry and Bianca got married after he
graduated from dental school and they were both avid hunters. They traveled several times a year internationally.
Lawrence and Bianca Rudolph traveled from the US here to Zambia in 2016, heading to a safari hunting trip. No one
would have imagined Bianca would never make it home and that that journey would end years later with allegations of
coverups, infidelity, fraud, and murder. >> On the morning of October 11th, 2016,
Lawrence Rudolph and his wife Bianca were preparing to return to the United States. And just after 5:00 in the
morning, Lawrence was in the bathroom when he heard a shotgun and his wife screamed and came out to find her on the
floor, as he says, with a shotgun blast that killed her almost instantly. >> Larry Rudolph told police that his wife,
Bianca, was packing up and she was trying to put the shotgun into the soft shell case. That's when he said he heard
that gunshot. The Zambian officials did rule that it was an accident. They said that it
appeared that it was an accidental discharge from the weapon. >> Once the hunting trip was ended, the
weapon should have been rendered safe. It boggles the mind that two experienced hunters for this to have been an
accident. >> People trusted him. >> I'm Dr. Larry Rudolph. >> And they knew of him. They knew his
face. They knew his commercials. >> We'll help you overcome your fears. >> If he was in the office, they all felt
like they were meeting a celebrity. you know, the man on TV, the dentist on TV. >> No sights, no sounds, and no fears.
>> We had people come to the office and asked about Bianca, and asked if she really did pass away. You know, what
happened, and we had to say we didn't know. >> There was a friend of Bianca who called
the FBI and said that she was suspicious that her friend's accidental death was not really accidental. Lawrence Rudolph
made sure Bianca's body was cremated within 3 days. >> The friend suggested that there were a
number of troubling things. Miss Rudolph was a devout Catholic and had expressed
to her explicitly that she would never consider being cremated. There were some certain things that just did not seem to
add up. A >> well-known local dentist is in jail in Colorado tonight. >> FBI agents believe their investigation
will prove he killed his wife while on vacation. This case is about whether Lawrence
Rudolph killed his wife with a shotgun or did his wife accidentally shoot herself while packing the shotgun to
leave. Why did he want to kill his wife? There's a financial motive. We're talking about almost $5 million in life
insurance proceeds. And he's had a long-term apparently affair with the manager of his office.
>> Was it an accident or did he do this? Nobody knows what happened truly to Bianca but Dr. Rudolph
Nearly two weeks after Bianca Rudolph's death, while on a hunting trip in Zambia, family and friends in Arizona
gathered to remember her at her funeral. But at husband Larry Rudolph's Pennsylvania dental practice, there was
a hush in the air. >> Larry never talked about Bianca's death ever. He was saying to everyone not to
talk about it and it made it sort of suspicious. >> Sherry Hul worked as a dental assistant
in Dr. Rudolph's Three Rivers Dental Group for nearly 8 years. The lucrative practice with five offices in the
Pittsburgh area specializes in sedation dentistry providing anesthesia for fearful patients. I liked everything
about how we treated our patients and I really believed in everything we did and
how he did it. After years building his successful practice, Dr. Rudolph says Sherry was
now spending limited time in the office. He and Bianca had lived in homes in both
Pittsburgh and Arizona. The couple had met while Larry was in dental school and Bianca was at the University of
Pittsburgh. >> Larry and Bianca got married in the early 80s shortly after she graduated
from college. >> Megan Schiller is a reporter at Pittsburgh CBS television station KDKA.
>> They proceeded to have two kids. They had Julian, who's their son, who's now an attorney in Florida, and they had a
daughter, Anna, who is now following in her father's footsteps. Anna, a friend of Sherry's, is also a
dentist at the practice. >> Anna described her mom as like an angel. She loved her mom. People that knew
Bianca Rudolph described her as a very kind, caring person. >> Sherry never met Bianca, and there may
have been a reason why. She says Larry was having an affair with the woman who managed the offices, Lorie Milarin.
Larry and Lorie's affair just seemed like it was just very open. As far as I know, it was probably going on for 20
years. It was just uncomfortable and you just didn't talk about it. In the office, Sherry saw different sides of
Larry. >> Larry could be very nice and he could change attitude within a matter of
minutes. That erratic behavior, Sherry says, was one of the reasons she left her job.
>> He can throw tempers and we' sort of just call it like he was going Rudolph. >> Something Larry did enjoy talking about
in the office and took pride in was his hobby, big game hunting. >> Larry Rudolph and Bianca Rudolph were
avid hunters. that was a huge part of their life. They were both like very well known for it.
>> Hi, my name is Dr. Larry Rudolph and it's my privilege to be serving as your president of Safari Club International.
>> Rudolph served for several years as the president of Safari Club International,
a group that promotes hunting. >> We are first for hunters. Period. >> First for hunters.
>> He traveled the world recording messages for members. I'm here on the banks of
the Kafoui River in Zambia. I've been doing some lion hunting and just having a great adventure.
>> His term, though, would be tainted by claims he damaged the club's reputation
through alleged misconduct, including supposed adultery. Larry denied the claims and sued for
defamation. The case was ultimately settled, but Larry was ousted as a club member.
But his passion for hunting endured and in 2016 he and Biana headed to a favorite location, Kafoui National Park
in Zambia. >> Kafoui National Park is considered a big game paradise, the oldest and the most
prestigious national park in that area of southern Africa. Just to put it in scale, it's the size of New Jersey. The
park has one section that is a protected wildlife sanctuary and an adjacent area
referred to as game management that allows hunting. On the trip, the Rudolph stayed in this two room cabin consisting
of a bedroom and a bathroom. Bianca wants to finally hunt a leopard. She'd been trying for years to hunt a leopard.
The trip lasted about 10 days, a time that was happy. According to Spencer Kakoma, the local game scout
accompanying the couple. >> They were laughing at each other, kissing each other, hugging each other.
>> Did you think they were a happily married couple? >> I I was even admiring that because I'm
also married. >> And did you see any tension between Larry and Bianca Rudolph? >> No, I didn't see any tension. Bianca
never did shoot a leopard. And on the final day of the safari, before the Rudolphs went to their cabin, Spencer
says as is daily protocol, the guns were emptied of all ammunition. And you saw Bianca Rudolph cleaning her gun of live
ammunition. >> Bianca Rudolph doing that. It was clean or it was clear. There was no ammunition
which was there. >> You saw it with your own eyes. >> Yes. >> It was the end of the Rudolph Zambian
hunting trip. They were supposedly packing up and getting ready to fly home, but then Bianca Rudolph suffered a
fatal gunshot wound. Spencer was working about 30 yards away when he heard the gunshot and ran to the
cabin, finding 56-year-old Bianca Rudolph dead on the floor, shot in the heart. The weapon was a 12- gauge
shotgun similar to this. Spencer says the gun partially in a softsided case was next to her and Larry Rudolph seemed
inconsolable sobbing. >> Is crying pray just kill myself because my wife she has committed suicide. She
has killed herself want to kill myself also. >> Spencer says Larry first claimed Bianca
died by suicide, shooting herself intentionally while he was in the bathroom. And he says Larry was so
distraught that he ran to a nearby river saying he wanted to jump in and kill himself.
Spencer says he calmed Larry down and they went back to the cabin. But now Larry had a different version of events.
It was no longer a suicide but that Bianca accidentally shot herself packing up the gun. Were you surprised that a
shot had gone off? Yeah, that's one of the thing which made me to suspect. I saw Bianca Rudov
removing the ammunition from the all guns. >> So, how do you think ammunition got into
the shotgun? >> I think there's must be just someone who loaded it. >> Somebody loaded that gun.
>> Yes. >> Things were not adding up for Spencer. He and Larry Rudolph went to the local
police station. Rudolph was interviewed for about 30 minutes by now retired police commander Rost Yena and Larry
told him Bianca accidentally shot herself while packing the gun. >> Heard the gunshot and they scream. We
said he rushed to the bedroom and then he found the wife lying down in a pool blood.
>> Did you believe him? I believed him because I wasn't there. I wasn't there. >> Commander Yayena sent his investigators
to the scene who told him it matched Dr. Rudolph's description of events. They believe the shotgun found approximately
3 ft from Bianca's body was discharged while inside its case and reported that Dr. Rudolph had tried to resuscitate his
wife. It was decided that this was an accident. >> Yes, it this is the report that we
received. >> The police report dated 2 days after Bianca's death concluded Dr. Lawrence
Rudolph rushed to the bedroom only to find his wife lying on the floor bleeding. The findings further suggested
the firearm was loaded from the previous hunting activities, causing the firearm
to accidentally fire. This is to me a little bit astounding that they would have made that conclusive declarative
statement that this was absolutely an accident so soon after uh Miss Rudolph died
Bianca Rudolph's death in Zambia was devastating for her daughter Anna. >> Anna always said Bianca was like the
best mom and just did everything was like a very good person and was very wholesome and kind.
Dental assistant Sher Hul says Larry Rudolph didn't tell Anna or her brother Julian about their mother's passing for
nearly a week. Anna had troubling questions about what had happened. She had no idea whether her mom got shot in
the face or the chest or anywhere. She just would say, "I want to know what happened to my mom."
>> And at the Kafu National Park, there were doubts, too, from the moment the gunshot rang out early that October
morning. >> It's a loud boom. David Katz is a ballistics expert and former special agent at the Drug
Enforcement Agency. We asked him to review documents in this case. He says the blast from the Rudolph's 12 gauge
shotgun would have been ferocious. >> Bianca Rudolph screamed after the gunshot.
>> Game scout Spencer Kakoma instantly knew that sound meant trouble. She didn't
scream help or she screamed ah. Then that's how we rushed there. Within 15 seconds we reached there, she was
dead already. >> From the beginning, Spencer said he had questions about Larry's version of
events, including when Larry told him he was in the bath when he heard the gunshot and raced out to find Bianca
dead. But when you saw him, he was fully dressed >> with with shoes. It confused me.
>> 15 seconds to be fully clothed with shoes is pretty quick. >> Exactly. >> But local police say Larry told him he
was wrapped in a towel when Spencer arrived. Kafou National Park investigator Masua Muses also had
questions about what he saw in the couple's cabin. He says he observed the wound on Bianca's chest, the gun nearby,
and wondered how she could have accidentally shot herself in the heart while handling the long-barreled weapon.
>> What did you think? What was your theory? Um to me I suspect that there should be a foul play because the way
the firearm was lying, the way the deceased was lying, the way the bullet went through because to me to say that
she shot herself, I I doubt it. >> So Mr. Messi, did you ever voice your suspicions of foul play to the Zambian
police? >> I voiced my suspicion to the police. >> And what did they say in response? In
respond, the Zambia police told me that the police will really investigate up the bottom of the issue.
>> But did they? >> Ah, they didn't. >> Within days, says reporter Megan Schiller. Local officials allowed
Bianca's remains to be cremated in Zambia. >> Even the paper over there reported what
had happened as an accidental shooting. And the comments on social media were people saying that it seems suspicious
to them. >> One reader suggested, "This doesn't sound right. Something fishy here."
And it was suspicious to one of Bianca's friends. Certain Bianca was opposed to cremation for religious reasons. The
friend made a call about 2 weeks later and set a chain of events in motion. There was one point when this case
became an active international investigation and that is when Bianca's friend called the ates of the FBI in
South Africa and said that she suspected foul play. Mary Fuljiniti is a former federal prosecutor and CBS News
consultant. She says Bianca's friend told the FBI about Larry's affair, said Larry had been verbally abusive to
Bianca and reported that Larry and Bianca had fights about money. She opened a Pandora's box as to why
Lawrence would want to kill his wife. >> Even the consular chief at the US embassy in Zambia had suspicions. He
spoke on the phone with Larry Rudolph just hours after Bianca's death. >> The counselor chief had a bad feeling.
And he said, "Because Lawrence quickly turned it to cremation and getting out of the country, which he thought was
highly suspect." >> The consular chief was a former Marine with decades of experience with weapons.
Unbeknownst to Larry, he decided to inspect Bianca's body before it was permitted. He measured the shotgun wound
and took photos. The consular chief said based on looking at Bianca's body, he didn't think there was any way that she
could have done this to herself, that she could have been leaning on the shotgun. He said it looked like someone
was holding the shotgun several feet away and fired it at her. The consular chief turned his photos and notes over
to the FBI. An inquiry into Bianca's death was underway. Retired FBI supervisory special agent and CBS News
consultant James Galliano says international investigations take time. >> This case is being investigated outside
of the United States. It presents a ton of different problems that you have to deal with.
>> Back home, life went on for Larry. The FBI kept working the case both in the US
and in Zambia and investigators eventually made their way back to Game Scout Spencer Kakoma. So 5 years later
>> that's when >> you heard from the FBI. >> Yes, that's when they called me. >> Were you surprised?
>> Yes, I was surprised. >> Over the course of 5 years, FBI investigators interviewed numerous
people, reviewed documents, photos, and conducted forensic tests. eventually filing a complaint listing evidence of
possible foul play in Bianca Rudolph's death. >> The complaint lays out a neat road map
of a lot of circumstantial evidence that points in the direction of Lawrence Rudolph as the murder of his wife
Bianca. Zambia's Cafou National Park. Vast, stunning, serene. But retired police commander Rostston
Yayena will never forget the day back in 2016 when that gunshot rang out from this cabin, killing Bianca Rudolph.
When your officers went to the scene, what did they see? >> Yeah. What they told me was that they
found a dead body line facing upwards. >> And years later, he still recalls his conversation with Dr. Rudolph.
>> He seemed to be sorrowful. You know, >> he was very sorrowful. >> You know, when you lose your beloved
one, you can't be in that mood. I could even see some tears in his eyes. Yena says the initial investigation was
not rushed and says at the time no one told him they suspected Larry had anything to do with his wife's death.
>> What was the most powerful thing that he said to you that convinced you this man
is innocent? >> To say is innocent. That was his story. >> You're so easily convinced. I just have
to tell you a story and you believe me. It's coming from your own mouth. I can believe you. Whatever story you
tell me, I can believe it. >> But could an experienced hunter like Bianca accidentally shoot herself in the
heart while placing a longbarreled shotgun into a gun case? >> For the for the shooters out in the
audience, so everyone's going to understand immediately there's a visceral feeling. No, don't do it.
Ballistics expert David Catz says if that happened, Bianca would have been pointing the muzzle at herself, ignoring
safety protocol. >> Whether the gun is loaded or unloaded, if you know your way around guns, you
would never under any circumstances point that weapon towards you or another human being.
>> Katz often works with firearms at the company he owns, Global Security Group.
At our request, he reviewed the initial FBI complaint. the complaint in fairness
to to Larry Rudolph. It's it's it's just the government's aversion of events. It's a one-sided document. So, I I want
I want to be completely fair to to Larry Rudolph. >> In the complaint, the FBI interviewed a
Zambian ballistics expert who performed what's called a drop test to determine if the gun could have accidentally
misfired if Bianca dropped it on the ground. The question is, if you slam the weapon hard enough, if you drop it, if
you bang it on the on the ground, will that weapon discharge? >> The Zambian ballistics expert repeatedly
dropped the Rudolph's gun, most likely loaded with a dummy round, about 4 and 1/2 ft onto cement, and reported the gun
did not misfire. The complaint lists some of the other FBI findings, including the results of a series of
tests using a 12 gauge shotgun of the same make and model as the gun that killed Biana and a softsided gun case
like the Rudolphs. >> They did gun tests. They did a study with people who were about the same
height as Bianca and had similar arm lengths. The FBI performed a reach study, which Cat says would determine if
Bianca could have reached the trigger while packing the shotgun into a gun bag. 15 women who were near Bianca's
height were tested. None was able to reach the trigger of the shotgun while zipping the case.
>> This is not a live weapon. >> We asked Cats to demonstrate how the test might have been done with the help
of this woman who is 5' 4 and 1/2 in. Bianca was 5' 4 in. >> So, I'm going to measure your arm here.
>> FBI analysts used a photo of Bianca to measure her arm length. They estimated
Bianca's longest possible right arm length at 28.75 in. >> 29 in. So, your reach is slightly longer
than the maximum reach as estimated by the FBI. >> The gun used in this demonstration is
not the same make and model as the Rudolph's gun. It is not a weapon. It just looks like one.
>> It's a prop gun, nonfunctional and not capable of holding a bullet. >> According to the FBI, the model of gun
the Rudolphs had was approximately 31.1875 in from trigger to muzzle. We attached a
wooden dowel to the barrel of the prop gun to make it match that length. >> So, I'm going to take this weapon. I'm
going to point it at your chest right where the wound on the victim was placed. The idea is that somehow
the weapon could be discharged accidentally as if it was being pushed into a gun case. So, let's bend over.
Keep going. Keep going. Can you even if you can touch the ground even with it? Now, try to stretch out and touch the
trigger. You're not on the trigger. You're close to the trigger. Okay. >> Next, Cats added a gun case similar to
the one the Rudolphs own. >> All right. Let's say you were zipping. Can you reach your hand in and touch the
trigger? The woman in our demonstration was able to reach the trigger >> just about just about.
>> Difficulty. >> Yeah. I guess what I'm left with is this conclusion. Possible unlikely, but you
know with sufficient leaning forward, but that would then suggest without without any doubt a contact shot.
A contact shot is a gunshot wound occurring when the muzzle of the gun is in direct contact with the body at the
moment the gun fires. >> This is a 12- gauge shotgun shell. It contains pellets, a double O buckshot.
>> In a contact shot, there is no time for the pellets to spread. Instead, they go
straight into the tissue in one tight group the same diameter as the gun barrel.
>> With contact shot, you're going to get this. Further away, you're going to get
this. further away, you're going to get this. >> Kat says those photos of Bianca's body
taken by the consular chief in Zambia may rule out death by a contact shot. >> The most critically important issue in
this case is how far from her body was the muzzle of that shotgun when the rounds were fired. When the consular
chief took those photos, he also measured Bianca's shotgun wound and noted the pellets covered approximately
6 cm in diameter, roughly 2 and 1/2 in. >> That pattern would be impossible if the
muzzle had been pressed against the victim's body. >> So, from what distance would a weapon
have to be fired to cause a 2 and 1/2 in wound? fire one shot. >> We asked Cats to use this real shotgun
to show us how rounds fired from different distances can make different sized wounds. We didn't have access to
key information about Rudolph's gun, but the long barrel of this gun measures the
same distance from trigger to muzzle, approximately 31.1875 in. >> Fire. Cats fired into a block made of
ballistic gelatin designed to simulate the effects of bullet wounds in human tissue.
>> Fire. >> When I fired the last round that was from 10 ft. There are discernable pellet
wounds here, here, here. This is why the consular chief was suspicious when he saw the wound because he saw a wound
that was more like this. FBI investigators also compared shot patterns created by firing from various
distances and estimated that Bianca's wound depicted in the photographs was created by a shot from a distance of
between two and three and 1/2 ft. The complaint's conclusion, Biana Rudolph was not killed by an accidental
discharge and it wasn't just ballistics catching the attention of the FBI. This is a case that's going to be made
on the totality of the circumstances. >> Anna always said how she wish she had more time with her mom. Sheri Hul says
Bianca's death continues to haunt the Rudolph's daughter, Anna. >> She was devastated that she couldn't
even say goodbye to her. It appears Larry Rudolph wasted no time setting up house with his longtime
rumored girlfriend Lori Milaron in Paradise Valley. >> Within weeks, she had moved into their
home in Arizona. Rudolph's business continued to thrive. >> No sights, no sounds, and no fears. Only
at Three Rivers Dell. >> He and Luri split their time between Pittsburgh, Arizona, and a vacation home
in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. >> After a while, I thought, well, if it wasn't an accident, wouldn't he have
been arrested by now? Nothing's really happened. But in December 2021, more than 5 years after Bianca's death,
Rudolph's new life with Luri was about to change. And that FBI complaint would turn out to be the key.
>> The federal prosecutors and the FBI agents had decided that they had enough information to essentially charge Larry
with crimes. >> Lori Miller's attorney, John D, says the pair was at the Cabo home. They were
going down there for vacation and having a return flight. He wasn't fleeing or disappearing or anything like that.
>> But their holiday came to a sudden and surprising end when local authorities arrested Rudolph.
>> Laura's reaction when he was arrested. Obviously, she was shocked. Mexican police executed a warrant for Lawrence
Rudolph's arrest for the foreign murder of Bianca Rudolph and for mail fraud relating to Rudolph collecting Bianca's
life insurance. The FBI said the insurance never should have been paid because it believed Rudolph murdered
Bianca. Larry Rudolph was the beneficiary and he was the recipient of nearly $5 million of insurance money.
Those millions were spread out over nine separate policies. One of the insurance companies where
Larry mailed a claim is located in Colorado. So that's where the case would be tried.
Bianca died on October 11th and the first claim was submitted on October 31st. >> I'm not sure if there's a time period
when there's an accidental death that somebody's supposed to wait so it doesn't look wrong. In a court filing,
the defense claimed there was no financial motive for the alleged crime, asserting that Rudolph's dental practice
alone was worth $8 million. What's more, Dill says the fact that all nine policies were paid proves Bianca's
death was, as Rudolph described, and Zambian officials ruled, an accident. >> You'll see insurance companies went
through a full investigation, including going to Africa. But Mary Fuljaniti says not so fast. For
one thing, the FBI's resources would have allowed for a much more thorough investigation into Biana's cause of
death. They just have access to more things. They have ballistic experts, access to
the counselor chief, and other witnesses in Africa that I'm not sure the insurance firm had access to to talk to.
Within days of his arrest, Rudolph was extradited to Denver. A grand jury was convened there to hear evidence about
his case. Everyone in Pittsburgh was talking about how this dentist, who was a well-known, respected dentist could
possibly be accused by the FBI. >> Sher says word of Rudolph's erased hit Anna hard.
>> She was just devastated. I called to check on her and she would not talk about her dad being arrested. She just
talked to me about anything but that. >> Lori Milarin followed Rudolph to Denver.
She was about to become involved in the case as well by way of a subpoena. >> She was called to go before the grand
jury and she was in town for his bond hearing and went and testified. >> About 2 weeks after Rudolph's arrest,
that grand jury handed down their indictment. FBI agents believe their investigation will prove he killed his
wife while on vacation before allegedly collecting millions in insurance money. It seemed that the multi-million dollar
windfall of insurance money Rudolph received wasn't the only motive the FBI believes was behind Bianca's murder. In
the complaint, it says Lori Miliron had given Rudolph an ultimatum. >> You have one year to get rid of the
practice and leave your wife. Dill says there was no ultimatum. That allegation came from a disgruntled
employee. According to a defense motion, >> all we can just say is that's not what
the evidence is going to be. >> As for the speed of Bianca's cremation, Rudolph's attorney says that's no
attempt at a cover up that both he and Bianca had expressed their final wishes. >> The defense is going to argue, well,
they have a will. and in the will. It was the directive of both parties to be cremated.
>> As Mary Fuljaniti explained before the trial, murders on foreign soil are difficult to prove and the length of the
investigation might actually be a liability. >> What the defense is going to do is try
to make it look like this case, which is five plus years old, has stale testimony, stale witnesses, stale
everything. But it turns out that years after Bianca Rudolph died, there would be something
new after all. Another arrest that no one saw coming. The truth about the death of Bianca
Rudolph, wife and mother, has remained as elusive as the Zambian leopard she hunted. Her husband stood charged with
murder and male fraud. Then, come February 2022, this case would grow even more complex
when Lori Milar was charged. As if the story couldn't get any stranger, now we know that his alleged
longtime girlfriend, Lorie Millir, is now facing federal charges. >> Seven federal counts alleging she
provided false and misleading testimony to a grand jury sitting in the District of Colorado.
Just over a month after that testimony, Lori Milion was arrested. She's accused of lying about her
relationship with Larry. She's accused of lying about what Larry said in the days and months following Bianca's
sudden death. >> I think she was shocked. She did not expect this to happen. >> A 64 year old woman, she faces as much
as 30 years in prison for those charges. But her attorney, John Dill, emphasizes
>> there's no allegations by the government that she was somehow involved or had
anything to do with what happened to Bianca Rudolph in 2016. >> D says that the speculation and the
charges against his client are all false. >> I think the truth is Lorie Millir is not
a criminal. She didn't perjure herself, didn't lie to the grand jury. But former prosecutor Mary Fuljaniti
says there may be another reason the government filed those seven counts against Lori Milan.
>> They might have also charged her because they would like to put some pressure on
her to cooperate. >> Pressuring Rudolph's longtime girlfriend to be the star witness against him.
Well, if I was the prosecutor in this case, I would absolutely be hoping that she was going to come forward and and
possibly cooperate against him, and she's the one witness that could possibly do him in.
>> Hi, I'm Dr. Larry Rudolph, president of Safari Club International. >> Meanwhile, from home detention in
Arizona, Lori Milion was still connected with Rudolph, running his multi-million
dollar dentistry practice, but forbidden to contact him. still attempting to work. Yeah. From
where she is, it's a lot more difficult. Obviously, >> the government planned to try them
together in the same courtroom. An outcome their lawyers fought against and lost. The two on trial together was a
powerful image that could impact Lori Miller. Lori Miller does not want to be sitting next to Lawrence Rudolph at
trial because he's charged with murder and she wants nothing to do with that and she doesn't want any of that
prejudice to spill over to her which will ultimately say, "Oh, well, she was a part of it. I mean, if she's she's the
lover." And in a pre-trial affidavit filed by Rudolph's attorneys and signed by Luri, she wrote that Larry and I were
romantically involved and Mrs. Bianca Rudolph was aware of that. The suggestion, the affair was an open
secret, not a motive for murder. But the prosecution would soon test the loyalties of Lori Milarin and Larry
Rudolph and see if they stay aligned or if at the end of the day she does ultimately cooperate.
>> Our defense is basically that what their government is saying, not only can't
they prove it, that's not the facts. Over the years and across an ocean, facts have been hard to come by in this
case. Retired FBI special agent James Galliano knows time can be a prosecution's toughest challenge.
>> Memories get rusty and cloudy. Documents get lost or destroyed. With every day
that passes, it gets more and more difficult to close a loop here, get the evidence you need, and make a
conviction. There's a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome here. So, it it it's by no means an easy prosecution.
>> 7,000 miles and a world away, Bianca Rudolph's death has impacted those who barely knew her. Former police commander
Rost Yena still thinks it was all a terrible accident. >> There will be no evidence connecting to
the murder. There'll be no evidence connecting Dr. Rudolph to the murder. >> I don't think so.
From the experience that I had. >> No. >> But one time, scout Spencer Kakoma was
so shaken by this experience that he quit his job. He believes that in his beautiful country, as Bianca Rudolph
hunted, she became the prey. Yes, I'm just happy with the American investigation. He wanted to escape, but
they have managed to corner you. >> Larry Rudolph's legal team provided 48 hours with the following statement. Dr.
Rudolph is innocent. The Zambian authorities who were there and investigated said so. The insurance
companies who paid the claim after they investigated said so. Strangely, 5 years
later, the feds brought charges without any real evidence, no eyewitnesses, no forensics, no anything except for some
speculation sprinkled into a chasm of conjecture. Anna and Julian have lost their mother.
Sources tell us they have expressed support for their father. And next, what really happened in the country Bianca
Rudolph cherished would be decided in a Colorado courtroom. 48 hours. Don't miss an episode.

An American woman dies by gunshot on a safari trip. Was it murder or an accident? "48 Hours" contributor Debora Patta reports. This episode aired in July 2023. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode investigates Bianca Rudolph's suspicious death and her husband Larry's arrest for murder and insurance fraud.

Key points

The Tragic Safari. Larry and Bianca Rudolph's hunting trip in Zambia ends in tragedy with Bianca's death.
Suspicion Arises. Bianca's friend calls the FBI, suspecting foul play in her death.
The Investigation Begins. The FBI investigates Bianca's death, uncovering evidence of possible foul play.
The Arrest of Larry Rudolph. Larry Rudolph is arrested in Mexico for the murder of his wife, Bianca.
Charges Against Lori Miliron. Lori Miliron faces federal charges for providing false testimony related to Bianca's death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

No one would have imagined Bianca would never make it home.

Introduction to the tragic story of Bianca Rudolph.

0:45WatchJul 28, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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