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The Dateline's "Safari Story" tracks how a dream safari turned deadly when a devoted mother met a tragic end. The episode not only familiarizes the audience with the victim and her family but also highlights the investigation and how the truth came out after over five years.
The Dateline episode is about Bianca Rudolph, the late wife of Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph, a prominent dentist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The two wed since the early 1980s and had two children, Julian and AnaBianca.
Similar to all mothers, Bianca was "an amazing mother," and she was most loved by her kids. As described by her son Julian, she was his "best friend". Apart from that, Bianca and her husband were enthusiastic about hunting and used to go frequently to Zambia's Kafue National Park for hunting excursions.
However, during one of their hunting trips in Zambia, tragedy struck. Bianca Rudolph was no more, and her husband claimed she mistakenly took her own life. But how? As revealed in the Dateline episode, Larry Rudolph said that while he wasn't near Bianca, his wife shot herself in the chest with her shotgun.
Initially, all his claims were accepted and Larry wasn't suspected of her death. After a few years, evidence emerged and it was clear that Larry Rudolph was the one who took away his beloved wife's life.
Continue reading for more details about the murder of Bianca Rudolph.
The tragic Bianca Rudolph murder case featured on Dateline
The Safari Story episode of Dateline: Unforgettable features another heartbreaking murder of a mother named Bianca Rudolph. As previously mentioned, Bianca shared her husband's passion for hunting, and in October 2016, the couple went to Zambia for the same.
The couple was enjoying the trip, but little did Bianca know that she was soon going to meet a horrifying death. As seen in the Dateline episode, it was the morning of October 11, 2016, when Bianca Rudolph was found dead.
The mother of two was shot in the chest, but according to his husband, Larry Rudolph, it was an accident. He claimed that his wife was packing their belongings while he was in the bathroom. When he came out, he found that Bianca had accidentally killed herself with her shotgun.
Since this murder case was quite complex, Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning said:
"This was one of the most unique cases I’ve covered in my whole career."
She added:
"Our team traveled 8,000 miles to Africa to find out what happened to big game hunter Bianca Rudolph. Bianca was comfortable around predators in far away places, but as any true crime fan knows, sometimes the real threat is hiding closer than you might think."
Larry Rudolph was able to make everyone believe that he didn't kill his wife, and as a result, authorities initially ruled the case as an unfortunate accident. However, Larry's crime eventually came out.
The investigation and rising suspicions in Bianca Rudolph's murder case
Although the Zambian authorities had ruled the shooting as an accident, doubts quickly emerged. There were several red flags, with Larry Rudolph's long-term affair with Lori Milliron being the biggest one.
Not only this, Larry also received a massive $4.8 million payout from Bianca’s life insurance policies and was enjoying life with Milliron. Suspicion deepened when Bianca's friend informed the FBI about Larry's action.
The FBI immediately started digging deeper in the case, and as shown in the Dateline episode, inconsistencies in Larry’s story came to light. The age scout who was present at the time of Bianca's demise also stated that Larry was fully clothed, contradicting his claim that he had just been in the shower.
Ballistics experts also contributed to the case by suggesting that the gunshot was fired from a distance. This made it highly unlikely that Bianca Rudolph fired herself that day.
Larry Rudolph declared guilty of killing his wife Bianca Rudolph
The facts against Larry Rudolph demonstrated that he killed Bianca Rudolph in order to collect her life insurance and lead a life with his girlfriend. In 2022, he was declared guilty of murder and mail fraud and received a life in prison sentence.
His girlfriend Lori Milliron, was also a part of the case and played an active role in concealing Larry's crime. Prosecutors were able to establish her as an accessory after the fact as she kept the authorities from knowing the truth. Therefore, the jury sentenced her to 17 years in prison and requested that she pay a fine of $250,000.
Initially, Bianca's kids believed in their father's innocence, but after discovering the evidence, they changed their perception. Julian and his sister decided to move on, but they would never forget how they lost their parents. Julian said:
"Nothing will ever bring my mother back. Nothing will bring my father back."
The Dateline episode highlights how Larry killed Bianca and tried hard to stage it as an accident. However, Bianca's friends and law enforcement ensured justice by digging out the truth and putting Larry behind bars.
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