A prominent dentist has been accused of taking his wife on an African safari so he could murder her and collect almost $5 million in life insurance.
Dr. Larry Rudolph and his late wife, Bianca, were avid big-game hunters who traveled the world together.
But Bianca Rudolph’s life came to a violent end when she and her husband flew to Kafue National Park in Zambia — the second largest wildlife reserve in the world. Bianca’s goal was to bag a leopard on the trip.
But on the last day of their two-week trip, a gunshot was heard coming from their cabin. Bianca Rudolph was found dead with a gunshot wound to her chest.
According to the criminal complaint, her husband told Zambian police he believed his wife had accidentally shot herself with her 12-gauge shotgun as she was packing up the weapon.
The dentist came under suspicion after a U.S. embassy official said he believed that the “distance between the muzzle of the shotgun and Bianca’s chest…was approximately 6.5 to 8 feet,” according to the criminal complaint.
An investigation was launched after a friend of Bianca’s told the FBI she suspected foul play, because Dr. Rudolph was allegedly having an affair with a manager of his dental office outside Pittsburgh, according to the complaint.
According to news reports, the dentist’s alleged mistress gave him a deadline of one year to leave his wife, or she would leave him.
The couple’s daughter, Anabianca, is also a dentist.
Rudolph’s attorney calls the charges “outrageous,” claiming the FBI “is seeking to manufacture a case against” his client. He also says Dr. Rudolph looks forward to proving his innocence when the case goes to trial next month.