The man has claimed throughout the case that his wife’s death in the southern African nation of Zambia was an accident.
As a wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari listened in court, her brother vowed on Monday to move her remains to a place that Larry Rudolph would never discover.
Shortly before a judge sentenced Rudolph to life in prison in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph, Vincent Finizio also predicted Larry Rudolph would “die alone and unmourned” and that his future grandchildren will never know he existed.
“Even Judas would be afraid to be in your company,” Finizio said, referencing the home of Jesus’ traitor — the worst circle of hell imagined by Dante.
U.S. District Judge William Martinez also imposed over an estimated $15 million in financial penalties against Rudolph, who was also convicted of mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife as he began a new life with his longtime girlfriend.
Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wife’s death in the southern African nation of Zambia was an accident. His lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said he and fellow defense lawyer, Margot Moss, were hopeful they would win an appeal.
“And we’ll be back to get a fair trial and then Larry can walk out of here a free man,” Markus said.
Prosecutors say Rudolph, who owned a Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, shot his wife of 34 years in the heart with a shotgun on her last morning in Zambia, and then put the gun in its soft case to make it look like she had accidentally shot herself while packing. The couple had been hunting game during their trip.
They also claim the setting, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the nearest police station, was the perfect place to try to get away with the crime, where they say he rushed to have his wife cremated and intimidated officials investigating her death.
