MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA: According to authorities, North Dakota woman, Ina Thea Kenoyer, is accused of using antifreeze to poison her boyfriend to death. She did this right after finding out that he intended to end their relationship after receiving a sizable inheritance of $30 million.
According to a press release from the Minot Police Department, Kenoyer, 47, was charged on Monday, October 30, for the horrific murder of Steven Edward Riley Jr, 51, on September 5 — which authorities claimed was triggered by "financial motives."
The Minot Police Department's Investigations Commander, Capt. Dale Plessas, stated, "This case was extremely complex."
How did Ina Thea Kenoyer kill her boyfriend?
Witnesses informed detectives that Riley fell ill when he met with his lawyer on September 3 to pick up the huge cash inheritance, according to police records.
The following day, when Riley's girlfriend, Kenoyer, dialed 911, responders discovered Riley to be unconscious. Riley died on September 5 after being hospitalized.
Riley's cause of death, as determined by an autopsy, was poisoning; however, no other details of how the crime was committed were disclosed.
But the autopsy details do reveal that he was killed by antifreeze ingestion, which authorities believe Kenoyer gave him.
The Minot Police Department stated, "Police believe that Riley’s girlfriend, 47-year-old, Ina Thea Kenoyer, Minot, had financial motives to murder Riley," per New York Daily News.
Why did Ina Thea Kenoyer kill Steven Edward Riley Jr?
Kenoyer faces the highest murder charge in North Dakota, class AA felony murder.
Kenoyer also informed investigators that she was entitled to a portion of his inheritance and intended to divide the funds—which she believed to be worth roughly $30 million—with his son, per the documents.
As his common-law wife, she claimed she was entitled to the wealth; yet, North Dakota does not accept such types of relationships yet when it comes to inheritances.
Investigators speculated that Riley was poisoned to obtain the sudden fortune since he had made preparations to end the relationship soon after receiving the enormous sum of money.
In a string of absurd Facebook posts in the days preceding her arrest, the suspected murderer declared her innocence and claimed Riley had committed suicide.
She wrote in a post three days before she was charged with murder, "hello hunny I wish I was looking for someone but no I’m a one man woman, kind person, and Steve Riley the only man I ever wanted."
According to court documents, Kenoyer is representing herself and is being held without bond at the Ward County Detention Center.
Domestic poisoning cases on the rise
The alleged murder is the most recent in a long line of domestic poisonings around the country committed by rejected lovers who want to profit from the success of their victims.
Substances in the house that are harmful if consumed, inhaled, or touched are known as household poisons.
These include prescription drugs, cleaning supplies, toiletries, detergents, garden fertilizers, and other typical home goods.
Utah mother Kouri Richins is currently awaiting trial for allegedly giving her husband a lethal Moscow mule infiltrated with fentanyl the day before she made money on a $2 million property she intended to flip but he refused to pay for.
In another tragic incident, a former physician at the renowned Mayo Clinic and poison specialist was accused of poisoning his wife due to marital problems.
He allegedly tried to have her body cremated immediately with the intention of cashing in on a $500,000 life insurance policy, per the New York Post.
