Twenty-five years in prison was the sentence given to a North Dakota woman who poisoned her boyfriend in hopes of receiving an inheritance worth $30 million last Wednesday (October 16).

48-year-old Ina Kenoyer carried out what she believed to be the perfect plan on September 3, 2023, when she added antifreeze to a sweet tea she had prepared for her partner, 51-year-old Steven Riley Jr.

Steven fell ill soon after and died two days later. Authorities apprehended Kenoyer almost two months later on October 30, 2023, but by that point, the criminal had already discovered the truth:

The inheritance was a hoax, and all her efforts were in vain.

A woman who fatally poisoned her boyfriend, believing he stood to inherit $30 million, was sentenced to 25 years in prison

Image credits: ward county

Kenoyer received her sentence following a guilty plea to the murder of Steven Riley Jr. In addition to her prison term, she is expected to serve 10 years on probation and was ordered to pay $3,455 in restitution to the victim’s family.

The couple had been together for 10 years before the incident. Prosecutors detailed how, days before his death, Riley had received news that he was set to inherit a massive $30 million. Excited to become rich overnight, Riley hashed out plans to meet with a lawyer at an airport to discuss his birthright.

After being poisoned, the victim’s friends tried to get him medical attention but Kenoyer went out of her way to prevent him from being sent to a hospital. She argued her husband only had a heat stroke and took him home instead.

An autopsy done on Riley’s body revealed that his death was caused by ethylene glycol poisoning, a toxic substance found commonly in antifreeze products.

Kenoyer falsely believed that she was set to receive a portion of the inheritance, but both the money and her right to it were proven false

Image credits: Steve Riley

While Kenoyer had initially tried to defend herself by stating that her partner had been drinking alcohol all day when he fell ill and that she had taken him to a nearby clinic, her testimony was quickly proven false by prosecutors.

Riley had no trace of alcohol in his system at the time of his death, and no clinic records mentioned him.

Court documents confirmed that Kenoyer had committed the crime, believing she was entitled to a portion of the millionaire inheritance as Riley’s common-law wife. However, the state of North Dakota does not recognize such relationships.

“To have you take away someone so important, it’s just hurtful,” Riley’s son Ryan said in an interview with Minot Daily News. 

“I can’t even find the words to describe how I feel and how much it burdens everyone. I wish none of this ever happened. I never expected to lose my dad to something so selfish.”

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