A 47-year-old woman from Minot, North Dakota is accused of killing her boyfriend, 51, after he inherited a large sum of money. Authorities, who are trying to get to the bottom of the case, say it is quite complex.
Ina Thea Kenoyer allegedly poisoned boyfriend Steven Edward Riley Jr
Ina Thea Kenoyer was charged on Monday with the murder of Steven Edward Riley Jr. The victim had inherited $30 million hours before his death.
Kenoyer is facing an AA felony murder charge. The most severe murder charge in the Peace Garden State comes with a life in prison without parole sentence.
According to police, Ina Thea Kenoyer used antifreeze to poison Riley because she thought he was going to leave her. Autopsy results confirmed the poisoning by ingestion of antifreeze. Cops say that the man was extremely ill on September 3 when he met with a lawyer to collect the money.
The suspect waited at least 24 hours to call 911, and when first responders arrived at his Minot home, Riley was unresponsive. The victim died the next day at the Bismarck hospital on September 5. He was initially taken to the Trinity Hospital.
Kenoyer wanted half of the money
Ina Thea Kenoyer told authorities that as Riley’s common-law wife she was entitled to half of the inheritance. She planned to split the rest with his son. However, the state of North Dakota does not recognize those relationships when it comes to inheritance.
The young man is not playing nice and wrote on Facebook: “Rest in peace dad… I had a feeling it was her with how everything played out, but f–k I wish we made plans to see each other sooner. Hope she gets what she deserves for taking you from this world.”
Many people from the community have reacted to his message and showed him a lot of love. They are hoping that the family will get justice.
According to court records, Ina Thea Kenoyer has opted to represent herself. She is currently being held at the Ward County Detention Center with a $1 million cash or surety bond order from North Central District Court Judge Richard Hagar.
Officials thanked the witnesses who helped them get all the pieces together. Investigations Commander Capt. Dale Plessas stated: “This case was extremely complex. Thank you to everyone who provided us with information that helped our investigators piece this together.”
Authorities zeroed in on the “financial motives” aspect of the case to reach their version of events. However, the investigation is still ongoing.
Suspect posted bizarre messages on Facebook
Before the arrest, Kenoyer was on social media defending herself and proclaiming her innocence. She wrote on her Facebook page: “To the Shafer that almost hit me, that’s not married 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.”
In other notes, she claimed that Riley had taken his own life. Some observers have described the different postings as erratic and all over the place.
A preliminary hearing is set for December 7.
Domestic poisonings grabbing more headlines recently
Cases of domestic poisonings have gained a lot of attention in the news recently. Grief author and Utah mom Kouri Richins is allegedly responsible for the death of her husband, Eric Richins, via overdose. Her lawyers want a judge to dismiss the case because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
Famed Mayo Clinic poison specialist Dr. Connor Bowman, 30, is accused of poisoning his pharmacist wife Betty Bowman, 32.
Bowman allegedly tried to get her body cremated as fast as possible to cash in on a $500,000 life insurance policy. The doctor was charged with second-degree murder. Additionally, Bowman was dealing with financial problems and the couple was close to a divorce. They got married in 2021.
Commenters on social media say that greed is at the root of all those cases. However, it is unclear how authorities can work to prevent some of those cases.
Moreover, deaths by poisoning have increased seven times in the past 20 years to reach 65,773 in 2019.
