Woman accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze over inheritance

A North Dakota woman has been accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze in what authorities say may have been a plot to claim part of his $30 million inheritance.

The woman, Ina Thea Kenoyer, 47, of Minot, ND, was charged with murder on Monday in the September 5 death of Steven Edward Riley, Jr., 51, her boyfriend of 10 years.

Ms. Kenoyer was being held at the Ward County Detention Center in Minot, a city about 110 miles north of the state capital, Bismarck. She was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday; it was unclear whether she had an attorney.

On September 4, emergency responders were called to the couple’s home in Minot, where Mr. Riley was found unconscious, according to an affidavit prepared by Erin Bonney, an officer with the Minot Police Department, and filed Monday in Ward County District Court. .

Mr. Riley was taken to a local emergency room and then transferred to a hospital in Bismarck, where he died on September 5.

Ms. Kenoyer initially told authorities that her boyfriend had suffered heatstroke, although an autopsy later revealed that Mr. Riley had died of poisoning from ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze.

Mr. Riley’s friends and relatives said they believed Ms. Kenoyer had poisoned Mr. Riley with antifreeze, according to the affidavit, and told authorities that she had made comments both before and after his death about poisoning him with the dust.

Investigators learned that there was discord in the couple’s relationship; Mr. Riley was set to receive a large inheritance, believed to be about $30 million, and planned to leave Ms. Kenoyer as soon as he claimed it.

More flags were raised after one of Ms. Kenoyer’s friends reported that she had dumped Mr. Riley’s belongings outside their home the day he became ill, the affidavit said. The friend added that Ms. Kenoyer was angry that Mr. Riley would get his inheritance and leave her, it said.

Ms. Kenoyer told investigators after Mr. Riley’s death that she was entitled to a share of the inheritance because she was his common-law wife and that she planned to share the money with Mr. Riley’s son.

Some states recognize this common law marriages, in which a long-term married couple can be considered married without going through the formal legal marriage process. But North Dakota is not one of those states, and Ms. Kenoyer was “outraged” when investigators explained that, according to the affidavit.

On September 3, the evening before Mr. Riley was admitted to the hospital, he had been at an airport to meet with a lawyer to finalize the receipt of the inheritance, the affidavit said.

He was accompanied by Ms Kenoyer and friends, who said Mr Riley suddenly started feeling ill and complained of feeling drunk despite not having consumed alcohol.

He reported stomach pains and nearly collapsed, according to the affidavit.

“The witness stated that they wanted to get medical treatment for John Doe, but Ina Thea Kenoyer was adamant that John Doe was suffering from heat stroke and just needed to go home after the airport to rest,” according to the affidavit in which Mr. Riley was identified. by the alias John Doe.

The next morning, a friend of Mr. Riley, Wesley Torgerson, stopped by the couple’s home to check on Mr. Riley’s condition. Ms. Kenoyer told him that Mr. Riley was at a walk-in clinic.

“Torgerson went to every walk-in clinic in Minot as well as the emergency room and discovered that John Doe had not been to any of those locations,” the affidavit reads.

Ms. Kenoyer told investigators that Mr. Riley had been drinking alcohol all day on September 3 and had suffered heatstroke the day before, September 2, although a statement from a friend who had been with Mr. Riley on September 3 provided a had sunstroke. 2 contradicted her claim, and a toxicology report later found that Mr. Riley had no alcohol in his system when he died.

Authorities searched the couple’s home and discovered a Windex window cleaner bottle containing a green liquid believed to be antifreeze in the living room, court records show.

They also found a glass Coors Light beer bottle and a plastic mug, both believed to contain antifreeze, according to the affidavit.

Ms. Kenoyer presented investigators with several scenarios in which her boyfriend could have accidentally swallowed the antifreeze, including “smoking a cigarette that may have fallen into the antifreeze in the garage.”

She also claimed that the symptoms of heatstroke “resemble poisoning,” according to the affidavit.

Ms. Kenoyer also acknowledged serving sweet tea to Mr. Riley all day on Sept. 3, according to the affidavit. Antifreeze is known to be easy to disguise in sweet drinks, researchers said.

According to investigators, after the incident at the airport, Mr. Riley was alone with Ms. Kenoyer at home for at least 12 hours before seeking medical attention.

Ms. Kenoyer is the latest person to be accused of poisoning a romantic partner this year.

Last week, a Minnesota doctor was accused of fatally poisoning his wife, and in May, a Utah doctor who wrote a children’s book about grief was accused of killing her husband with fentanyl.