A North Dakota woman is facing life in prison after allegedly poisoning her boyfriend over an inheritance — but there’s a kick…
In September, Steven Edward Riley Jr. received the email of a lifetime. According to the New York Post, it was the lawyer of a “distant relative” informing him that an inheritance to the tune of $30 million was waiting for him, he just had to sign off. But Steven wasn’t keen on sharing with his longtime girlfriend, Ina Thea Kenoyer.
The outlet reported that their 10-year-relationship had already been rocky, but the idea of an inheritance gave Steven the push he needed to leave the 47-year-old. However, according to police docs obtained by the outlet, on September 3, the day the 51-year-old went to meet the mystery lawyer at the airport, he began experiencing stomach pain. The following day, Kenoyer called 911 and paramedics rushed to their Minot home — where they found Steven unresponsive. He was rushed to Trinity Hospital and later transferred to a Bismarck hospital but sadly didn’t pull through. He died on September 5.
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A police affidavit claims Kenoyer told authorities Steven had suffered from heatstroke and had been drinking when he fell ill… and further told them about the inheritance, noting she was entitled to some of it as his common-law wife.
Weird that she would bring that up amid such a tragedy, right? Well, according to Steven’s autopsy, his death wasn’t caused by heatstroke. Kind of the opposite, actually: antifreeze! Specifically he had suffered poisoning from ethylene glycol — the leading chemical in antifreeze.
Cops searched the home and found a Windex bottle in which the cleaner had been replaced with the poisonous substance, and get this: a mug AND beer bottle, also suspected to contain antifreeze, were found in the garage.
Police quickly determined it was Kenoyer who intentionally poisoned Steven. Investigators cite “financial motives” — as the girlfriend believed she could ensure herself a cut. But unbeknownst to her, North Dakota doesn’t even recognize common-law marriage! She was entitled to nothing anyway!
And there’s an MORE heartbreaking twist to it all…
Steven’s son Ryan Riley explained to the New York Post that there was never any inheritance in the first place. The whole thing was a “scam”! He said:
“It was a scam. It was a stranger who managed to trick my dad into believing it was true, unfortunately.”
The 21-year-old explained:
“He wasn’t suspicious before he went to the airport, but he was convinced he had inherited the money and was going to receive it when the supposed lawyer landed. He planned on getting acres of land, giving me and some of my brothers a chunk. Then opening his own auto shop. But the supposed lawyer never showed up.”
How heartbreaking. All of this for nothing.
Like police, Ryan believes the money was Kenoyer’s “motive” for poisoning his dad, as she was “extremely lazy” and “never worked”:
“They weren’t too happy [and] my dad wanted to leave her for a while. he just never worked and was leeching off of him. She was extremely lazy and never did anything. [My dad] was a very caring person and would go out of his way to help those around him.”
Ryan is in the military and was stationed in Texas when he got the call and had to take emergency leave. Luckily, he did get to see his father before he passed. But he also visited the home he shared with Kenoyer, which sounds pretty dire… He said:
“It was very nasty conditions. Dog waste almost everywhere, dirty clothes scattered all over the house, trash seemed to be endless, nothing there was clean.”
How grim. That poor kid… In a Facebook post on Halloween, he wrote:
“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.”
Kenoyer is currently being held at the Ward County Detention Center in Minot, and records indicate she will represent herself in court on December 7. She faces a maximum sentence of life without parole.
All over the greed for money that never existed in the first place.
[Images via Steve Riley/Facebook]
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