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A North Dakota woman, Ina Thea Kenoyer, 48, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for poisoning her boyfriend, Steven Riley Jr., 51, after mistakenly believing he had inherited $30 million and planned to break up with her. Riley died last year from ethylene glycol poisoning, a toxic substance commonly found in antifreeze, the New York Post reported.
During the court hearing in Minot, Stephanie Gonzalez, Riley’s sister, confronted Kenoyer, telling her she was fortunate to receive such a lenient sentence, as reported by KXMB. “As so many other families of victims often feel, the punishment should fit the crime,” Gonzalez said to Kenoyer. “But lucky for you, the Department of Corrections doesn’t serve antifreeze in your iced tea.”
State District Judge Richard Hagar sentenced Kenoyer to 25 years in prison last Wednesday after she pleaded guilty in May. In addition to her prison term, Kenoyer received 10 years of supervised probation and was ordered to pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family, according to court records.
However, it appears there was never any inheritance at all. Officials revealed that Kenoyer poisoned Riley just hours after discovering an email he had received, claiming he would inherit $30 million.
Ryan Riley, the victim’s 21-year-old son, later told The Post that both his father and Kenoyer had fallen victim to an online scam, and no such inheritance actually existed.
On September 3, 2023, while meeting with the supposed estate lawyer, Riley began to feel unwell. Paramedics were called to his home the next day, where they found him unresponsive. He was pronounced dead on September 5.
Kenoyer initially told police that Riley had been drinking heavily and suffered from heat stroke in the days leading up to his death, according to the affidavit. She also claimed that she planned to split Riley’s alleged inheritance with his son, asserting that she was entitled to a share as his common-law wife. However, North Dakota does not recognize common-law marriages.
