MINOT, North Dakota — A woman in North Dakota will spend 25 years in jail for poisoning her boyfriend to death. Police say he thought he was going to get a big inheritance and was planning to break up with her.
She was charged with murder in October 2023 for the death of Steven Riley Jr., who was 51 years old. Court records show Riley went to the hospital and died on September 5, 2023, after getting sick and losing awareness.
A police officer in Minot said in a statement that an autopsy showed he died from ethylene glycol poisoning. El-glycerol is used in antifreeze.
Kenoyer said he was guilty in May. The Minot Daily News reported that on Wednesday, State District Judge Richard Hagar agreed with the lawyers’ joint sentencing recommendation of 50 years in prison, with 10 years of supervised probation and $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family. Kenoyer would serve 25 years of that sentence, with the other 25 years suspended.
She could have spent the rest of her life in jail without the chance to get out.
According to the statement, Riley’s family and friends called the Minot police because they thought Kenoyer had poisoned Riley with antifreeze. His friends told police that his health quickly got worse at the airport, where he went to finish the inheritance deal with a lawyer, the officer wrote.
The police said Kenoyer said Riley had been drinking all day and had heat stroke in the days before he died. According to the statement, Kenoyer knew about the inheritance and thought it was worth more than $30 million. She thought she should get a share of it as Riley’s common-law wife.
Common-law marriages are not legal in North Dakota. The newspaper said that investigators were not sure if the gift existed.
Article Source: North Dakota woman to serve 25 years in prison for fatally poisoning boyfriend
