Ina Thea Kenoyer (47) and Steven Edward Riley Jr. (51) loved each other for ten years. Then he received good news.
Minot (U.S. state of North Dakota) – American Ina Thea Kenoyer was arrested on October 30 and charged with the murder of Steven Edward Riley Jr, on September 5. The accusation: The 47-year-old woman is said to have poisoned her partner with antifreeze.
According to the police, the cold crime was based on “financial reasons”. Apparently, Kenoyer found out that her longtime boyfriend wanted to leave her because he had inherited $30 million (about €28,370,700) just hours earlier. The 47-year-old apparently decided to take matters into her own hands…
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Minot police released this photo of Ina Thea Kenoyer (47).
Photo: Minot Police Department
Cause of death: antifreeze
According to police records, Riley fell ill while meeting with his lawyer on September 3 to claim his massive inheritance. Upon arriving home, his condition worsened. But although he stopped responding soon after, his partner didn’t call the emergency number until a day later! Too late for the family man: he died in hospital the next day.
“Steven Edward Riley Jr., a 51-year-old man from Minot, died at a hospital in Bismarck on September 5, 2023,” authorities wrote on Facebook. And further: “The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was poisoning.” Her alleged killer: Ina Thea Kenoyer.
But she protests her innocence. During questioning, Kenoyer reportedly explained to investigators that she planned to share the 30 million inheritance with her late partner’s son. According to local media reports, she claimed to be entitled to the assets because she was in a “marriage-like relationship” with the deceased. But the state of North Dakota does not recognize such relationships.
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The New York Post also reports that the 51-year-old planned to leave his longtime girlfriend and not share his assets with her. Apparently it was precisely this plan that led the 47-year-old woman to murder her partner with antifreeze.
Authorities searched the couple’s home and discovered a bottle of Windex window cleaner in the living room containing a green liquid suspected of being antifreeze. Investigators also found a beer bottle and a plastic cup in the garage, both of which contained traces of antifreeze.
Murder victim Steven Edward Riley Jr. wanted to separate from his partner after receiving his inheritance – and was murdered
Photo: Steven Riley/Facebook
“Rest in peace dad… I felt like it was her fault how it all happened but damn I wish we had made plans to see each other sooner,” Riley’s grieving son, Ryan Riley, wrote on Facebook. And further: “I hope she gets what she deserves for taking you from this world.”
Kenoyer, who has now been charged with murder, is in the Ward County Detention Center and plans to represent herself in court.