Pennsylvania dentist found guilty in wife's death on 2016 African safari

DENVER, Col. - A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife in the heart with a shotgun at the end of an African safari was found guilty of murder and mail fraud on Monday.A jury of six men and six women reached the verdict for Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph following a three week trial and a day and a half of deliberations.Rudolph, 67, was charged with foreign murder in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph in Zambia as well as mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime.

Some of the money was paid out of Colorado so he was tried in Denver federal court.He faces a maximum term of life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced in February.Rudolph maintained his innocence and the two adult children he had with his wife sat in court to support him during the trial.

One of Rudolph's defense attorneys, David Markus, said they would appeal his conviction."We believe in Larry. We believe in his family," he said outside court.The defense suggested Rudolph's wife of 34 years, a nervous traveler, shot herself while trying to pack a shotgun in a hurry as they prepared to return from Zambia to the United States in 2016.But prosecutors countered that evidence showed that was impossible because the wound to her heart came from a shot fired from 2 to 3.5 feet (60 centimeters to 1 meter) away.The couple's longtime hunting guide, Mark Swanepoel, told investigators that Rudolph had unloaded the shotgun the day before the fatal shooting, but Rudolph testified that he could not remember if he had or not.When he returned home to Phoenix days later, Rudolph said he put the shotgun in his garage not wanting to look at it.