North Dakota woman sentenced to 25 years in prison for poisoning boyfriend in inheritance fraud

A North Dakota woman has been convicted of murdering her boyfriend and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Steven Edward Riley Jr, 51, was poisoned by 48-year-old Ina Thea Kenoyer. Sentencing was handed down on October 16, 2024, after Kenoyer entered a guilty plea to the charges in May.

Kenoyer learned that Riley would soon receive a $30 million inheritance after receiving an email from someone. Detectives did not identify the man who contacted Riley about the inheritance, which later turned out to be fake.

According to KXNET-TV, Kenoyer killed Riley on September 3, 2023 by lacing his sweet tea with antifreeze, specifically ethylene glycol. He started experiencing symptoms a day after drinking the contaminated tea and was found dead the next day. While Kenoyer testified that her boyfriend had suffered heatstroke due to excessive drinking, the autopsy report revealed that he died of ethylene glycol poisoning, KXNET-TV reported.

Kenoyer’s friends claimed that the perpetrator jokingly said he had poisoned him.

CBS affiliate KXMB reported that the family members expressed their frustrations and sadness during court proceedings. Stephany Gonzalez, Riley’s sister, told the court that Kenoyer was fortunate to receive what she believes was a light sentence for the crime committed. Highlighting the pain caused by Kenoyer’s actions, she said, “To let you take away someone so important… it’s just painful.”

KXNET-TV reports that Kenoyer received a 25-year prison sentence, along with a 25-year suspended sentence. She will also be placed on 10 years of supervised probation and must pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family. She was initially convicted of murder, a Class AA felony, with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Her plea deal resulted in a reduced possible prison sentence.

During the trial, Riley’s son Ryan Riley gave insight into the impact of his father’s death on him and the entire family. He talked about Kenoyer’s greed and how it ruined them for life, Minot Daily Life reported.