MINOT, N.D. — A woman from North Dakota has been taken into custody and charged with the murder of her boyfriend, who died last month from poisoning. Ina Thea Kenoyer, 47, is accused of killing 51-year-old Steven Edward Riley, Jr. for possible monetary motives, according to the Minot Police Department.
Kenoyer was arrested on Monday and now faces a class AA felony murder charge. If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. The couple resided in Minot, North Dakota, and had a relationship at the time of Riley’s death.
Riley passed away on September 5th at a Bismarck hospital after being transferred from a local hospital in Minot. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was poisoning. The police believe that Kenoyer had financial reasons behind the alleged murder. Kenoyer is currently being held at the Ward County Jail in Minot.
Captain Dale Plessas, the investigations commander at the Minot Police Department, called the case extremely complex and expressed gratitude towards those who provided information to help the investigators build their case.
An ongoing investigation looks into Kenoyer’s involvement in Riley’s death and the surrounding circumstances.
This incident adds to at least four reported cases this year in the United States where poison has been used to kill a partner. Last week, a former medical resident at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota was charged with fatally poisoning his pharmacist wife. In May, a Utah children’s book author was accused of poisoning her husband, and in March, a Colorado dentist was arrested for allegedly poisoning his wife’s pre-workout shakes.