Minot woman sentenced to 25 years behind bars for killing boyfriend with antifreeze – InForum

MINOT – Nearly a year after she was arrested for murder in the poisoning death of her longtime boyfriend, a Minot woman has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the case.

Ina Kenoyer, 48, had plans to collect the $30 million estate of 51-year-old Steven Edward Riley Jr. after his death. to claim, according to court documents. She believed she was entitled to the money because she was Riley’s common-law wife, but she didn’t realize that North Dakota does not legally recognize common-law marriage, according to court documents.

Kenoyer was arrested on October 30, 2023 and charged with Class AA felony murder in Ward County for poisoning Riley the month before. According to the criminal complaint, Kenoyer failed to seek medical attention for an obviously ill Riley and denied his friends’ pleas to take him to a hospital for more than a day, when an ambulance was eventually called to respond to a report of an unconscious man . .

Riley was first taken to Trinity Hospital in Minot and then flown to a hospital in Bismarck, where he died on September 5, 2023.

Riley’s friends reported to police shortly after learning he died that Kenoyer had made comments that “he (Riley) had been poisoned with antifreeze, even though no laboratory tests for antifreeze had been completed and no medical professionals had provided any information about Riley’s condition to Kenoyer passed,” according to court documents.

The coroner’s results later found toxic levels of ethylene glycol, a key ingredient in antifreeze, in Riley’s system and listed ethylene glycol poisoning as the cause of death.

Kenoyer and Riley had been dating for about a decade, and she referred to herself as his wife, but the relationship appeared to have soured on the day of his poisoning. A friend of the couple told police that Kenoyer had thrown Riley’s belongings outside that day, and that she was angry and thought he was going to leave her.

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Friends also told police that Riley believed he was the recipient of a $30 million inheritance and that he planned to meet with a lawyer at the airport that day to finalize the deal. Kenoyer admitted to investigators that she knew about Riley’s inheritance and planned to share that money with Riley’s son.

“Kenoyer was outraged when she was informed by investigators that North Dakota does not recognize common-law marriage and that in fact she would not be entitled to any share of the inheritance,” according to court documents.

Class AA felony murder is punishable by up to life in prison without parole in North Dakota. Kenoyer pleaded guilty to the charges in late May.

On Wednesday, October 16, North Central District Court Judge Richard Hagar sentenced Kenoyer to 50 years in prison, with 25 years behind bars and 25 years of probation with 10 years of supervised probation. He also ordered Kenoyer to pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family.

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