Woman poisoned boyfriend's sweet tea after $30M inheritance hoax

MINOT, N.D. — A North Dakota woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally poisoning her boyfriend after believing he would inherit $30 million. Investigators later determined it was a fake inheritance scam.

Ina Kenoyer, 48, was arrested on Oct. 30, 2023, nearly two months after the poisoning death of Steven Riley Jr., 51. She pleaded guilty to murder in May 2024 and received her sentence on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, according to Ward County court records. The sentence includes ten years of probation and $3,455 in restitution to Riley's family.

Court documents reveal that Kenoyer added antifreeze to Riley's sweet tea on Sept. 3, 2023, leading to his death two days later. The murder occurred on the same day Riley was scheduled to meet with a lawyer about the purported inheritance, Ward County records showed.

According to the Minot Daily News, friends of the couple told investigators that Riley had planned to end his decade-long relationship with Kenoyer upon receiving the inheritance. However, investigators found no evidence of a legitimate inheritance and have not identified who communicated with Riley about the false claim.

According to KXNET-TV, friends attempted to seek medical attention when Riley became ill. However, Kenoyer insisted he was suffering from heat stroke and took him home, according to court documents. She later told friends Riley had visited a walk-in clinic, but investigators found no record of medical treatment.

Riley's condition deteriorated, leading to his airlift to a hospital where he died on Sept. 5, 2023. An autopsy confirmed ethylene glycol poisoning as the cause of death, KXNET-TV reported, citing court documents.

Multiple friends reported to police that Kenoyer had previously discussed poisoning Riley with antifreeze. During the investigation, authorities discovered a Windex bottle containing suspected antifreeze in the couple's home. Kenoyer later admitted to adding the substance to Riley's tea to mask its taste.

During police interviews, Kenoyer claimed she was entitled to a portion of the inheritance as Riley's common-law wife despite North Dakota not recognizing such relationships. She initially attempted to attribute Riley's symptoms to alcohol consumption, but toxicology reports showed no alcohol in his system.

At the sentencing hearing on October 16, Riley's son Ryan delivered an emotional victim impact statement. "To have you take away someone so important, it's just hurtful," he told Kenoyer, according to the Minot Daily News. "I can't even find the words to describe how I feel and how much it burdens everyone. I just wish none of this ever happened. I never expected to lose my dad to something so selfish."