MINOT, ND – A North Dakota woman finds herself facing murder charges this week after her boyfriend’s death last month was determined to be the result of poisoning, according to local police. The suspect, identified as 47-year-old Ina Thea Kenoyer, was arrested, and authorities believe financial motives may have driven her to allegedly murder Steven Edward Riley, Jr.
Kenoyer was apprehended on Monday and charged with a class AA felony murder, as disclosed by the Minot Police Department. In North Dakota, such a felony can result in a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole if a conviction is secured.
The victim, 51-year-old Steven Edward Riley, Jr., hailed from Minot, a city situated approximately 50 miles south of the Canadian border. Riley was in a relationship with Kenoyer, who is also from Minot. He passed away on September 5 at a Bismarck hospital after being transferred from a local hospital in Minot. An autopsy subsequently confirmed that poisoning was the official cause of his death.
Authorities suspect that financial motives may have been the driving force behind Kenoyer’s alleged actions. She is currently being held at the Ward County Jail in Minot.
Captain Dale Plessas, the investigations commander at the Minot Police Department, described the case as highly intricate and extended gratitude to those who provided information. The investigation into Kenoyer and the circumstances surrounding Riley’s death continues.
This incident in North Dakota is the latest in a series of poison-related murder cases within the United States this year. Just last week, a former medical resident in Minnesota was charged with fatally poisoning his pharmacist wife.