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Mission Statement

This latina travels is a platform to motivate women of color to break barriers so they can travel the world too according to the national tour association, “latino/as are strong consumers that account for over $56 billion in leisure travel every year” (2019). the founder of this latina travels provides first-hand experiences of the countries she has visited and the tools you need to get there, it’s time the world sees more latinas traveling.

About Bianca Alba

Bianca Alba is a proud Latina and first-generation college graduate. She was born in the heart of South America in Cochabamba, Bolivia and is the oldest of four sisters. Bianca holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Public Health. Despite many years of schooling, Bianca managed to pay off all her student loans and feels liberated by being debt-free.

Bianca is the voice and creator of “This Latina Travels!” – A podcast about travel through the eyes of a First Generation Latina traveler/college grad sharing all her travel experiences first-hand! As a little girl, living in a single-parent household, trips and vacations were just a dream and felt unreachable. This Latina Travels is more than just Bianca telling you about her experiences, but it is a true reflection that dreams can become reality! To date, Bianca has traveled to 6 of the 7 continents in the world and her goal is to encourage and support women who look like her to travel the world too!

Facts that you may or may not know about Bianca of This Latina Travels:

6 out of the 7 continents!

Bianca has been blessed to travel to 6 out of the 7 continents – guess which one she has left?! In this picture, Bianca is swimming in the Great Barrier reef with sea turtles in Australia! A must adventure to add to your bucket list!

Completely Debt Free!

Bianca believes it is essential to learn about Building Generational Wealth. By being debt free, and learning how to manage her finances, it has allowed her to travel freely! You can do it too, Sis!  

Proud Immigrant de Bolivia!

Bianca was born in Cochabamba Bolivia, but was brought to the states when she was 6 months old. Like many immigrant parents, the hope to come to the US is to provide a better life for their children, aka the “American Dream.” 

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© 2024 This Latina Travels.

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Dentist Killed His Wife on an African Hunting Trip, U.S. Says

Lawrence Rudolph collected nearly $4.9 million in life insurance benefits after the fatal shooting of his wife, Bianca, in Zambia in 2016, according to court documents. He has pleaded not guilty.

By Neil Vigdor

Bianca Rudolph, an American big game hunter, traveled with her husband to Zambia, in southern Africa, in 2016, determined to add a leopard to her trophy collection.

But Ms. Rudolph never made it home. She died from a fatal shotgun blast “straight on the heart” in a remote hunting cabin where the couple had been staying, according to court documents.

Lawrence Rudolph, her husband of 34 years, told investigators that a Browning 12-gauge shotgun went off by accident as she was packing it away. The authorities said their suspicions were aroused when he sought to have her body quickly cremated.

The consular section chief at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, “told the F.B.I. he had a bad feeling about the situation, which he thought was moving too quickly,” Donald Peterson, an F.B.I. special agent, wrote in a criminal affidavit that was recently unsealed.

Dr. Rudolph, a dentist with a practice in Greensburg, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, collected nearly $4.9 million in life insurance benefits in the months after Ms. Rudolph’s death, which the F.B.I. now says he orchestrated.

The authorities arrested Dr. Rudolph, 67, in late December and charged him with one count of murder of a U.S. national in a foreign country and one count of mail fraud, according to the newly unsealed court documents.

He pleaded not guilty in federal court in Colorado on Jan. 6 and remains in federal detention, which he is contesting. Dr. Rudolph maintains that Ms. Rudolph’s death was an accident.

“This is an outrageous prosecution against Dr. Larry Rudolph, a man who loved his wife of 34 years and did not kill her,” David Oscar Markus, a lawyer for Dr. Rudolph, said in a statement on Tuesday.

If convicted on the murder charge, Dr. Rudolph faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty. The mail fraud charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. A 15-day jury trial is expected to begin on Feb. 28.

Investigators said that Dr. Rudolph was having an extramarital affair at the time of his wife’s death and had made adjustments to the life insurance policies for her that same year.

About three months after Ms. Rudolph’s death, Dr. Rudolph’s girlfriend moved into the home in Arizona where the Rudolphs had moved a few years earlier, investigators said. The executive director of the community association told the F.B.I. that Dr. Rudolph and his girlfriend had offered $3.5 million for another home in the same subdivision.

At the time of the shooting, the Rudolphs had traveled to the Kafue National Park in Zambia, an area roughly the size of New Jersey that is popular with safari operators. It is home to an array of wildlife, including leopards, cheetahs, hippos, lions and rare antelopes.

A hunting guide and a game scout told investigators that they rushed to the Rudolphs’ cabin on the morning of Oct. 11, 2016, after hearing a gunshot and found Ms. Rudolph bleeding from the left side of her chest.

Dr. Rudolph explained that his wife must have discharged the shotgun as she was trying to put it in its case, the authorities said at the time. The Zambia Police Service determined that the “firearm was loaded from the previous hunting activities and the Normal Safety Precautions at the time of packing the firearm were not taken into consideration causing the firearm to accidentally fire,” according to a summary cited in federal court documents.

Based on the gunshot wound, the F.B.I. and U.S. consular officials concluded that Ms. Rudolph had been shot from a distance of 6.5 feet to eight feet. When they tried to reconstruct the shooting, they determined that it was extremely unlikely that she had accidentally pulled the trigger on the shotgun.

The top consular official told an F.B.I. investigator that Dr. Rudolph had inquired about Zambia’s privacy laws and pushed to have his wife’s body cremated immediately, saying it would be “challenging” to have it flown to the United States. However, Agent Peterson wrote in the affidavit that Dr. Rudolph “frequently arranged for the transportation of animals hunted on his trip to be transported back to the United States,” a process that he added is often “cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming.”

A little more than two weeks after Ms. Rudolph’s death, a friend of hers contacted an F.B.I. official at the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, and asked the bureau to investigate the shooting, court documents said. The friend, who was not identified, said it would be highly unlikely that Ms. Rudolph, who was Catholic, would have wanted to be cremated.

Shortly after Ms. Rudolph’s funeral, Dr. Rudolph bought his girlfriend a plane ticket to fly from Pittsburgh to Arizona, the F.B.I. said. The ticket was later canceled, but he purchased another ticket for an unidentified woman to fly to Las Vegas, where financial records showed that Dr. Rudolph had paid for a hotel room, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Markus, Dr. Rudolph’s lawyer, declined to answer questions about the state of his client’s marriage to Ms. Rudolph or whether he had remarried. In his statement, he said that Zambian authorities had determined that Ms. Rudolph’s death was an accident, a finding that he said had been corroborated by the insurance companies.

“Now, more than five years later, the government is seeking to manufacture a case against this well-respected and law-abiding dentist,” Mr. Markus said. “Dr. Rudolph looks forward to his trial where he will demonstrate his innocence.”

Justice Department officials declined to comment further about the case on Tuesday.

As part of a motion seeking Dr. Rudolph’s release, two of his adult children signed affidavits saying that they believed him to be innocent and that he did not pose a flight risk. They said that keeping him in custody created a health risk for Dr. Rudolph, who has a pacemaker.

Seamus Hughes contributed research.

Neil Vigdor is a breaking news reporter. He previously covered Connecticut politics for The Hartford Courant. More about Neil Vigdor

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Bianca Gonzalez travels solo to Bhutan as birthday gift to herself

Bianca Gonzalez marked her 40 th birthday ticking a few items off her bucket list.

To begin with, she booked studio time for a pictorial with fashion photographer BJ Pascual in which Bianca posed "very raw" without make-up.

Bianca also got a pair of tattoos on her arms bearing the names of her daughters, Lucia and Carmen .

“Last weekend, got to check off an item from my bucket list before my 40th. Thanks to my husband @jcintal7, my enabler,” Bianca wrote on Instagram Stories, proudly showing off her fresh tattoos.

The long-time Pinoy Big Brother host celebrated her birthday on March 11, 2023.

Bianca is married to former Ateneo Blue Eagles standout and former professional basketball player, JC Intal .

The pair tied the knot in El Nido, Palawan, on December 4, 2014.

TRAVEL OVER PARTY

Bianca capped off the special milestone by going on a solo trip to the small and mountainous country of Bhutan.

Located in South Asia, Bhutan is nestled in the eastern Himalayas, between the populous countries of China and India, and is near Nepal and Bangladesh.

The country is referred to locally as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon," and Buddhism is its prominent religion.

Bhutan has long been on Bianca’s radar as a dream travel destination, but it was only recently that she revisited the thought of going there for a holiday.

Bianca told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), “Matagal na siyang nasa bucket list ko talaga.

"But wala lang, life happens, work happens, motherhood happens and then hindi ko talaga siya plan since before.”

PEP.ph had the chance to talk to Bianca during an event promoting the #LoveMoreWithEveryTouch campaign of Johnson’s Baby held in Makati City.

The occasion saw the launch of #LoveMoreWithEveryTouch TikTok Care Hub, where moms get to share tips and information to help navigate the joys and challenges of motherhood.

She recalled being asked by her husband back in February about her plans for her upcoming birthday.

“Sabi niya, ‘Do you want me to set up a dinner with your friends? Do you want a party?’”

SOLO TRAVEL

An introvert by her own admission, Bianca shared that throwing a big party to celebrate her special day just wasn't her cup of tea.

She said, “For some reason naisip ko lang, kasi before I got married and had kids, mahilig talaga ko mag-travel alone.

“So I told him [JC], ‘You know what, parang I want to travel alone, parang I want to give myself a break.’ Sabi niya ‘So saan?'”

At that exact moment, Bianca recalled an old longing to see and explore Bhutan.

“Kasi naisip ko, what is one place that I’ve been wanting to go to na parang hindi ako manghihinayang to go there for the first time without my family because it’s not really a kid place or a family place?

“I wanted to gift it to myself, pero my husband insisted na, no, he want to give it to me as a gift, which I appreciated.

“Because usually talaga mayabang ako, no, I work hard, I want to pay for this myself.

“But, for me, it was more than the monetary, it was symbolic of like I have a partner who supports me with what I want to do for myself; who believes that I needed a break as well, so it was that.”

Bianca, who stayed for six days and five nights in Bhutan, couldn’t help but rave about the country’s natural, rugged beauty.

She beamed, “Ang ganda-ganda niya! So everyone who loves hiking, who loves mountains, nature, who loves temples, sobrang I recommend that you put it on your list of places that you want to go to.

“It’s like you travel back in time, 100, 150 years ‘coz it’s so pure, and, yeah, core memory siya for sure.”

She added gleefully, "As an introvert even if I was alone ha, na-enjoy ko yung pahinga.

"Grabe na-enjoy ko na wala akong ibang inaalala kung hindi sarili ko, and so when I came back, wala ready to work and ready to fully be a mom as well."

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

His wife traveling alone for a much-deserved break and me-time posed no problem for JC.

Initially, however, Bianca had pangs of mom guilt—that pervasive feeling of parents that they're letting their children down.

She dealt with it by embracing the whole idea she'd be travelling all by herself as a gift to herself and it was okay.

She said, "But because nga Feb I already had the idea, super sina-psyche ko na yung sarili ko na ginusto ko to, e, so dapat hindi ka ma-guilty. Parang I emotionally prepared myself.

"I psyche myself because I didn’t want to be there but be sad and guilty, kasi, oh my gosh, sayang.

"I wanted to be fully present while there as well. So it took a lot of mental preparation."

In the end, it was a trip worth remembering and capturing in pictures, which she sent to her family, her time in a country that intrigued her for the longest time.

Any plans to travel this Holy Week, this time with the entire family?

“Alam mo, none. As much as I wanted to, parang natakot kami na everyone will be somewhere. So wala naman,” replied Bianca.

“But yeah, I think it would be nice to be home lang din.”

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Kanye, North West enjoy father-daughter Dubai trip as Bianca Censori hangs out with friends

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Kanye and North West are taking on Dubai.

The rapper and his 10-year-old daughter were spotted enjoying a trip together, walking hand in hand in a mall over the weekend in fan photos shared on social media.

The pair matched in all-black outfits.

“Just casually rode the escalator next to Kanye and North at the Dubai mall,” one Twitter user wrote ( via the Mirror ).

They also appear to have traveled to Saudi Arabia, according to TMZ .

Ye shares the preteen with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, as well as three other kids : son Saint, 7, daughter Chicago, 5, and son Psalm, 4, who seemingly didn’t take part in the Middle East travels.

The rapper’s wife, Bianca Censori , isn’t spending time with the father-daughter duo abroad either.

Instead, the architectural designer looks to have been hanging out with her friends, with one of her pals posting a mirror selfie with “Mrs. Ye” on her Instagram Story.

Censori wore a plunging black top in the upload, as well as a fur hat.

She similarly was not present last month when Kanye and Saint attended a AC Milan vs. Genoa soccer game in Italy.

The October outing came amid the Grammy winner’s months-long European vacation with Censori , whom he wed in December .

Are you keeping up? More on the Kardashians:

• Kardashian-Jenner family net worth
• The Kardashian-Jenner family tree  
• Unforgettable “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” moments

Ye has co-parented his kids with Kardashian, 43, since their 2021 breakup , but the “Kardashians” star said on her family’s show last month that she is “still learning how to be a single parent.”

The Skims creator also noted in a recent episode that North prefers staying at her dad’s apartment over Kardashian’s home.

“She’ll be like … ‘He has it all figured out. He doesn’t have a nanny, he doesn’t have a chef, he doesn’t have security. He lives in an apartment,'” she told Kourtney Kardashian.

“And she’ll start crying,” Kim continued. “‘Why don’t you have an apartment? I can’t believe we don’t have an apartment.'”

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Bianca Censori is in 'ultimate discomfort' on 'disconnected' trip with Kanye and his kids

Bianca Censori seemed separated from her husband Kanye West as they celebrated Easter Sunday with his four children, who he shares with ex-wife Kim Kardashian .

Kanye and Bianca treated the youngsters - North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm - to a meal at Nobu in Malibu after they went to watch a movie at the cinema. For the outing, Bianca was completely covered up as she wore a skintight silver jumpsuit.

The 29-year-old added a pair of strappy silver heels and carried her phone in her hand. Bianca was seen holding her arms across her chest as she walked ahead of Kanye and body language expert Judi James has suggested the model wasn't overly comfortable during the outing.

For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US .

READ MORE: Bianca Censori's sister finally breaks silence and reveals thoughts on Kanye West

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror , Judi said: "There's clearly no Easter respite for Bianca in terms of just relaxing in a pair of cargo jeans and enjoying her time with her blended family like Kanye is in his super-comfy baggy wear. Her silver Star Trek-themed onesie here might be more demure in terms of denier than her usual sheer choices but it looks like the ultimate in discomfort for a fun day out and it singles Bianca out in terms of integrating uniform-wise with Kanye and his children.

"Even a trip to the loo could turn into an epic, Houdini-style struggle in an outfit like this." Judi also said Bianca seemed to be apart from the family as she walked ahead of her husband.

The expert told us: "Walking ahead of the group adds to this suggestion of being singled out. It makes her look like the publicity stunt rather than the cool step-mom.

"While the others walk hand-in-hand with their heads down Bianca is her usual upright, overly-visible self. The one walking ahead of a family group can often look like the leader but, with her phone in one hand, Bianca's positioning makes her look more like a PR going ahead of her celebrities."

This isn't the first time Bianca has been seen with Kanye's children. The model seems to have developed a close bond with the youngsters, but Judi said this outing seemed different.

She told us: "Some of Bianca’s family outings have revealed some very sweet, fun and close bonds with Kanye's children, especially when she is dressed in a similar way to the rest of the group and looking able to relax with them, but here she's back into what looks like discomfort and singling-out mode."

* Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

She missed her flight to extend her Italy vacation romance. Here's what happened next

By CNN staff | 1 month ago

Bianca Gignac was swimming under the stars, against a backdrop of colourful, cliffside houses, with a complete stranger, her clothes left in a pile on a rock.

Bianca was in the harbour of Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five picturesque fishing villages that make up the Italian Cinque Terre region. Built into the rocks overlooking the Ligurian Sea, it's spectacularly scenic.

"The Cinque Terre is unlike anything you've experienced," Bianca told CNN Travel today. "It's like a dream. Something you'll never comprehend until you're there. It's truly a must-see place."

READ MORE: How to take your dream trip to Italy without blowing all your savings

Bianca had arrived in Riomaggiore, fallen for its beauty and now – somehow – she'd found herself swimming - sans clothes - with a guy she'd just met. The two strangers laughed, splashed each other, soaked up the moment.

"We were swimming in the phosphorescence, under the stars," Bianca recalls. "It was a perfect July 26 evening."

It was July 26, 2003, to be precise. Bianca was a Canadian college student in her mid-20s, spending the summer in Italy. She was studying fine arts, and a scholarship from the Italian Cultural Institute of Vancouver led her to Florence – the fulfilment of a lifelong dream of visiting Europe.

When Bianca arrived in Florence, she was grieving a failed relationship. Slowly and surely, Italy had won her over, helped her rebuild her sense of self.

"I went on to have the most incredible summer, I was really finding my footing," says Bianca.

"Then, three days before I was leaving to go home, my friend said, 'Let's go to the Cinque Terre. It's the most romantic place I've ever been to. And so we went there for the weekend. And within hours, I met him.'"

"Him" was Bianca's nighttime swimming companion – Alessandro Morelli, a twentysomething from La Spezia, the nearest city to the Cinque Terre, a 10-minute train journey from Riomaggiore..

READ MORE: The most amazing train journeys from all around the world

"I had a steady job with the local shipyard," Alessandro tells CNN Travel. It was a job everyone assumed he'd do all his life – in general, his life was "steady" and "routine."

Alessandro was in Riomaggiore on July 26 for a friend's birthday party. The plan was to gather on the beach to celebrate and enjoy the long summer night. Alessandro was walking through the village with a friend when they decided to detour via one of the outdoor bars built into the cliffs.

It was at this bar that Alessandro and Bianca's eyes first met.

The connection was "plain and simple," says Alessandro. He couldn't stop looking at Bianca.

"The red hair – she was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen," Alessandro recalls.

He told his friend he was going to go and speak to her. Then, Alessandro got up, walked over to Bianca's table and asked if he could buy Bianca and her friend a drink.

The moment Alessandro approached her table, Bianca felt an "instant connection."

"What struck me was he was very kind. He wasn't cocky," she says. "He was a kind person and I could feel that."

Bianca asked Alessandro if he wanted to sit with them. Then, his friend pulled up a chair too.

"We just started talking," says Bianca – they spoke in English, as Bianca's Italian wasn't great back then.

"So it was the four of us. And we literally talked into the night," she recalls. "We were in this little bar, it still exists today, 20 years later - it overlooks the little bobbing boats in the harbour. It's super picturesque."

The group stayed until closing. Then they walked down to the harbour and greeted the birthday party revellers.

That's when Alessandro suggested the nighttime dip: "Let's go swimming," he said to Bianca.

"I'm not going swimming in those waters," said Bianca, sceptically. It was pitch black out, the sea dark and the water and rocks illuminated only by starlight.

But Alessandro won Bianca over – in his presence, she felt safe, free, happy.

"So we went out skinny dipping," Bianca recalls.

It was a joyful end to the evening. Later, in the early hours of the morning, Bianca and her friend returned to their rented room, tired, but happy.

Then, mere hours later, the sun was streaming through the window, and there was a knock on the door.

"I was like, 'What is going on? Who is that?'" recalls Bianca.

She tentatively opened the door, and there was Alessandro and his friend from the night before, grinning.

"These guys were there, with their speedos on, their bags, their sunscreen and they were like, 'Girls, let's go on a boat trip.'"

It was July 27 – Bianca's birthday. She'd mentioned the significance of the date the night before, and Alessandro figured a boat trip was the perfect way to celebrate.

Alessandro's friend was from Riomaggiore and he had a boat – "one of the fishing boats bobbing in the marina." So the group spent the day floating around the Cinque Terre villages, admiring the green hills, the houses dotted among the cliffs, sunbathing and exploring. It was a magical birthday.

Bianca and Alessandro were inseparable for the rest of the weekend.

"We were simply living the typical Italian summer. Going to the beach, going out for pizza — going on walks," says Bianca. "The guys just kept knocking on our door every day and taking us out. And we just kept saying yes."

The four of them - Bianca and her friend and Alessandro and his friend - all got on well.

"It seemed incredibly normal and comfortable and we just all were having a great time and it was very relaxed — almost like we had been friends for a long time," says Bianca.

READ MORE: Eight must-see and do things for the perfect trip to Vietnam

A decision to stay

Bianca and her friend were only in Riomaggiore for a long weekend. The next week, she had a midnight train booked to Rome, which would take her to the airport and back to Canada, bringing her Italian summer to an end.

After three days with Alessandro, Bianca didn't want to leave, but she figured she had no choice.

"I packed up my bag. I was leaving Italy for good," she says.

Before heading to the train station, Bianca went out for a last dinner with Alessandro, "three steps away from where we met, while waiting for the train to arrive at the station."

Bianca's bag was at her feet. She'd checked out of her accommodation. All the signs pointed to her leaving. But neither Bianca nor Alessandro could accept that this was goodbye.

"Bianca, don't go," Alessandro said, as the time came for her to make her way to the station.

"I have to," Bianca said. "I have a job, I have college."

But Bianca made no signs of moving. Something inside her knew – she wasn't going.

So Bianca missed her train. She missed the flight. It was out of character, but it was exciting. It felt like the right decision.

With Alessandro in tow, Bianca returned to her vacation rental and asked the owner if she could extend the trip – back then Cinque Terre wasn't as busy as it is today, so that was a potentially doable request. The owner, who knew Alessandro, just looked at the pair of them and "laughed and laughed."

"It's a small village," says Bianca. "He slapped Alessandro on the back and gave him the keys."

READ MORE: The ultimate desert island 'holiday' with no shelter or running water

Over the next 10 days, Bianca and Alessandro grew even closer.

"We didn't try hard or force anything. It was just completely natural and we were just spending every minute together for a week," says Bianca. "He even brought me to meet his mother, Paola, almost right away. I just sat in their kitchen and she was so sweet. She fed me, of course."

Alessandro also took Bianca on the back of his scooter for hilltop rides around the Cinque Terre. They spent long days together, exploring, chatting.

"​​And then I really did go," says Bianca. "When we said goodbye at the train station, I was crying. I was like, 'I'm never going to see you again.' And I really believed that there was no concept that I would ever see him again."

Back in Canada

Back in Canada, Bianca focused on her degree. She was going into her final year of college and her goal was graduating. She tried to put Alessandro out of her mind. But before she'd left Italy, they'd exchanged contact details.

And while Bianca assumed they'd never see each other again, Alessandro was sure it was meant to be. He made an effort to stay in touch.

"I started calling her, and we'd talk over the phone," he says.

These conversations became more and more regular.

And then, when Christmas rolled around, Alessandro suggested Bianca should come back to Italy, stay with him for the holidays.

"I have school," Bianca said. "And I don't have any money to go to Italy"

"I've got a solid job," said Alessandro. "I'll buy your plane ticket."

The idea of seeing Alessandro again, of being back in Italy, was almost overwhelming to Bianca. During their months apart, she'd daydreamed about night swimming in Riomaggiore, about their long days exploring together, the evenings at cliffside restaurants. She decided to go for it.

"Okay, I'm coming," Bianca told Alessandro on the phone.

When Bianca told her college friends her plans, they were in disbelief. Some didn't believe it could last.

But one friend was adamant. "He bought you a plane ticket? You're going to marry him and have babies."

"I don't think so," said Bianca. "But let's see."

Bianca spent the holidays with Alessandro and his extended family in La Spezia. The trip lasted just over a week, but by the time Bianca was heading back to Canada in early 2004, she and Alessandro had a goal: when Bianca graduated from college, she'd come back to Italy.

"So that was our plan. So then it was just about me going home, wrapping up, graduating," says Bianca.

That summer, Alessandro came to Canada to celebrate Bianca's graduation and meet her family. Then, right after graduating, Bianca moved to Italy. It was exciting, but a little surreal. And for Bianca – who still didn't speak much Italian – it was a big step.

One of Alessandro's friends told him he thought Bianca would last "two weeks." But he was quickly proven wrong. Bianca stayed for one month, then two and then…

"Within three months of us living together, we were married," says Bianca.

It was a somewhat spontaneous decision. "We were young and dumb," says Bianca today, laughing.

But it also felt like the absolute right decision. Bianca and Alessandro were in love, and wanted to spend their lives together.

Bianca phoned her parents in Canada to break the news.

"I called my family and I said, 'I'm getting married. In three weeks. I am so sorry to do this to you. I know that's hard to hear that I'm getting married in three weeks. But I'm doing it,'" Bianca recalls.

Her loved ones were a little surprised, but supportive.

"Even if we had this long distance thing for a while, we had been together enough for people to understand that it was super serious," she says.

"We just ran off to city hall. We got married on a Friday, got the day off work, and showed up in clothes we already owned. I went to the florist across the street and got a baby's breath, and put it behind my hair."

Alessandro's friend – the one who'd been there the night the couple met in Riomaggiore – translated the wedding service from Italian to English for Bianca. Alessandro's family also attended and toasted their future.

Life in Italy

Bianca and Alessandro lived and worked in Italy for the next two years, including a period living with Alessandro's mother in her home. Bianca had been hesitant about moving in there, but everyone being under one roof allowed her to really bond with Alessandro's loved ones.

"All of his family lived there. His aunt lived upstairs. His uncle used to live downstairs, it was the family home that the grandfather built. So it was just this incredible experience for somebody like me, coming into this whole culture and becoming part of his life," says Bianca.

Bianca and Alessandro also spent a period living in an apartment, just the two of them. During this time, they lived in the moment "just enjoying the now," as Alessandro puts it.

But they also learned a lesson that became essential to their relationship, as they navigated cultural differences and the first months of married life.

"When you're in a relationship, you need to exercise the deepest patience," says Alessandro. "Even more so when someone is from a different culture."

"Patience and understanding, you have to have that as a couple anyway," agrees Bianca. "When you are in an international relationship, it takes a lot more compassion and understanding."

Bianca worked in a gelateria, which she says was "very stressful," but which she credits as the reason why she finally perfected Italian. In time, she could speak the language fluently, and she was acclimatized to life in La Spezia.

But after two years, Bianca and Alessandro were ready for a change. They relocated to Canada, to Vancouver Island, where Bianca's family lived.

This marked a shift into a new chapter of their lives.

"We bought a house and I was pregnant within a month," says Bianca. "We ended up totally building a life in Canada, and having our daughter."

READ MORE: Flight crew demand passengers pay for special meals

A new chapter

While she was busy reacquainting herself with Canada, looking after a newborn, and then a toddler, an idea started percolating in Bianca's head.

In time, this idea became a business: Italian Fix – a Canada-based tour company running specialized Italian small group tours, aiming to give visitors a taste of Italy as the locals live it.

The company was inspired by Bianca's "knowledge from living in Italy and the lifestyle that I had grown to love and be a part of," as she explains it.

Her company's first trip was – of course – to the Cinque Terre.

"I got my first group of nine guests and I completely introduced them to all the people I had met there, all of my connections that I've built over the two years, and I just was like 'Welcome to my world, and here's a week of living in the Cinque Terre,'" recalls Bianca.

"That was the start and the seed of the company now I've been running for 12 years."

As for Alessandro, he was "happy and enthusiastic" to put down roots in Canada. He got a good job working in engineering, and focused on co-parenting with Bianca.

While Alessandro found there were "many differences" between Italy and Canada, he felt they were "mostly positive."

Plus, he often joined Bianca on her Italian trips. The couple would take their daughter along too, and spend time with their Italian family.

Bianca and Alessandro's shared commitment to prioritizing work, family and travel became the cornerstone of their family life.

"Even if we grew up in different countries, we have the same worldview. And the same worldview is, work hard, say yes to opportunities, don't give up on yourself and your own dreams and see what incredible life you can build together," says Bianca.

"That's one of the values that we do say to our daughter – we're like, 'Don't miss out on opportunities. If somebody gives you an opportunity, say yes.' Because that's very much how we've lived our life."

The family have lived in Canada ever since, aside from a year spent living in Costa Rica.

"Everything really does open up after you move to one country – moving to others doesn't seem so daunting," says Bianca. "We had a fabulous year living on a white sand beach, and it was one of the best experiences."

Bianca and Alessandro's daughter is now in her teens. Bianca and Alessandro still take her to Italy whenever they can.

"She's been to most corners of Italy, she speaks Italian," says Bianca. "We have so much affection for Italy, we have so many friends there. Half of our friends and half of our amazing family memories are in Italy – they're half in Canada, and they're half in Italy, because we really have lived this international family life, living in two places."

The Cinque Terre, of course, will always have a special place in Bianca and Alessandro's hearts.

"It's not a magical place where we go and relive our initial connection," says Alessandro. "It's just home. It's home number two."

Catching or missing a train

Looking back on their 20 years together, Alessandro and Bianca say they feel "grateful and proud."

Over the two decades, "the relationship has evolved in a million ways," says Alessandro.

"But the very core of who we were – which is two young people who wanted a great life for themselves, and were brave enough to say, 'yes' – we're actually the same kind of people," he says.

The couple are always looking to the future and potential exciting opportunities – work-related, travel-related, family-related. They pride themselves on trusting their instincts, diving headfirst into what feels right, just as they did with their romance back in July 2003.

"All the things we built, that we have, are thanks to us jumping on that train that was running by," says Alessandro. "Over 20 years of us being together, that to me was actually a lesson – don't ever miss a train, because it might not go by again."

"Or do miss the train," says Bianca, laughing. "Because then you get to stay, like I did."

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00H9ZT1X6
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 12, 2013
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2523 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
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About the author

Bianca sommerland.

Bianca Sommerland, author of the award winning Dartmouth Cobras series, was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. After hitting the USA TODAY Bestsellers list, and being invited to teach several classes on writing in the sports and BDSM genre, they retreated to their writing cave and can still be found there, doing what they've always done. Which is writing whatever the characters tell them to.

When not reading neurotically or writing as though the fate of the world rests on their keyboard, they are either watching hockey or teaching their children the beauty of a classic, steel pony while reminiscing about their days in Auto Body Mechanics. Their dream is to one day own enough land to park a few junkers on so they can work on restorations in their spare time. They also wants a pony. And while we’re sharing their wishlist, owning a tank is somewhere around number 5. Not that they would use it unless there’s a zombie apocalypse, but they do like to be prepared.

Their time is balanced with utmost care between ‘normal’ family life, and being lured into the fictional realm where their characters reside. For the most part, they succeed.

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Wealthy Dentist and Big Game Hunter Lawrence Rudolph Found Guilty of Killing Wife on Hunting Trip

Lawrence Rudolph's wife Bianca died in 2016 from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest while on vacation in Zambia

Lawrence Rudolph , a wealthy dentist and big game hunter who has been found guilty of murdering his wife Bianca Rudolph while on a hunting trip in Africa.

Along with murder, a Colorado, federal court jury also convicted Lawrence, 67, of mail fraud in Denver Monday, according to CBS News , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , and Fox News.

His girlfriend Lori Milliron was also found guilty of being an accessory, obstruction of justice, and two counts of perjury. As for the other three counts of perjury she was facing, Milliron was found not guilty, per Rolling Stone .

Lawrence could get life in prison, while Milliron could get up to 35 years. Their sentence hearings have not been scheduled yet.

"We are disappointed in the jury's verdict, but that is our system. Lori Milliron is innocent of the charges and we will continue to fight to exonerate her," Milliron's lawyer John Dill tells PEOPLE.

Lawrence's lawyer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

After a three-week trial, the jury found the dentist did kill his wife in 2016 . Bianca died from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest. He initially claimed she must have shot herself as she packed her gun away following their hunting Safari in Zambia.

Prosecutors alleged he killed his wife of 34 years so he could collect millions of dollars in life insurance benefits and continue his relationship with his girlfriend Milliron, who was being tried alongside Lawrence.

During the trial held in U.S. District Court in Denver, a federal prosecutor claimed Lawrence admitted to the killing while at dinner with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse when he learned in 2020 that the FBI was investigating his wife's death, the Associated Press reported.

Last week, Lawrence told jurors, "I did not kill my wife. I could not murder my wife. I would not murder my wife," the Associated Press reported.

The couple was getting ready to leave their hunting camp in Kafue National Park on the morning of Oct. 11 when Bianca died from a fatal shotgun blast to the chest.

Per the AP, Larry testified that a shotgun the pair had obtained to hunt a leopard accidentally went off. He said that he was in the bathroom when he heard the gunfire and found his wife bleeding on the floor afterward.

Federal authorities got involved in the case after a friend of Bianca's told authorities on Oct. 27, 2016, that she wanted the FBI to investigate her friend's death because she suspected foul play, claiming that Lawrence had cheated on his wife and had been having an affair at the time of her death.

During the trial, Lawrence testified that he had an open relationship with his wife and said they were "reasonably happy" with that decision, according to AP.

RELATED VIDEO: Trial Begins for Big Game Hunter Accused of Murdering Wife on African Safari, Claiming It Was Accidenta l

According to a federal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, the consular chief at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia told the FBI Lawrence asked him about having his wife's body cremated shortly after her death.

The consular chief told the FBI he had "a bad feeling about the situation, which he thought was moving too quickly. As a result, he traveled to [the funeral home] with two others from the embassy to take photographs of the body and preserve any potential evidence," the complaint said.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE' s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The consular chief told the FBI that Lawrence was "livid" when Lawrence discovered he had gone to see Bianca's body and taken photographs.

Authorities have also said that Bianca could not have shot herself with that type of shotgun because of its long barrel. A Colorado medical examiner opined that "it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Ms. Rudolph to reach the trigger of this weapon even if it was placed in the case with the muzzle pressed against her chest."

An arrest warrant was issued for Lawrence on Dec. 22, 2021. He was indicted in early January 2022 in Colorado, as that is where one of the insurance companies involved in the payout he received following her death is based."

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Born on the vibrant island of Oahu, with a Caribbean heritage that adds a touch of uniqueness, I bring a fresh perspective to the travel industry. Having spent my formative years in New York and New Jersey, I've always been driven by a desire to help others. With a background in ophthalmology, I've witnessed the profound impact of improving people's sight and well-being. But little did I know that my own fears of flying and traveling would eventually lead me to embrace the world of travel. After conquering my own apprehensions and experiencing the transformative power of exploring new horizons, I realized my true calling was to curate unforgettable journeys for others. With boundless joy, I take pleasure in customizing vacations that are tailored to each client's desires. Together, let's embark on a life-enriching adventure and discover the wonders of our world.

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Bianca Censori reunites with friends and family in Melbourne without Kanye West

Bianca was photographed with her parents leo and alexandra, as well as her sister angeline..

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Bianca Censori has reunited with her friends and family in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. The Head of Architecture at Yeezy was spotted making a discreet arrival at the airport without her husband Kanye West , following rumors about her friends not being able to contact her during her relationship with the rapper.

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The pair had recently been spotted traveling by themselves, with Kanye sharing some quality time with his 10-year-old daughter North in Dubai , while Bianca stepped out for a girls‘ night. Now Bianca is back with her loved ones in Australia, making her first trip to Melbourne following her wedding ceremony with Kanye in Los Angeles.

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Bianca was photographed with her parents Leo and Alexandra, as well as her sister Angeline. They were also seen at the popular bar Marquis of Lorne, catching up and having a fun time until closing time, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“No one made a fuss at all. She was with her sister and they just blended in with everyone else - even though her outfit was sort of on the outrageous side,” a source revealed to the publication, referring to Bianca’s signature sheer ensembles.

“She was there just having a good time and a few drinks, catching up with friends. It was really no big deal,” the source added. “I didn’t even recognize who she was until a mate of mine pointed her out and said, ‘Look, that Kayne’s missus over there.’”

It seems Kanye continues to be with North in Dubai for the holiday season, with an insider revealing that Bianca decided to go back home as the rapper wanted to spend time with his daughter.

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She missed her flight to extend her Italy vacation romance. Here's what happened next

CNN Digital

Bianca Gignac and Alessandro Morelli on a return trip to Italy. (Bianca Gignac via CNN Newsource)

Bianca Gignac was swimming under the stars, against a backdrop of colourful, cliffside houses, with a complete stranger, her clothes left in a pile on a rock.

Bianca was in the harbour of Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five picturesque fishing villages that make up the Italian Cinque Terre region. Built into the rocks overlooking the Ligurian Sea, it’s spectacularly scenic.

“The Cinque Terre is unlike anything you’ve experienced,” Bianca tells CNN Travel today. “It’s like a dream. Something you’ll never comprehend until you’re there. It’s truly a must-see place.”

Bianca had arrived in Riomaggiore, fallen for its beauty and now – somehow – she’d found herself swimming - sans clothes - with a guy she’d just met. The two strangers laughed, splashed each other, soaked up the moment.

“We were swimming in the phosphorescence, under the stars,” Bianca recalls. “It was a perfect July 26 evening.”

It was July 26, 2003, to be precise. Bianca was a Canadian college student in her mid-20s, spending the summer in Italy. She was studying fine arts, and a scholarship from the Italian Cultural Institute of Vancouver led her to Florence – the fulfilment of a lifelong dream of visiting Europe.

When Bianca arrived in Florence, she was grieving a failed relationship. Slowly and surely, Italy had won her over, helped her rebuild her sense of self.

“I went on to have the most incredible summer, I was really finding my footing,” says Bianca.

“Then, three days before I was leaving to go home, my friend said, ‘Let’s go to the Cinque Terre. It’s the most romantic place I’ve ever been to. And so we went there for the weekend. And within hours, I met him.’”

“Him” was Bianca’s night-time swimming companion – Alessandro Morelli, a twentysomething from La Spezia, the nearest city to the Cinque Terre, a 10-minute train journey from Riomaggiore.

“I had a steady job with the local shipyard,” Alessandro tells CNN Travel. It was a job everyone assumed he’d do all his life – in general, his life was “steady” and “routine.”

Alessandro was in Riomaggiore on July 26 for a friend’s birthday party. The plan was to gather on the beach to celebrate and enjoy the long summer night. Alessandro was walking through the village with a friend when they decided to detour via one of the outdoor bars built into the cliffs.

It was at this bar that Alessandro and Bianca’s eyes first met.

The connection was “plain and simple,” says Alessandro. He couldn’t stop looking at Bianca.

“The red hair – she was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen,” Alessandro recalls.

He told his friend he was going to go and speak to her. Then, Alessandro got up, walked over to Bianca’s table and asked if he could buy Bianca and her friend a drink.

The moment Alessandro approached her table, Bianca felt an “instant connection.”

“What struck me was he was very kind. He wasn’t cocky,” she says. “He was a kind person and I could feel that.”

Bianca asked Alessandro if he wanted to sit with them. Then, his friend pulled up a chair too.

“We just started talking,” says Bianca – they spoke in English, as Bianca’s Italian wasn’t great back then.

“So it was the four of us. And we literally talked into the night,” she recalls. “We were in this little bar, it still exists today, 20 years later - it overlooks the little bobbing boats in the harbour. It’s super picturesque.”

The group stayed until closing. Then they walked down to the harbour and greeted the birthday party revellers.

That’s when Alessandro suggested the night-time dip: “Let’s go swimming,” he said to Bianca.

“I’m not going swimming in those waters,” said Bianca, skeptically. It was pitch black out, the sea dark and the water and rocks illuminated only by starlight.

But Alessandro won Bianca over – in his presence, she felt safe, free, happy.

“So we went out skinny dipping,” Bianca recalls.

It was a joyful end to the evening. Later, in the early hours of the morning, Bianca and her friend returned to their rented room, tired, but happy.

Then, mere hours later, the sun was streaming through the window, and there was a knock on the door.

“I was like, ‘What is going on? Who is that?’” recalls Bianca.

She tentatively opened the door, and there was Alessandro and his friend from the night before, grinning.

“These guys were there, with their speedos on, their bags, their sunscreen and they were like, ‘Girls, let’s go on a boat trip.’”

It was July 27 – Bianca’s birthday. She’d mentioned the significance of the date the night before, and Alessandro figured a boat trip was the perfect way to celebrate.

Alessandro’s friend was from Riomaggiore and he had a boat – “one of the fishing boats bobbing in the marina.” So the group spent the day floating around the Cinque Terre villages, admiring the green hills, the houses dotted among the cliffs, sunbathing and exploring. It was a magical birthday.

Bianca and Alessandro were inseparable for the rest of the weekend.

“We were simply living the typical Italian summer. Going to the beach, going out for pizza — going on walks,” says Bianca. “The guys just kept knocking on our door every day and taking us out. And we just kept saying yes.”

The four of them - Bianca and her friend and Alessandro and his friend - all got on well.

“It seemed incredibly normal and comfortable and we just all were having a great time and it was very relaxed — almost like we had been friends for a long time,” says Bianca.

A decision to stay

Bianca and her friend were only in Riomaggiore for a long weekend. The next week, she had a midnight train booked to Rome, which would take her to the airport and back to Canada, bringing her Italian summer to an end.

After three days with Alessandro, Bianca didn’t want to leave, but she figured she had no choice.

“I packed up my bag. I was leaving Italy for good,” she says.

Before heading to the train station, Bianca went out for a last dinner with Alessandro, “three steps away from where we met, while waiting for the train to arrive at the station.”

Bianca’s bag was at her feet. She’d checked out of her accommodation. All the signs pointed to her leaving. But neither Bianca nor Alessandro could accept that this was goodbye.

“Bianca, don’t go,” Alessandro said, as the time came for her to make her way to the station.

“I have to,” Bianca said. “I have a job, I have college.”

But Bianca made no signs of moving. Something inside her knew – she wasn’t going.

So Bianca missed her train. She missed the flight. It was out of character, but it was exciting. It felt like the right decision.

With Alessandro in tow, Bianca returned to her vacation rental and asked the owner if she could extend the trip – back then Cinque Terre wasn’t as busy as it is today, so that was a potentially doable request. The owner, who knew Alessandro, just looked at the pair of them and “laughed and laughed.”

“It’s a small village,” says Bianca. “He slapped Alessandro on the back and gave him the keys.”

Over the next 10 days, Bianca and Alessandro grew even closer.

“We didn’t try hard or force anything. It was just completely natural and we were just spending every minute together for a week,” says Bianca. “He even brought me to meet his mother, Paola, almost right away. I just sat in their kitchen and she was so sweet. She fed me, of course.”

Alessandro also took Bianca on the back of his scooter for hilltop rides around the Cinque Terre. They spent long days together, exploring, chatting.

“​​And then I really did go,” says Bianca. “When we said goodbye at the train station, I was crying. I was like, ‘I’m never going to see you again.’ And I really believed that there was no concept that I would ever see him again.”

Back in Canada

Back in Canada, Bianca focused on her degree. She was going into her final year of college and her goal was graduating. She tried to put Alessandro out of her mind. But before she’d left Italy, they’d exchanged contact details.

And while Bianca assumed they’d never see each other again, Alessandro was sure it was meant to be. He made an effort to stay in touch.

“I started calling her, and we’d talk over the phone,” he says.

These conversations became more and more regular.

And then, when Christmas rolled around, Alessandro suggested Bianca should come back to Italy, stay with him for the holidays.

“I have school,” Bianca said. “And I don’t have any money to go to Italy”

“I’ve got a solid job,” said Alessandro. “I’ll buy your plane ticket.”

The idea of seeing Alessandro again, of being back in Italy, was almost overwhelming to Bianca. During their months apart, she’d daydreamed about night swimming in Riomaggiore, about their long days exploring together, the evenings at cliffside restaurants. She decided to go for it.

“Okay, I’m coming,” Bianca told Alessandro on the phone.

When Bianca told her college friends her plans, they were in disbelief. Some didn’t believe it could last.

But one friend was adamant. “He bought you a plane ticket? You’re going to marry him and have babies.”

“I don’t think so,” said Bianca. “But let’s see.”

Bianca spent the holidays with Alessandro and his extended family in La Spezia. The trip lasted just over a week, but by the time Bianca was heading back to Canada in early 2004, she and Alessandro had a goal: when Bianca graduated from college, she’d come back to Italy.

“So that was our plan. So then it was just about me going home, wrapping up, graduating,” says Bianca.

That summer, Alessandro came to Canada to celebrate Bianca’s graduation and meet her family. Then, right after graduating, Bianca moved to Italy. It was exciting, but a little surreal. And for Bianca – who still didn’t speak much Italian – it was a big step.

One of Alessandro’s friends told him he thought Bianca would last “two weeks.” But he was quickly proven wrong. Bianca stayed for one month, then two and then…

“Within three months of us living together, we were married,” says Bianca.

It was a somewhat spontaneous decision. “We were young and dumb,” says Bianca today, laughing.

But it also felt like the absolute right decision. Bianca and Alessandro were in love, and wanted to spend their lives together.

Bianca phoned her parents in Canada to break the news.

“I called my family and I said, ‘I’m getting married. In three weeks. I am so sorry to do this to you. I know that’s hard to hear that I’m getting married in three weeks. But I’m doing it,’” Bianca recalls.

Her loved ones were a little surprised, but supportive.

“Even if we had this long-distance thing for a while, we had been together enough for people to understand that it was super serious,” she says.

“We just ran off to city hall. We got married on a Friday, got the day off work, and showed up in clothes we already owned. I went to the florist across the street and got a baby’s breath, and put it behind my hair.”

Alessandro’s friend – the one who’d been there the night the couple met in Riomaggiore – translated the wedding service from Italian to English for Bianca. Alessandro’s family also attended and toasted their future.

Life in Italy

Bianca and Alessandro lived and worked in Italy for the next two years, including a period of living with Alessandro’s mother in her home. Bianca had been hesitant about moving in there, but everyone being under one roof allowed her to really bond with Alessandro’s loved ones.

“All of his family lived there. His aunt lived upstairs. His uncle used to live downstairs, it was the family home that the grandfather built. So it was just this incredible experience for somebody like me, coming into this whole culture and becoming part of his life,” says Bianca.

Bianca and Alessandro also spent a period living in an apartment, just the two of them. During this time, they lived in the moment “just enjoying the now,” as Alessandro puts it.

But they also learned a lesson that became essential to their relationship, as they navigated cultural differences and the first months of married life.

“When you’re in a relationship, you need to exercise the deepest patience,” says Alessandro. “Even more so when someone is from a different culture.”

“Patience and understanding, you have to have that as a couple anyway,” agrees Bianca. “When you are in an international relationship, it takes a lot more compassion and understanding.”

Bianca worked in a gelateria, which she says was “very stressful,” but which she credits as the reason why she finally perfected Italian. In time, she could speak the language fluently, and she was acclimatized to life in La Spezia.

But after two years, Bianca and Alessandro were ready for a change. They relocated to Canada, to Vancouver Island, where Bianca’s family lived.

This marked a shift into a new chapter of their lives.

“We bought a house and I was pregnant within a month,” says Bianca. “We ended up totally building a life in Canada, and having our daughter.”

A new chapter

While she was busy reacquainting herself with Canada, looking after a newborn, and then a toddler, an idea started percolating in Bianca’s head.

In time, this idea became a business:  Italian Fix  – a Canada-based tour company running specialized Italian small group tours, aiming to give visitors a taste of Italy as the locals live it.

The company was inspired by Bianca’s “knowledge from living in Italy and the lifestyle that I had grown to love and be a part of,” as she explains it.

Her company’s first trip was – of course – to the Cinque Terre.

“I got my first group of nine guests and I completely introduced them to all the people I had met there, all of my connections that I’ve built over the two years, and I just was like ‘Welcome to my world, and here’s a week of living in the Cinque Terre,’” recalls Bianca.

“That was the start and the seed of the company now I’ve been running for 12 years.”

As for Alessandro, he was “happy and enthusiastic” to put down roots in Canada. He got a good job working in engineering and focused on co-parenting with Bianca.

While Alessandro found there were “many differences” between Italy and Canada, he felt they were “mostly positive.”

Plus, he often joined Bianca on her Italian trips. The couple would take their daughter along too, and spend time with their Italian family.

Bianca and Alessandro’s shared commitment to prioritizing work, family and travel became the cornerstone of their family life.

“Even if we grew up in different countries, we have the same worldview. And the same worldview is, work hard, say yes to opportunities, don’t give up on yourself and your own dreams and see what incredible life you can build together,” says Bianca.

“That’s one of the values that we do say to our daughter – we’re like, ‘Don’t miss out on opportunities. If somebody gives you an opportunity, say yes.’ Because that’s very much how we’ve lived our life.”

The family has lived in Canada ever since, aside from a year spent living in Costa Rica.

“Everything really does open up after you move to one country – moving to others doesn’t seem so daunting,” says Bianca. “We had a fabulous year living on a white sand beach, and it was one of the best experiences.”

Bianca and Alessandro’s daughter is now in her teens. Bianca and Alessandro still take her to Italy whenever they can.

“She’s been to most corners of Italy, she speaks Italian,” says Bianca. “We have so much affection for Italy, we have so many friends there. Half of our friends and half of our amazing family memories are in Italy – they’re half in Canada, and they’re half in Italy, because we really have lived this international family life, living in two places.”

The Cinque Terre, of course, will always have a special place in Bianca and Alessandro’s hearts.

“It’s not a magical place where we go and relive our initial connection,” says Alessandro. “It’s just home. It’s home number two.”

Catching or missing a train

Looking back on their 20 years together, Alessandro and Bianca say they feel “grateful and proud.”

Over the two decades, “the relationship has evolved in a million ways,” says Alessandro.

“But the very core of who we were – which is two young people who wanted a great life for themselves, and were brave enough to say, ‘yes’ – we’re actually the same kind of people,” he says.

The couple is always looking to the future and potential exciting opportunities – work-related, travel-related, and family-related. They pride themselves on trusting their instincts, diving head first into what feels right, just as they did with their romance back in July 2003.

“All the things we built, that we have, are thanks to us jumping on that train that was running by,” says Alessandro. “Over 20 years of us being together, that to me was actually a lesson – don’t ever miss a train, because it might not go by again.”

“Or do miss the train,” says Bianca, laughing. “Because then you get to stay, like I did.”

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A pool and free breakfast will also help to make your stay even more special. If you are driving to Hotel Club Baja Bianca, free parking is available.

If you are looking for some good spots to eat nearby, you may want to check out Ristorante Punta Est Di Bagnoli Andrea Ristorante (0.8 mi), Ristorante Baia Salinedda (0.3 mi), or I Giardini di Cala Brandinchi (0.7 mi), all of which are within walking distance of Hotel Club Baja Bianca.

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Wife of Pittsburgh dentist dies from fatal gunshot on safari — was it an accident or murder?

By Debora Patta

Updated on: July 2, 2023 / 1:27 AM EDT / CBS News

This story previously aired on Sept 10, 2022. It was updated on July 1, 2023.

Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph and his wife, Bianca, were getting ready to head back to the United States after a safari vacation in Zambia, Africa, in October 2016 when tragedy struck.

Larry, a Pittsburgh-area dentist, said he was in the bathroom, heard a gunshot, and found his wife bleeding, dead on the bedroom floor. He said while Bianca was packing the shotgun, it must have accidentally fired. 

Larry's description raises questions, says retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and CBS News consultant James Gagliano.  "It boggles the mind that two experienced hunters, for this to have been an accident," he tells "48 Hours."

Game scout Spencer Kakoma says he also has questions. He insists after the hunt, the guns were emptied of ammunition.

Larry had his wife's body quickly cremated in Zambia, which led a friend of Bianca's to doubt this was an accident. Soon after Bianca's death, the friend called the FBI. According to an FBI complaint, she also said Lawrence was having an affair and had been verbally abusive to Bianca. The friend also told the FBI that the couple fought over money.

Investigators spent five years working the case. Larry was arrested in December 2021 for the murder of his wife. He maintains that he is innocent, and his attorneys write in a statement to "48 Hours" that the case is built "… without any real evidence, no eyewitnesses, no forensics, no anything …"

So, what happened to Bianca Rudolph?

DEATH ON SAFARI

Nearly two weeks after Bianca Rudolph's death while on a hunting trip in Zambia, family and friends in Arizona gathered to remember her at her funeral. But at husband Larry Rudolph's Pennsylvania dental practice, there was a hush in the air.

Sherry Houck : Larry never talked about Bianca's death ever. … he was saying to everyone not to talk about it. … it made it, sort of, suspicious.

Sherry Houck worked as a dental assistant in Dr. Rudolph's Three Rivers Dental Group for nearly eight years. The lucrative practice, with five offices in the Pittsburgh area, specializes in sedation dentistry, providing anesthesia for fearful patients.

Sherry Houck : I liked everything about how we treated our patients … And I really believed in everything we did and — how he did it.

After years building his successful practice, Dr. Rudolph, says Sherry, was now spending limited time in the office. He and Bianca had lived in homes in Pittsburgh and Arizona. The couple had met while Larry was in dental school and Bianca was at the University of Pittsburgh.

Meghan Schiller : Larry and Bianca got married in the early '80s, shortly after … she graduated from college.

Meghan Schiller is a reporter at Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate, KDKA.

Meghan Schiller : They proceeded to have two kids. They had Julian, who is their son, who's now an attorney in Florida, and they had a daughter, Ana, who is now following in her father's footsteps.

Ana, a friend of Sherry's, is also a dentist at the practice .

Sherry Houck : Ana described her mom as, like, an angel. She loved her mom. … People that knew Bianca Rudolph described her as a very kind, caring person.

Sherry never met Bianca, and there may have been a reason why:  she says Larry was having an affair with the woman who managed the offices, Lori Milliron.

Sherry Houck : Larry and Lori's affair just seemed like it was just very open … as far as I know, it was probably going on for 20 years. …  it was just — uncomfortable and you just didn't talk about it.

In the office, Sherry saw different sides of Larry.

Sherry Houck : Larry could be very nice, and he could change — attitude within, a matter of minutes.

That erratic behavior, Sherry says, was one of the reasons she left her job.

Sherry Houck : He could … throw tempers. And we would, sort of, just call it like he was … going Rudolph.

Something Larry did enjoy talking about in the office, and took pride in, was his hobby: big game hunting.

Sherry Houck : Larry Rudolph and Bianca Rudolph were avid hunters. That was a huge part of their life. … They were both, like, very well known for it.

Rudolph served for several years as the President of Safari Club International, a group that promotes hunting. He traveled the world, recording messages for members.

LARRY RUDOLPH [Safari Club International video]: "I'm here on the banks of the Kafue River in Zambia – I've been doing some lion hunting … and just having a great adventure."

His term, though, would be tainted by claims he'd damaged the club's reputation through alleged misconduct, including supposed adultery. Larry denied the claims and sued for defamation. The case was ultimately settled, but Larry was ousted as a club member.

But his passion for hunting endured and in 2016, he and Bianca headed to a favorite location: Kafue National Park in Zambia.

Meghan Schiller : Kafue National Park is considered a big game paradise. …  the oldest and the most prestigious national park in that area of southern Africa. Just to put it in scale, it's the size of New Jersey.

The park has one section that is a protected wildlife sanctuary —and an adjacent area, referred to as game management, that allows hunting. On the trip, the Rudolphs stayed in a two-room cabin consisting of a bedroom and a bathroom.

Meghan Schiller : Bianca wants to finally hunt a leopard. … She'd been trying for years to hunt a leopard.

The trip lasted about 10 days. A time that was happy, according to Spencer Kakoma, the local game scout accompanying the couple.

Spencer Kakoma : They were laughing at each other, kissing each other, hugging each other

Debora Patta : Did you think they were a happily married couple?

Spencer Kakoma : I — I was even — admiring that 'cause I'm also married.

Debora Patta : And did you see any tension between Larry and Bianca Rudolph?

Spencer Kakoma : No, I didn't see any tension

Bianca never did shoot a leopard. And on the final day of the safari, before the Rudolphs went to their cabin, Spencer says, as is daily protocol, the guns were emptied of all ammunition.

Debora Patta : And you saw Bianca Rudolph cleaning her gun of live ammunition?

Spencer Kakoma : I saw — Bianca Rudolph doing that. … It was cleaned, or it was clear. There was no — ammunition which was there.

Debora Patta : You saw it with your own eyes?

Spencer Kakoma : Yes

It was the end of the Rudolphs' Zambian hunting trip. They were supposedly packing up and getting ready to fly home. But then, Bianca Rudolph suffered a fatal gunshot wound.

Spencer was working about 30 yards away when he heard the gun shot and ran to the cabin, finding 56-year-old Bianca Rudolph dead on the floor, shot in the heart. The weapon was a 12-gauge shot gun. Spencer says the gun, partially in a soft-sided case, was next to her. And Larry Rudolph seemed inconsolable, sobbing.

Spencer Kakoma : He's crying, crying, "Let me just kill myself because my wife, she has committed suicide. She has killed herself. Want to kill myself also."

Spencer says Larry first claimed Bianca died by suicide, shooting herself intentionally, while he was in the bathroom. And he says Larry was so distraught, that he ran to a nearby river saying he wanted to jump in and drown himself. Spencer says he calmed Larry down and they went back to the cabin. But now, Larry had a different version of events. It was no longer a suicide, but that Bianca accidentally shot herself packing up the gun.

Debora Patta : Were you surprised that a shot had gone off?

Spencer Kakoma : Yeah. That's one of the thing which — made me to suspect. … I saw Bianca Rudolph removing the ammunition from the — their guns.

Debora Patta : So, how do you think ammunition got into the shotgun?

Spencer Kakoma : I think there must be just someone who loaded it.

Debora Patta : Somebody loaded that gun …

Spencer Kakoma: Yes.

Things were not adding up for Spencer. He and Larry Rudolph went to the local police station. Rudolph was interviewed for about 30 minutes by now retired Police Commander Roston Yeyenga, and Larry told him Bianca accidentally shot herself while packing the gun.

Roston Yeyenga : He heard the gunshot and a scream… he said he rushed to the bedroom, and then he found the wife lying down in a pool of blood. [was it face down?]

Debora Patta : Did you believe him?

Roston Yeyenga : I believed him because I wasn't there. I wasn't there.

Commander Yeyenga sent his investigators to the scene, who told him it matched Dr. Rudolph's description of events. They believed the shotgun, found approximately 3 feet from Bianca's body, was discharged while inside its case, and reported that Dr. Rudolph had tried to resuscitate his wife.

Debora Patta : It was decided that this was an accident?

Roston Yeyenga : Yes — this is the report that we received.

The police report, dated two days after Bianca's death concluded:

"Dr. Lawrence Rudolph rushed to the bedroom only to find his wife lying on the floor bleeding." … "The findings further suggested that the firearm was loaded from the previous hunting activities … causing the firearm to accidentally fire."           

James Gagliano : This is to me a little bit astounding that they would've made that conclusive, declarative statement that — this was absolutely an accident, so soon after Ms. Rudolph died. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO BIANCA?  

Bianca Rudolph's death in Zambia was devastating for her daughter Ana.

Sherry Houck : Ana always said Bianca was, like, the best mom and just did everything — was, like, a very good person and was very — wholesome and kind.

Dental assistant Sherry Houck says Larry Rudolph didn't tell Ana or her brother Julian about their mother's passing for nearly a week. Ana had troubling questions about what had happened.

Sherry Houck : She had no idea whether her mom got shot in the face or the chest or anywhere … She just would say, "I want to know what happened to my mom."

And at the Kafue National Park there were doubts too … from the moment the gunshot rang out early that October morning.

David Katz : It's a loud boom.

David Katz is a ballistics expert and former Special Agent at the Drug Enforcement Agency. "48 Hours" asked him to review documents in this case.  He says the blast from the Rudolph's 12-gauge shotgun would have been ferocious.

Spencer Kakoma : Bianca Rudolph screamed after the gunshot.

Game scout Spencer Kakoma instantly knew that sound meant trouble.

Spencer Kakoma : — she didn't scream "help" or — she screamed — "ah!" Then that's how we rushed there. Within 15 seconds, we reached there. She was dead already.

From the beginning, Spencer says he had questions about Larry's version of events, including when Larry told him he was in the bath when he heard the gunshot, and raced out to find Bianca dead.

Debora Patta : But when you saw him, he was fully dressed?

Spencer Kakoma : Dressed, with – with – with — shoes.

Spencer Kakoma : … it confused me.

Debora Patta : Fifteen seconds to be fully clothed with shoes is pretty quick.

Spencer Kakoma : Exactly.

But local police say Larry told them he was wrapped in a towel when Spencer arrived.

Kafue National Park Investigator Masuwa Musese also had questions about what he saw in the couple's cabin. He says he observed the wound on Bianca's chest, the gun nearby, and wondered how she could have accidently shot herself in the heart while handling the long-barreled weapon.

Debora Patta : What did you think? What was your theory?

Masuwa Musese : To me … I suspected this to be a foul play. Because the way the firearm was lying. The way the deceased was lying. The way the bullet went through. Because to me to say that she shot herself — I doubt it.

Debora Patta : So, Mr. Musese, did you ever voice your suspicions of foul play to the Zambian police?

Masuwa Musese : I voiced my suspicion to the police.

Debora Patta : And what did they say in response?

Masuwa Musese : In respond, the Zambia Police told me that … the police will really investigate at the bottom of the issue.

Debora Patta : But did they?

Masuwa Musese : They didn't.

Within days, says KDKA reporter Meghan Schiller, local officials allowed Bianca's remains to be cremated in Zambia.

Meghan Schiller : Even the paper over there reported what had happened as an accidental shooting. 

And the comments on social media were people saying … that it seemed suspicious to them.

One reader suggested, "This doesn't sound right. Something's fishy here."

And it was suspicious to one of Bianca's friends. Certain Bianca was opposed to cremation for religious reasons, the friend made a call about two weeks later… and set a chain of events in motion.

Mary Fulginiti : There was one point when this case became an active international investigation, and that is when Bianca's friend called the attaché of the FBI in South Africa and said that she suspected foul play.

­­­Mary Fulginiti is a former federal prosecutor and CBS News consultant. She says Bianca's friend told the FBI about Larry's affair — said Larry had been verbally abusive to Bianca and reported that Larry and Bianca had fights about money.

Mary Fulginiti : She opened up a Pandora's box as to why Lawrence would want to kill his wife.

Even the consular chief at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia had suspicions. He spoke on the phone with Larry Rudolph just hours after Bianca's death.    

Mary Fulginiti : The consular chief had a bad feeling … he said, because Lawrence quickly turned to cremation and getting out of the country, which he thought was highly suspect.

The consular chief was a former Marine, with decades of experience with weapons. Unbeknownst to Larry, he decided to inspect Bianca's body before it was cremated. He measured the shotgun wound and took photos.

Meghan Schiller : The consular chief said based on looking at Bianca's body, he didn't think there was any way that she could've done this to herself … that she could've been leaning on the shotgun. He said it looked like someone was holding the shotgun several feet away and fired it at her.

The consular chief turned his photos and notes over to the FBI. An inquiry into Bianca's death was underway. Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and CBS News consultant James Gagliano says international investigations take time.

James Gagliano : This case is being investigated outside of the United States. It presents a ton of different problems that you have to deal with.

Back home, life went on for Larry. The FBI kept working the case both in the U.S. and in Zambia. And investigators eventually made their way back to game scout Spencer Kakoma.

Debora Patta: So, five years later –

Spencer Kakoma : That's when they called –

Debora Patta : — you heard from the FBI?

Spencer Kakoma : Yes. That's when they called me.

Debora Patta : Were you surprised?

Spencer Kakoma : Yes, I was surprised.

Over the course of five years, FBI investigators interviewed numerous people, reviewed documents, photos and conducted forensics tests - eventually filing a complaint – listing evidence of possible foul play in Bianca Rudolph's death.

James Gagliano : The … complaint lays out a neat road map of a lot of circumstantial evidence that points in the direction of Lawrence Rudolph as the murderer of his wife, Bianca.

ACCIDENT OR MURDER?

Zambia's Kafue National Park is vast, stunning … serene. But retired Police Commander Roston Yeyenga will never forget the day back in 2016 when that gunshot rang out from the Rudolph's cabin, killing Bianca Rudolph.

Debora Patta : When your officers went to the scene … what did they see?

Roston Yeyenga : What they told me was that they found a dead body, lying facing upwards.

And years later he still recalls his conversation with Dr. Rudolph .

Roston Yeyenga : He seemed to be sorrowful, you know?

Debora Patta : He was very sorrowful?

Roston Yeyenga : Yeah, you know, when you lose your beloved one, you can be in that mood, yeah. I could even see some tears in his eyes.

Yeyenga says the initial investigation was not rushed and says at the time no one told him they suspected Larry had anything to do with his wife's death.

Debora Patta : What is the most powerful thing that he said to you that convinced you this man is innocent?

Roston Yeyenga : To say he was innocent. That was his story.

Debora Patta : You're so easily convinced. I just have to tell you a story and you believe me.

Roston Yeyenga : It's coming from your own mouth. I can believe you. Whatever story you tell me, I can believe it.

But could an experienced hunter like Bianca accidentally shoot herself in the heart while placing a long-barreled shotgun into a gun case?

David Katz : For the shooters out in the audience, everyone's gonna understand immediately. … There's a visceral feeling, no, don't do it.

Ballistics expert David Katz says if that happened Bianca would have been pointing the muzzle at herself, ignoring safety protocol.

David Katz : Whether the gun is loaded or unloaded … if you know your way around guns, you would never under any circumstances point that weapon toward you or another human being.

Katz often works with firearms at the company he owns, Global Security Group. At our request he reviewed the initial FBI complaint.

David Katz : The complaint, in fairness to — to Larry Rudolph … it's just the government's version of events. … It's a one-sided document. So, I want, I want to be completely fair to Larry Rudolph.

According to the complaint, the FBI interviewed a Zambian ballistics expert who performed what's called a drop test to determine if the gun could have accidentally misfired if Bianca dropped it on the ground.

David Katz : So, the question is … if you slam the weapon hard enough, if you drop it, if you bang it on the — on the ground, will that weapon discharge?

The Zambian ballistics expert repeatedly dropped the gun – most likely loaded with a dummy round – about four-and-a-half feet onto cement and reported the gun "did not misfire."

The complaint lists some of the other FBI findings, including the results of a series of tests using a 12-gauge shotgun of the same make and model as the gun that killed Bianca, and a soft-sided gun case like the Rudolph's.

Meghan Schiller : They did gun tests. They did a study with people who were about the same height as Bianca and had similar arm lengths.

The FBI performed a reach study which Katz says would determine if Bianca could have reached the trigger while packing the shotgun into a gun bag. Fifteen women who were near Bianca's height were tested. None was able to reach the trigger of the shotgun while zipping the case.

"48 Hours" asked Katz to demonstrate how the test might have been done, with the help of a woman who is 5'4 ½". Bianca was 5'4".

DAVID KATZ [demo]: This is not a live weapon …

DAVID KATZ [demo]: So, I'm going to measure your arm…

FBI analysts used a photo of Bianca to measure her arm length. They estimated Bianca's longest possible right arm length at 28.75 inches.

DAVID KATZ [demo]: 29 inches. So, your reach is slightly longer than the maximum reach as estimated by the FBI.

The gun used in this demonstration is not the same make and model as the Rudolph's gun. 

DAVID KATZ [demo]: It is not a weapon; it just looks like one.

It's a prop gun — non-functional and not capable of holding a bullet. According to the FBI, the model of gun the Rudolphs had was approximately 31.1875 inches from trigger to muzzle. We attached a wooden dowel to the barrel of the prop gun to make it match that length.  

DAVID KATZ [demo]: So, I'm gonna take this weapon. I'm gonna point it at your chest right where the wound on the victim was placed. … the idea is that somehow the weapon could be discharged accidentally as if it was being pushed into a gun case. So, let's bend over …  Keep goin', keep goin'. Can you — if you — if you can touch the ground even with it. Now try to stretch out and touch the trigger.

DAVID KATZ [demo]: You're not on the trigger. You're close to the trigger. 

Next, Katz added a gun case similar to the one the Rudolph's owned.

DAVID KATZ [demo]: All right, let's say you were zipping … can you reach your hand in and touch the trigger?

WOMAN: Not under this angle.

DAVID KATZ: Almost, you can almost get there.

The woman in our demonstration was able to reach the trigger. 

DAVID KATZ [demo]: Just about, just about.

WOMAN: It's very difficult.

DAVID KATZ: Yeah.

DAVID KATZ: I guess what I'm left with is this conclusion: … Possible. Unlikely, but, you know, with a sufficient leaning forward. … But that would — then suggest without — without any doubt a contact shot.

A contact shot is a gunshot wound occurring when the muzzle of the gun is in direct contact with the body at the moment the gun fires.

David Katz : This is a 12-gauge shotgun shell. … it contains … pellets … of double-aught buckshot.

In a contact shot, there is no time for the pellets to spread – instead they go straight into the tissue in one tight group the same diameter as the gun barrel.

David Katz : A contact shot, you're gonna get this [his hands touching]. Further away you're gonna get this [his hands separate], further away you're gonna get this [his hands separate further].

Katz says those photos of Bianca's body taken by the consular chief in Zambia may rule out death by a contact shot.

David Katz : The most critically important issue in this case is how far from her body was the muzzle of that shotgun when the rounds were fired?

When the consular chief took those photos, he also measured Bianca's shotgun wound – and noted the pellets covered approximately 6 centimeters in diameter – roughly 2-and-a-half inches.

David Katz : That — pattern would be impossible if the muzzle had been pressed against the victim's body.

So, from what distance would a weapon have to be fired to cause a 2-and-a-half-inch wound?

We asked Katz to use a real shotgun to show "48 Hours" how rounds fired from different distances can make different sized wounds. We didn't have access to key information about the Rudolph's gun, but the long barrel of this gun measures the same distance from trigger to muzzle – approximately 31.1875 inches.

Katz fired into a block made of ballistic gelatin designed to simulate the effects of bullet wounds in human tissue.

SAFETY OFFICER: Fire!

David Katz [pointing to bullet holes in the gelatin]: When I fired the last round that was from 10 feet, there are discernible pellet wounds here. Here. Here. This is why the consular chief was suspicious when he saw the wound. Because he saw a wound that was more like this.

FBI investigators also compared shot patterns created by firing from various distances and estimated that Bianca's wound depicted in the photographs was "created by a shot from a distance of between 2 and 3-and-one-half feet." The complaint's conclusion: "Bianca Rudolph was not killed by an accidental discharge ..." And it wasn't just ballistics catching the attention of the FBI.

James Gagliano : This is — a case that's gonna be made on the totality of the circumstances.

Sherry Houck : Ana always said … how she … wished she had more time with her mom. 

Sherry Houck says Bianca's death continues to haunt the Rudolphs' daughter, Ana. 

Sherry Houck : She was devastated that she couldn't even say goodbye to her. 

It appears Larry Rudolph wasted no time setting up house with his longtime rumored girlfriend Lori Milliron in Paradise Valley. 

Meghan Schiller : Within weeks she had moved into their home in Arizona. 

Rudolph's business continued to thrive. He and Lori split their time between Pittsburgh, Arizona and a vacation home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 

Sherry Houck : After a while, I thought, well, if it wasn't an accident, wouldn't he have been arrested by now?  … Nothing's really happened.

But in December 2021, more than five years after Bianca's death, Rudolph's new life with Lori was about to change. And that FBI complaint would turn out to be the key.  

Meghan Schiller : The federal prosecutors and the FBI agents had decided that they had enough information to essentially charge Larry with crimes.  

Lori Milliron's attorney John Dill says the pair was at the Cabo home. 

John Dill : They were going down there for a vacation and having a return flight. … He wasn't fleeing or disappearing, or anything like that. 

But their holiday came to a sudden and surprising end when local authorities arrested Rudolph. 

John Dill : Lori's reaction when he was arrested, obviously … she was shocked. 

Mexican police executed a warrant for Lawrence Rudolph's arrest for the foreign murder of Bianca Rudolph and for mail fraud relating to Rudolph collecting Bianca's life insurance . The FBI said the insurance never should have been paid because it believed Rudolph murdered Bianca. 

Meghan Schiller : Larry Rudolph was the beneficiary, and he was the recipient of nearly $5 million of insurance money. 

Those millions were spread out over nine separate policies. One of the insurance companies where Larry mailed a claim is located in Colorado, so that's where the case would be tried. 

Meghan Schiller : Bianca died on October 11th, and the first claim was submitted on October 31st. 

John Dill : I'm not sure if there's a time period when there's an accidental death that somebody's supposed to wait so it doesn't look wrong. 

In a court filing, the defense claimed there was no financial motive for the alleged crime, asserting that Rudolph's dental practice alone was worth $8 million. What's more, Dill says the fact that all nine policies were paid proves Bianca's death was as Rudolph described and Zambian officials ruled: an accident.  

John Dill : You'll see insurance companies went through a full investigation, including goin' to Africa.  

But Mary Fulginiti says not so fast. For one thing, the FBI's resources would have allowed for a much more thorough investigation into Bianca's cause of death. 

Mary Fulginiti : They just have access to more things. They have ballistic experts, … access to the consular chief, and other witnesses in Africa that I'm not sure the — insurance firm had access to, to talk to. 

Within days of his arrest, Rudolph was extradited to Denver. A grand jury was convened there to hear evidence about his case. 

Meghan Schiller : Everyone in Pittsburgh was talking about how this dentist, who was a well-known, respected dentist, could possibly be accused by the FBI. 

Sherry says word of Rudolph's arrest hit Ana hard. 

Sherry Houck : She was just devastated.  … I called to check on her and …  she would not talk about her dad being arrested. She just talked to me about anything but that. 

Lori Milliron followed Rudolph to Denver. She was about to become involved in the case as well by way of a subpoena. 

John Dill : She was called to go before the grand jury.

John Dill : And she was in town for his bond hearing and went and testified. 

About two weeks after Rudolph's arrest, that grand jury handed down their indictment.  

NEWS REPORT: FBI agents believe their investigation will prove he killed his wife while on vacation before allegedly collecting millions in insurance money. 

It seemed that the multimillion-dollar windfall of insurance money Rudolph received wasn't the only motive the FBI believes was behind Bianca's murder. In the complaint, it says Lori Milliron had given Rudolph an ultimatum. 

Meghan Schiller : "You have one year to get rid of the practice and leave your wife."  

Dill says there was no ultimatum. That allegation came from a disgruntled employee according to a defense motion. 

John Dill : All we can say is that's not what the evidence is gonna be. 

As for the speed of Bianca's cremation, Rudolph's attorney says that's no attempt at a cover-up — that both he and Bianca had expressed their final wishes. 

Mary Fulginiti : The defense is gonna argue … Well, they have a will, and in the will, it was the directive of both parties to be cremated.

Murders on foreign soil are difficult to prove. And the length of the investigation might actually be a liability. 

Mary Fulginiti : What the defense is gonna do is try to make it look like this case, which is five-plus years old, has stale testimony, stale witnesses, stale everything. 

But it turns out that years after Bianca Rudolph died, there would be something new after all: another arrest that no one saw coming. 

A SURPRISING ARREST

The truth about the death of Bianca Rudolph, wife and mother, has remained as elusive as the Zambian leopard she hunted. Her husband stood charged with murder and mail fraud. Then come February 2022 this case would grow even more complex, when Lori Milliron was charged.  

Meghan Schiller : As if the story couldn't get any stranger, now we know that his alleged longtime girlfriend Lori Milliron … is now facing federal charges.

Seven federal counts alleging she provided false and misleading testimony to a grand jury sitting in the District of Colorado. Just over a month after that testimony Lori Milliron was arrested. 

Meghan Schiller : She's accused of lying about her relationship with Larry. She's accused of lying about what Larry said in the days and months following Bianca's sudden death.

John Dill : I think she was shocked. … She did not expect this to happen. 

A 64-year-old woman, she faces as much as 30 years in prison for those charges. But her attorney John Dill emphasizes … 

John Dill : There's no allegations by the government that she was somehow involved or had anything to do with what happened to Bianca Rudolph in 2016. 

Dill says that the speculation and the charges against his client are all false. 

John Dill : The truth is Lori Milliron is not a criminal. She didn't perjure herself. Didn't lie to the grand jury. 

But former prosecutor Mary Fulginiti says there may be another reason the government filed those seven counts against Lori Milliron. 

Mary Fulginiti : They might have also charged her because they would like to put some pressure on her to cooperate. 

Pressuring Rudolph's longtime girlfriend to be the star witness against him .  

Mary Fulginiti : If I was the prosecutor in this case, I would absolutely be hoping that she was gonna come forward, and possibly cooperate against him, and she's the one witness that could possibly do him in.  

Meanwhile, from home detention in Arizona, Lori Milliron is still connected with Rudolph, running his multimillion-dollar dentistry practice, but forbidden to contact him. 

John Dill : Still attempting to work, yeah, from where she is. It's a lot more difficult, obviously.  

The government planned to try them together in the same courtroom — an outcome their lawyers fought against and lost. The two on trial together was a powerful image that could have impacted Lori Milliron. 

Mary Fulginiti : Lori Milliron does not want to be sitting next to Lawrence Rudolph at trial, because he's charged with murder … and she wants nothing to do with that, and she doesn't want any of that prejudice to spill over to her, which will ultimately say, "Oh well she was a part of it." I mean she's the lover. 

And in a pre-trial affidavit filed by Rudolph's attorneys, and signed by Lori, she wrote that, "Larry and I were romantically involved and Mrs. Bianca Rudolph was aware of that."  The suggestion: the affair was an open secret, not a motive for murder. But the prosecution would soon test the loyalties of Lori Milliron and Larry Rudolph. 

Mary Fulginiti : And see if they stay aligned. Or if at the end of the day she does ultimately cooperate. 

John Dill :  Our defense is basically that what the government is saying, not only can't they prove it, that's not the facts. 

Over the years, and across an ocean, facts have been hard to come by in this case. Retired FBI special agent James Gagliano knows time can be a prosecution's toughest challenge.   

James Gagliano : Memories get rusty and cloudy. Documents get lost or destroyed. With every day that passes, it gets more and more difficult to close a loop here, get the evidence you need, and make a conviction. 

Mary Fulginiti : There's a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome here, so it's by no means an easy prosecution. 

Seven-thousand miles and a world away, Bianca Rudolph's death has impacted those who barely knew her. Former police commander Roston Yeyenga still thinks it was all a terrible accident.  

Roston Yeyenga : There will be no evidence connecting him to the murder. 

Debora Patta : There'll be no evidence connecting Dr. Rudolph to the murder? 

Roston Yeyenga :  I don't think so. From the experience that I had, no. 

But one-time scout Spencer Kakoma was so shaken by this experience that he quit his job. He believes that in his beautiful country, as Bianca Rudolph hunted, she became the prey. 

Spencer Kakoma : Yes, I'm just happy with the American investigation. He wanted to escape, but they have managed to corner him. 

Larry Rudolph's  legal team provided "48 Hours" with  the following statement:

"Dr. Rudolph is innocent. The Zambian authorities who were there and investigated said so. The insurance companies who paid the claim after they investigated said so. Strangely, five years later, the feds brought charges without any real evidence — no eye-witnesses, no forensics, no anything. — except for some speculation sprinkled into a chasm of conjecture."

Ana and Julian have lost their mother. Sources tell us they have expressed support for their father. And now what really happened in the country Bianca Rudolph cherished, will be decided in a Colorado courtroom.  

On Aug. 1, 2022, Larry Rudolph was found guilty of murdering his wife Bianca Rudolph. He's awaiting sentencing.

Lori Milliron was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder. She was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Produced by Ruth Chenetz, Mary Ann Rotondi, Susan Mallie and Jamie Stolz. Tamara Weitzman, Elena DiFiore and Michelle Fanucci are the development producers. Sarah Carter is the producer in Zambia. Richard Barber is the producer-editor. Jud Johnston,  Marlon Disla, Mike Baluzy and Phil Tangel are the editors. Jen Terker and Chelsea Narvaez are the associate producers. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

• Bianca Rudolph
• Larry Rudolph

Debora Patta is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Johannesburg. Since joining CBS News in 2013, she has reported on major stories across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Edward R. Murrow and Scripps Howard awards are among the many accolades Patta has received for her work.

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