In September 2023, 51-year-old North Dakota resident Steven Riley went to an airport believing he was about to change his life. For months, someone claiming to be a lawyer overseas had been emailing him about an enormous inheritance — more than $30 million — from a distant relative. All he needed to do was meet in person, sign paperwork, and wait for the funds to transfer.
The meeting never happened.
Instead, Riley grew violently ill. His health spiraled over the next 48 hours. He was eventually airlifted to a hospital, where he died. The official cause: ethylene glycol poisoning — the active ingredient in antifreeze — slipped into the sweet tea made by his longtime girlfriend, 48-year-old Ina Thea Kenoyer.
Last month, a judge sentenced Kenoyer to 25 years in prison.
Investigators would later say the inheritance never existed.
The Fear
According to friends, Riley planned to break up with Kenoyer once the inheritance arrived. He’d talked openly about leaving. The money was his ticket out — and she knew it.
Kenoyer came to believe she deserved a share as a “common-law wife.” She wasn’t. North Dakota doesn’t recognize common-law marriage. If Riley ended the relationship, she would receive nothing.
Investigators say that looming loss — financial, emotional, and social — became motive.
The Poison
On September 3, 2023, hours after the lawyer supposedly missed yet another flight, Riley drank sweet tea Kenoyer had prepared. Prosecutors say the antifreeze was mixed in to disguise the chemical’s sweetness.
Symptoms appeared quickly:
- Slurred speech
- Confusion
- Sudden collapse
Friends begged her to call for medical help. She insisted he was suffering from heat stroke and took him home instead. The next morning, she told visitors he’d gone to a clinic. Records showed he hadn’t.
By the time paramedics arrived, it was too late.
What Investigators Found
Authorities searched the home and found:
- A bottle containing green liquid inside a Windex container
- Another container with similar residue
- Items consistent with antifreeze use
An autopsy found no alcohol, contradicting Kenoyer’s story, but confirmed lethal levels of ethylene glycol.
In interviews, she shifted explanations — heat stroke, drinking, maybe self-poisoning — before eventually pleading guilty.
The Aftermath
In the weeks following Riley’s death, suspicion spread quickly among friends and family. Several contacted police, pointing them toward the antifreeze and noting that Kenoyer had previously made comments about poisoning Riley if she ever wanted to get rid of him. Detectives gathered physical evidence, interviewed witnesses, and unraveled her shifting explanations — from heat stroke, to alcohol, to accidental ingestion.
By late October 2023, Kenoyer was arrested and charged with murder.
Nearly a year later, in October 2024, she pleaded guilty. State prosecutors submitted evidence showing that the inheritance was a scam, the lawyer didn’t exist, and the emails were part of a fraudulent scheme meant to extract personal information. While Riley fell for the fantasy, Kenoyer let it fuel rage and entitlement.
At sentencing, Riley’s family confronted her in court. His sister told her, “Lucky for you the Department of Corrections doesn’t serve antifreeze in your iced tea.” His son described losing his father to something “so selfish” it could hardly be put into words.
The judge sentenced Kenoyer to 50 years in prison — 25 to be served behind bars, with an additional 25 suspended — followed by 10 years of supervised probation. She was also ordered to pay restitution to Riley’s family.
Meanwhile, investigators have yet to identify who sent the inheritance emails or where they originated. That unanswered digital thread remains a haunting reminder: scams don’t have to succeed financially to inflict irreversible damage.
The Real Cost of Fake Money
This story isn’t just another true-crime oddity. It’s a case study in how digital scams mutate when mixed with vulnerability.
They don’t just steal money.
They steal clarity.
They distort judgment.
They destabilize relationships.
They create panic, entitlement, and fear.
And when someone’s imagined future depends on a lie, reality becomes the threat.
Investigators haven’t found the person who sent those inheritance emails. Somewhere, behind a screen, someone pressed “send” on a message that didn’t just scam a man out of money — it helped set the stage for his murder.
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