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Ina Thea Kenoyer pleaded guilty to murdering her boyfriend, Steven Edward Riley Jr., through ethylene glycol poisoning in Minot, North Dakota, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with 25 years to serve.

Riley, 51, and Kenoyer lived together but were not legally married, and North Dakota does not recognize common-law marriage. Both believed Riley was about to receive an inheritance of more than $30 million after hearing from an online contact. Investigators later concluded they had fallen victim to an online scam and no money existed. According to the arrest affidavit, Kenoyer believed she was entitled to part of the money as Riley's common-law wife, while Riley had planned to end their relationship.

The couple went to meet an estate lawyer about the inheritance on September 3, 2023, and Riley became ill that day. Friends who saw his condition decline wanted him to get medical attention, but Kenoyer said he had heat stroke and had been drinking, according to the affidavit. Paramedics found Riley unresponsive at the home on September 4. He died on September 5, 2023. An autopsy found that he died of ethylene glycol poisoning. Ethylene glycol is the toxic ingredient in antifreeze.

Friends and family told Minot police they suspected poisoning. Friends also reported that Kenoyer made comments about antifreeze before and after Riley's death. Toxicology did not support her account that he had been drinking. Investigators found a glass cleaner bottle without a cap, a beer bottle and a mug containing suspected antifreeze in the couple's residence.

Minot police interviewed Kenoyer on or about September 5, 2023, according to the video's narrated introduction. Detectives confronted her with her statement to paramedics that Riley had been drinking until 5:00 a.m., and she denied knowing what happened to him. She asked for a lawyer at the end of the interview, and detectives stopped questioning her. Minot police arrested Kenoyer in October 2023. She was 47 at the time of the charge and was held on a $1 million bond.

Kenoyer was charged in Ward County with a Class AA felony murder count and repeatedly said she was innocent at her first court appearance. She pleaded guilty to the AA felony murder charge on May 29, 2024. On October 16, 2024, District Judge Richard Hagar accepted the attorneys' joint recommendation of 50 years in prison, with 25 years to serve and 25 years suspended, followed by 10 years of supervised probation. Kenoyer was also ordered to pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley's family. Riley's sister, Stephanie Gonzalez, spoke at sentencing. Life without parole had been the maximum penalty. No later change to the sentence has been reported.

The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 79 minutes. It contains the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.