Ina Kenoyer Murders Steven Riley

Ina Kenoyer
Ina Kenoyer

Ina Kenoyer is a killer from North Dakota who would be convicted of the murder of Steven Riley Jr

According to court documents Ina Kenoyer believed that her boyfriend Steven Riley Jr was going to inherit millions of dollars and she was worried that he would not share the windfall with her.

So Ina Kenoyer would spike a drink using ethylene glycol which is basically the main ingredient found in antifreeze. After consuming the drink Steven Riley would pass away

Ina Kenoyer would soon be arrested, charged and later convicted of murder and sentenced to twenty five years in prison

As for the inheritance that Ina Kenoyer believed Steven Riley Jr was going to receive it turns out to be a common email scheme and it never existed to begin with

Ina Kenoyer Case

Nearly a year after she was arrested on one count of murder in the poisoning death of her longtime boyfriend, a Minot woman has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the case.

Ina Kenoyer, 48, had plans to claim 51-year-old Steven Edward Riley Jr.’s $30 million inheritance after his death, court documents said. She believed she was entitled to the money because she was Riley’s common-law wife — but she did not realize that North Dakota does not legally recognize common-law marriage, court documents said.

Kenoyer was arrested on Oct. 30, 2023, and charged with Class AA felony murder in Ward County for poisoning Riley the previous month. According to the criminal complaint, Kenoyer did not seek medical attention for an obviously ill Riley and denied his friends’ pleas to take him to a hospital for more than a day, when an ambulance finally was called to respond to a report of an unconscious male.

Riley was first taken to Trinity Hospital in Minot, then flown to a Bismarck hospital, where he died on Sept. 5, 2023.

Riley’s friends reported to law enforcement shortly after hearing he died that Kenoyer made comments that “he (Riley) was poisoned with antifreeze even though no lab work tests for antifreeze had been completed and no medical professionals had conveyed any information about Riley’s condition to Kenoyer,” court documents said.

The coroner’s results later found toxic levels of ethylene glycol, a key ingredient in antifreeze, in Riley’s system and listed ethylene glycol poisoning as his cause of death.

Kenoyer and Riley had been in a relationship for about 10 years, and she referred to herself as his wife, but the relationship appeared to have soured by the day of his poisoning. A friend of the couple told police Kenoyer had thrown Riley’s belongings outside that day, and that she was angry and believed he was going to leave her

Friends also told law enforcement that Riley believed he was the recipient of a $30 million inheritance and planned to meet a lawyer at the airport that day to complete the deal. Kenoyer admitted to detectives that she was aware of Riley’s inheritance and was planning on splitting that money with Riley’s son.

“Kenoyer was incensed when apprised by detectives that North Dakota does not recognize common law marriage and she would in fact not be entitled to any portion of any inheritance,” court documents said.

Class AA felony murder is punishable in North Dakota by a maximum of life in prison without parole. Kenoyer pleaded guilty to the charge at the end of May.

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, North Central District Court Judge Richard Hagar sentenced Kenoyer to 50 years in prison, with 25 years behind bars and 25 years suspended with 10 years of supervised probation. He also ordered Kenoyer to pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/north-dakota/minot-woman-sentenced-to-25-years-behind-bars-for-killing-boyfriend-with-antifreeze

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Heather Hoffman Murders Alex Eckert

Heather Hoffman is a killer from North Dakota who was convicted of the murder of her ex boyfriend Alex Eckert

According to court documents Heather Hoffman and Alex Eckert were having a disagreement over child support payments that went way too far. The two would be in and out of court arguing over child custody and payments

When Heather Hoffman learned that Alex Eckert was getting more access to the child she would go over to his home where he would be fatally shot in the back of the head

Heather Hoffman would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole

Heather Hoffman Case

Life in prison without the chance of parole.

That’s the sentence handed down today in an hours-long sentencing, for the woman convicted of fatally shooting the father of her child in 2022.

In September a jury convicted Heather Hoffman of murder in the April 2022 shooting death of Alex Eckert, her ex and the father of her child.

For the first time, Eckert’s parents spoke out, telling the judge how their son’s death impacted their lives during victim impact statements Friday.

”I can easily tell you that Alex was one of the most intelligent people that I’ve ever met, I humbly ask the court that Ms. Hoffman, a murderous child abuser, receive the just sentence of life in prison without parole,” said Ryan Eckert, father of Alex Eckert.

Prosecutors say Hoffman and Eckert were in dispute over child custody and investigators say Hoffman fatally shot Eckert in the entryway of his northwest Minot apartment while confronting him on the matter. When given the chance to talk, Hoffman maintained her innocence, claiming others were responsible for Eckert’s death.

She pointed to the man who investigators say drove Hoffman to Eckert’s residence and who investigators say was unaware of her intentions.

”Claiming he’s stupid is the only way to cover why he is not also incarcerated in the discovery. He was told they’d rather him be a witness than a suspect and coerced and coached him until the story match the script,” said Hoffman. ”I am not the monster that everybody’s painting me to be,” he added.

Hoffman’s attorney acknowledged she was facing prison time but called for her to serve 35 years.

”Frankly judge, this is one of the strangest sentencing hearings I’ve ever participated in the 44 years I’ve been doing this,” said Steven Mottinger, attorney for Heather Hoffman.

Judge Gary Lee went with the state’s recommendation of life without parole.

”The facts as presented to the jury and as I briefly touched on above, pointed to an intentional premeditated planned attack on Alex Eckert and that attack ultimately took his life,” said Lee.

Hoffman’s attorney indicated she has already asked him to file for an appeal.

The child is in the care of Eckert’s family.

https://www.kfyrtv.com/2024/03/16/life-sentence-handed-down-heather-hoffman-murder-case-hoffman-appeal/

Heather Hoffman News

A North Dakota jury only needed two hours Tuesday to find a woman guilty of felony murder after the father of her child was found shot through his brainstem at his home amid a custody dispute.

The jury was persuaded by prosecutors in the Ward County State’s Attorney’s Office who said that Heather Renee Faith Hoffman, 26, was “desperate” during a child support dispute and wanted 22-year-old Alex Eckert dead. Prosecutors said she bragged about that openly at work — even saying that she could simply claim self-defense.

“I would submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that this was murder, beyond a reasonable doubt. This was [the defendant’s] plan. You saw the escalation. She was getting more desperate, more desperate. She was saying it at work, ‘Be better off if he’s gone, better off if he’s dead. I can say that it was self-defense,’” State’s Attorney Roza Larson said, according to the NBC and Fox affiliated local station KMOT.

In the lead-up to trial, prosecutors reportedly said that Eckert was found after midnight on April 21, 2022, shot in the face in the doorway of his Minot residence. The timing of the slaying was notable, as a judge had “recently ordered Hoffman to stop restricting Eckert’s access to his child and it upset Hoffman,” a probable cause affidavit detailed, The Dakotan reported.

Prosecutors alleged that there was evidence Hoffman explored buying plane tickets for two: herself and her infant daughter — Eckert’s child. The state further alleged that Hoffman attempted to shore up an alibi before the murder by downloading the family tracking app Life360. The defendant later offered up that the app’s data as ostensible proof that she couldn’t have been at the murder scene.

At the scene of the crime, cops found a shell casing for a .45 caliber round. Investigators also found a .45 caliber firearm around a block away — and authorities concluded that was the same gun Hoffman bought at gun show in Minot weeks before the shooting.

While prosecutors reportedly hammered away at the argument that Hoffman had every motive to kill, citing her own words, the defense floated an alternate suspect — the prosecution’s star witness — claiming Hoffman “was not in the vicinity when the shot was fired” but was instead at her sister’s residence.

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Hannah McMillin Murders 1 Month Old Son

Hannah McMillin is a killer from North Dakota who was convicted of the murder of her one month old son at a hotel

According to court documents Hannah McMillin was saying at a North Dakota with her husband Tank McMillin when she would smother her one month old son with a pillow. After the boy died Hannah would leave the room and went to the hotel spa

Authorities would be called to the hotel room where they would find the boy dead as well as a pillow with an imprint of the infant’s face in it

Hannah McMillin would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison

Tank McMillin would receive three and a half years in prison for his role in the murder

Hannah McMillin Now

hannah mcmillin today
NameMCMILLIN, HANNAH  SAGE
Date of Birth11/15/2000
Est. Release Date01/01/2100
FacilityDakota Womens Correctional and Rehabilitation Center    
440 Mckenzie Street  New England, ND58647

Hannah McMillin Case

A 21-year-old mother in North Dakota may spend the remainder of her days behind bars for the death of her 1-month-old son in a local hotel room almost three years ago.

Williams County District Court Judge Benjamen J. Johnson on Friday sentenced Hannah Sage McMillin to life in prison with the possibility of parole in the smothering-by-pillow death of her infant son in 2019, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

McMillin last year entered an Alford plea to the charge of murder in connection with her son’s death. Also known as a “best-interests plea,” an Alford plea means McMillin essentially accepts the result of a guilty plea while also claiming innocence and acknowledging the evidence was sufficient to convict.

“This is a tragedy for everyone involved,” Judge Johnson said before handing down the sentence, per The Associated Press.

Because she entered the Alford plea without reaching a deal with prosecutors, Hannah McMillin faced a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The only major difference in the end for her sentencing was the possibility of parole.

Officers with the Williston Police Department in April 2019 responded to a 911 call concerning a baby that was not breathing at the Four Points by Sheraton located on 2nd Avenue West, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found the infant unresponsive inside a room being rented by McMillin and her husband, Tank McMillin.

The baby was reportedly found underneath a pile of pillows, per a probable cause affidavit. Prosecutors reportedly said that one of the pillows located near the boy’s body had “what appeared to be the imprint of a small human face” on it.

Paramedics reportedly tried to resuscitate the child and transported him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The child reportedly sustained severe bruises that covered most of his body, including his stomach, back, sides, upper buttocks and feet.

After smothering the child, Hannah McMillin allegedly went to the pool/spa facilities in the hotel.

She and her husband were both taken into custody and initially charged with one count each of Class A felony child abuse, per court records.

According to Williams County Assistant State’s Attorney Nathan Madden, McMillin confessed to killing the child during a subsequent interview with investigators, the Williston Herald reported. She reportedly told police that when the child would not stop crying, she attempted to quiet him by squeezing him. When that did not work, she allegedly placed several pillows over and around the baby’s face and left them there until he ceased crying. McMillin reportedly said she did not want the baby’s cries to wake her husband.

An autopsy performed by the North Dakota Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly determined that the child’s death was a homicide caused by “forcible smothering.” Following the release of the medical examiner’s report, the charge against McMillin was upgraded to murder.

In court documents filed last year, prosecutors said that tests performed on the area of the pillow that appeared to have a face imprint came back positive for containing the baby’s DNA.

Hannah McMillin last year attempted to withdraw her Alford plea after her attorney, Kevin McCabe, reportedly said her husband admitted to his role in the infant’s death on recorded calls made from jail. That motion to withdraw McMillin’s plea was itself withdrawn last month, court records show.

Tank McMillin in 2020 pleaded guilty to felony child abuse and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and an additional five years of probation, per court records.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Johnson ordered McMillin to remain on parole for the remainder of her life and to register as an offender against children.

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