Charles Crane/MDN Ina Thea Kenoyer, left, exits the North Central District courtroom in Minot with her attorney Tyler Morrow on Wednesday.

A Minot woman who pleaded guilty to poisoning her boyfriend to death with antifreeze to collect a purported $30 million inheritance in September 2023 has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison.

Ina Thea Kenoyer, 48, Minot, appeared in North Central District Court in Minot before Judge Richard Hagar on Wednesday, having entered a change of plea to the Class AA felony murder charge on May 26. Kenoyer was arrested for the murder of her longtime boyfriend Steven Edward Riley Jr., 51, on Oct. 30, 2023, after an investigation by the Minot Police Department.

District Court Judge Richard Hagar accepted the joint sentencing recommendation from Kenoyer’s attorney Tyler Morrow and Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson for 50 years in prison, to first serve 25 years, followed by 10 years of supervised probation. Kenoyer also will pay $3,455 in restitution to Riley’s family.

Victim impact statements were provided to the court by Riley’s sister, Stephanie Gonzalez, and his son, Ryan Riley, who both appeared over ITV. Gonzalez said she was still processing how Kenoyer could take her brother’s life, lie to her nephew about the circumstances of his death and try to sell his vehicle while he was dying at the hospital.

“This must be a heinous person with no soul. My mother is 71 years old and now gets to spend the rest of her elderly life, not in happiness, but in sorrow, grief and heartache,” Gonzalez said. “Regardless of what your final sentence will be, it will be too good for you. Like the families of any victim feels, the punishment should fit the crime. Fortunately for you, the Department of Corrections doesn’t put antifreeze in the iced tea.”

Ryan Riley said his father’s death has been difficult for his entire family, and particularly for him as he had just started laying the foundation to rekindle his relationship with his father before he was murdered.

“I don’t think there’s anything more important than family. To have you take away someone so important, it’s just hurtful. I can’t even find the words to describe how I feel and how much it burdens everyone. I just wish none of this ever happened. I never expected to lose my dad to something so selfish,” Ryan Riley said.

Kenoyer remained silent when asked by Hagar if she had a statement of her own.

According to court documents, Kenoyer and Riley believed he was to be the recipient of a $30 million inheritance, and he planned to meet with an attorney at the Minot Airport on Sept. 3, 2023, to complete the transaction. Investigators determined Kenoyer poisoned Riley the day of the airport meeting to collect a share of his inheritance after his death, believing their 10 year relationship qualified her as his common law wife. North Dakota does not recognize common law marriages.

Court documents state several friends of the couple told investigators that Riley planned to end the relationship after he received the money and that Kenoyer was aware of his intentions in the days leading up to the planned meeting with the attorney. Investigators with the Minot Police Department have stated they do not believe the $30 million windfall Riley expected to receive ever existed. The individual who was communicating with Riley about the inheritance has not been identified.

Kenoyer told investigators she was aware of the inheritance and planned to split the money with Riley’s son. Kenoyer became angry and upset after investigators informed her that she wouldn’t be entitled to any of the money under state law.

Riley fell ill the evening of the airport meeting. When the purported attorney never showed up, and Riley’s condition worsened, Kenoyer rebuffed attempts from others to seek medical treatment for him, saying he was only suffering from heat stroke, and brought him home to rest.

Despite Kenoyer telling a concerned friend that Riley had gone to a walk-in clinic the morning of Sept. 5, 2023, the friend was unable to locate him at any clinic or the local emergency room. Riley was transported to the emergency room several hours later in a state of unconsciousness before being flown to a hospital in Bismarck. Riley never regained consciousness and died on Sept. 5, 2023.

After learning of his death, Riley’s friends and family reported to Minot Police their concern that Kenoyer had poisoned him with antifreeze. The witnesses stated Kenoyer had made comments in the past about poisoning him with the substance. The witnesses also stated that Kenoyer had made comments at the hospital that he had been poisoned with antifreeze before they were told of Riley’s death.

An autopsy determined Riley’s cause of death was ethylene glycol poisoning after testing found toxic levels of the substance in his blood.

A search warrant was executed at the couple’s home, which found a glass Coors light bottle and plastic mug that both had traces of suspected antifreeze, along with an old Windex bottle containing bright green liquid. Kenoyer admitted to investigators she had been making Riley sweet tea throughout the day of the airport meeting. Ethylene glycol is added to antifreeze to make it sweet to the taste, which the affidavit of probable cause noted can easily be disguised in sweet drinks.