Poisoned for a Fortune That Never Existed: The Murder of Steven Riley Jr. | Minot, North Dakota

In the fall of 2023, a man in Minot, North Dakota believed he was on the verge of inheriting more than $30 million from a relative he had never met. Within months, he was dead, poisoned with antifreeze by the woman who shared his home. But as investigators unraveled what happened, they uncovered a detail that made the case even more disturbing. The fortune Steven Edward Riley Jr. was killed for almost certainly never existed at all.

Steven Riley and Ina Kenoyer

Steven Riley Jr. and Ina Thea Kenoyer had been together for years, building a life in Minot, North Dakota after meeting in Washington State. Steven had a complicated history, including multiple arrests and periods of instability, but by 2023 he was trying to get his life back on track. He had gotten sober, found work where he could, and was working to rebuild his relationship with his sons. Then, in the spring of 2023, a letter arrived from what appeared to be a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, informing Steven that he was the sole heir to a $30 million estate left behind by a man named Marvin Walter Riley. Steven had never heard of Marvin Walter Riley. But the letter looked official, and the possibility was too significant to ignore.

The Inheritance and Richard Eglin

Over the following months, Steven communicated regularly with a man who identified himself as Richard Eglin, the attorney handling the estate. The two exchanged emails and phone calls as the process dragged on through the summer of 2023. By September, a meeting had finally been arranged. Rather than traveling to Switzerland, Steven was told he could meet Eglin at Minot International Airport after the attorney's flight arrived. On the night before that meeting, police body cameras captured Ina excitedly telling officers that Steven was about to receive a massive inheritance and that they would soon be paying off all their debts and moving to Ireland. Less than 24 hours later, Steven was dead.

The Investigation

On September 3rd, 2023, Steven collapsed after a series of airport meetings where Eglin never appeared. His friends pleaded with Ina to call 911, but she insisted he only had heatstroke and sent everyone home. Steven died on September 5th at the age of 51. His cause of death was ruled ethylene glycol poisoning. As investigators began looking into the case, witnesses came forward with alarming information. Several people told police that Ina had previously discussed poisoning Steven with antifreeze specifically, and she had already begun trying to sell his belongings before she even learned he had died. A search of their apartment turned up an old Windex bottle containing a bright green liquid and a plastic mug in the garage filled with antifreeze.

Ina's Police Interview

When detectives brought Ina in for a formal interview, what followed was more than ninety minutes of shifting timelines, contradictory accounts, and increasingly bizarre theories about how Steven might have come into contact with antifreeze. She suggested he may have accidentally smoked a cigarette that had fallen into antifreeze. She suggested the inheritance was cursed and that everyone in the United Kingdom who had tried to claim it had died. She named multiple friends as possible suspects. She claimed Steven had consumed 21 Coors Light beers in less than 10 hours. And throughout it all, she kept contradicting herself on nearly every detail. When detectives finally confronted her with the full list of inconsistencies, Ina asked for a lawyer. Then kept talking anyway.

The Verdict and the Truth About the Inheritance

On October 30th, 2023, Ina Thea Kenoyer was arrested and charged with the murder of Steven Edward Riley Jr. On May 29th, 2024, she pleaded guilty. On October 16th, 2024, she was sentenced to 50 years in prison with 25 years suspended, meaning she will serve a minimum of 25 years. But perhaps the most haunting detail of the entire case is what investigators determined about the inheritance itself. Police concluded that the $30 million estate almost certainly never existed. Every email sent to the address on the inheritance letter bounced back. Steven Riley was not murdered over a fortune. He was murdered over the illusion of one.