Viswa Vanapalli
In October 2016, Bianca Rudolph suddenly died in what appeared to be an accident while on a hunting trip with her husband, Lawrence. But as the years rolled on, the authorities began to discover there was more to the story. Amidst insurance claims and extra-marital affairs, it became clear that she had been murdered. ABC News’ ‘20/20: The Last Hunt’ chronicles this very story. As part of the case against Lawrence, the prosecution had Brian Lovelace, a former bartender, testify about a conversation Lawrence had with the woman he was having an affair with, Lori Milliron.
Brian Lovelace Was a Key Witness for Prosecutors
Bianca and Lawrence had traveled to a national park in Zambia, Africa, for a hunting trip in September 2016. Everything seemed to be going well until a few days into the trip when Bianca was suddenly found with a shotgun wound to her chest. At the time, Lawrence told officials it could’ve been an accident, only to then quickly have the body cremated. Over time, though, authorities began to suspect the death was not accidental and began investigating.
In the meantime, Lawrence appeared to have moved on in life as he soon began living with his girlfriend, Lori Millirion, with whom he’d been having an affair while Bianca was alive. At one point, the couple visited Steak 44, a restaurant outside Phoenix, Arizona, where they were regulars. Working there one night as a bartender was Brian Lovelace, who became the state’s closing witness during Lawrence’s trial in July 2022.
That’s because Brian vividly remembered seeing Lawrence and Lori argue at the time. On the show, he mentioned that the former was close to his girlfriend’s face and was trying not to be loud. As he was serving them, the music stopped and he heard Lawrence say, “I killed my f—g wife for you!” After that, he claimed Lori stormed off, with Lawrence right behind her.
Brian tried to make sense of the phrase at the time to no avail, and months later, the couple returned to the restaurant as if nothing had happened. Then, one of Brian’s colleagues told the FBI about the conversation, but he didn’t initially want to get involved. Brian further stated that the federal authorities didn’t seem too interested in what he had to say at the time.
However, the prosecution eventually called Brian to the stand to testify in July 2022. In response, Lawrence’s team claimed he had only heard part of a sentence. According to them, the dentist was talking about something else and had learned about the FBI looking into Bianca’s death. He claimed to have said, “I have bigger issues! They’re saying I f—g killed my wife for you!” The defense further stated the couple was arguing about his son being on the office payroll at the time.
Brian Lovelace is a Proud Family Man and an Entrepreneur
Ultimately, Brian wasn’t sure about what Lawrence actually said that night. He admitted to not hearing the words before the statement because of the music. On the show, he even mentioned not knowing the context but was sure Lawrence uttered those words. He later said, “There’s injustice on all sides, and African-Americans and minorities, they get railroaded.”
Brian added, “At the same time, there are clearly times where there’s a martyr — they wanna take down that white, powerful person because of their money and their stature. And it’s definitely curious to me, of all the cold cases: What’s the agenda here when you go real hard at someone? It makes you question everything.”
As for Brian’s current standing, he lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the moment. He is a Finance graduate from the University of Connecticut, but he now serves as the CEO and Founder of a lifestyle streaming platform called LivLive. We should also mention he has been married to his loving wife Amber for over a decade, with whom he shares two young children, a son and a daughter.
