A US dentist is accused of killing his wife on safari in Zambia

Larry Rudolph is accused of killing his wife while on a safari in Zambia.

OborRakyatNews.com - Lawrence and Bianca Rudolph shared a passion for big game hunting.

In late September 2016, the couple traveled from their Phoenix home to the southern African nation of Zambia, where Bianca Rudolph was determined to add a leopard to her collection of animal trophies. They carried two guns for the hunt: a Remington .375 rifle and a Browning 12-gauge shotgun.

After killing other animals during the two-week trip -- but not a leopard -- Bianca Rudolph never made it home. She suffered a fatal shotgun blast in their hunting cabin at dawn as she was packing to return to Phoenix, federal prosecutors allege in court documents.

Now Lawrence Rudolph, 67, is charged with foreign murder and mail fraud in the death of his wife of 30 years. He has pleaded not guilty, and took the stand in his own defense this week at his trial in Denver, CNN affiliate KMGH reported.

"I did not kill my wife. I could not murder my wife. I would not murder my wife," he told jurors.

Rudolph told investigators he heard the shot while he was in the bathroom and believed the shotgun accidentally went off as she was putting it in its case, court documents say. He found her bleeding on the floor of their cabin at Kafue National Park, he says.