An Idaho woman has been arrested in the poisoning death of her husband who she claimed drowned in a boating accident on a lake two years ago.
Search crews recovered the body of Larry Isenberg, 68, in March 2018, a month after he fell into Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Mother-of-six Laurcene ‘Lori’ Isenberg, 66, was booked into the Kootenai County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder, accused of planning to kill her husband by intentionally creating the situation in which he was submerged in the lake and died, court documents say.
Laurcene ‘Lori’ Isenberg, 66, was booked into the Kootenai County Jail Monday (left) on a charge of first-degree murder. She is accused of poisoning her husband, Larry Isenberg (right), 68, and causing him to drown in an Idaho lake in February 2018
Isenberg’s charges also cite poison, lying in wait or torture as potential factors in the killing. Larry Isenberg’s body contained lethal levels of Benadryl, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The autopsy found he had an astonishing 7,100 nanograms of the allergy drug in his system, while 100 nanograms to 1,000 nanograms is considered normal.
A week after her husband died, Isenberg wrote a letter to friends and family detailing the events, which was obtained by The Spokesman-Review.
Despite’s Larry’s recent bout with the flu, the couple took the boat out February 13 to see the sunrise, the motor stalled, Isenberg wrote, and her husband fell overboard while leaning over the motor.
Isenberg wrote that she tried to reach Larry but tripped over a space heater, hitting her head.
Lori claimed Larry fell overboard as the two were boating on Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho
Isenberg said after ‘frantically’ looking for Larry, she eventually found his phone and called for help. She told a detective she waited two hours because she didn’t want to leave the area where her husband fell into the water.
Her account of Larry’s health diverged from that of his friends, who told police Isenberg texted them that morning of February 13 to say he felt better.
A friend also said on February 13, Larry sent him a ‘thumbs-up’ emoji despite never having used an emoji in his life. Lori, however, was known to use the emoji regularly.
Lori pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January 2019 and was sentenced to five years in federal prison for embezzling from her employer
Isenberg was later charged with embezzling half-a-million dollars from her former employer, the North Idaho Housing Coalition.
She pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January 2019 and was sentenced to five years in federal prison for embezzling from the organization.
Four of Lori Isenberg’s daughters have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking money from their mother that was embezzled.
Investigators also discovered handwritten changes had been made to Larry Isenberg’s will to give 80 per cent of the retired forester’s estate to his wife’s six daughters and 20 percent to his own two children.
Isenberg has continually been under investigation for her husband’s death, including a January 31 grand jury indictment that eventually led to the murder charges filed this week.
In an interview with KHQ after Lori’s arrest, Larry’s adult son, Dean Isenberg, speculated that his stepmother was trying to keep his father from finding out about her financial crimes.
‘As far as we all knew, they had a great marriage,’ the younger Isenberg said. ‘It was something you could model your own relationship off of. It seemed like everything was perfect. Dad was happy. No one knew what was going on behind the scenes.’
Lori Isenberg was brought to Kootenai County in Idaho from the SeaTac federal detention center in Seattle Monday, according to court documents. Her bond was set at $2million. She is due back in court next Tuesday.