Lori Isenberg claimed her 68-year-old husband Larry had fallen overboard while fixing a stalled motor while they were out boating February 13, 2018 on Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho. His body had disappeared, but not forever. When his body was discovered weeks later, a toxicology report found fatal levels of Benadryl in his system.
Lori had waited two hours before calling 911 after her husband went overboard because she said she had left her phone on shore. Larry’s phone, however, had been on the boat.
She’s now serving a life sentence for his murder through an Alford plea, which means she maintains her innocence while acknowledging that there is evidence against her that would persuade a judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt. She was originally charged with first-degree murder, but the Alford plea reduced the charged to second-degree murder.
The 67-year-old woman was sentenced in May, 2021, and has to serve at least 30 years of her life sentence before she’s eligible for parole, partially because she had refused to accept full responsibility for Larry’s death despite pleading guilty.
She did, however, admit that she was “responsible” for Larry’s death. “It’s not easy, but I want you to see the good, the bad, the ugly,” Lori said at her sentencing, during which she spoke for over 45 minutes. “I emphatically know I am responsible for Larry’s death, and I’ve known that from the very first day.”
Weeks after Larry’s death, however, Lori was arrested for an entirely different crime: embezzlement. She had stolen more than $500,000 from her employer, the North Idaho Housing Coalition. Prosecutors claims that she had killed her husband so he would never find out about these charges.
“Kill Switch,” tonight’s episode of Dateline details the case and includes and interview with her daughter Amber Barnes, who has regrets about not helping out the investigation against her mother.
In 2019, her four daughters plead guilty for receiving embezzled money. They were sentenced to three years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and repayment of the money.
Dateline airs 9/8 c on NBC.
