Dateline Unforgettable: What Happened to Larry Isenberg?

Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.

Dateline: Unforgettable plans to re-examine the brutal murder of Larry Isenberg that took place in February 2018. The episode, titled “Kill Switch,” will reveal startling details about the case to know more about Isenberg’s untimely death. Additionally, the episode will shed light on how authorities investigated the case and concluded that his wife, Lori Isenberg, was responsible for the crime. It will air on Oxygen on Thursday, August 1, at 8 p.m. ET.

As per Oxygen, the synopsis of the episode reads, “Keith Morrison revisits a story where he was unusual would be putting it mildly. At first, it appeared to be a drowning accident during a romantic sunset cruise. But soon Idaho investigators suspected something more sinister.”

While covering the case, The Washington Post reported that Larry Isenberg and Lori Isenberg planned to have romantic getaway at a popular spot. However, Lori alleged that when her husband inspected a broken motor of their boat, he fell into the lake. She further claimed that she tried saving him but couldn’t. After finding her husband over an hour, she finally called 911 and requested assistance from the authorities.

However, a few days later, Larry Isenberg’s body was found floating around Sun Up Bay, and his body was sent for an autopsy. Per KXLY, the report discovered that Larry didn’t die because of drowning. Moreover, the medical examiner found lethal levels of Benadryl in his body. As the investigation continued, police charged Lori Isenberg with first-degree murder in her husband’s case in February 2020. 

What happened to Larry Isenberg & how did he die?

As mentioned above, Lori Isenberg told the authorities that Larry Isenberg had fallen into the lake while checking their boat’s broken motor. According to her, he drowned and died. However, the autopsy found a lethal level of Benadryl in his system. The report also mentioned that the examiner didn’t find any “visible” signs of stroke and no evidence of drowning.

After police charged her with Larry’s murder, all her previous crimes also surfaced. According to The Washington Post, on the day of Larry’s alleged accident, it was discovered that Lori was “no longer employed” at the North Idaho Housing Coalition because of financial fraud. 

Later, police apprehended her and charged her for stealing money worth $500,000 from the organization she worked for. The Washington Post reported the money was given to the housing coalition so that it could be used to help families with low incomes. Citing the federal prosecutors, the outlet revealed that Lori Isenberg began stealing over $16,000 per month in 2015.

Additionally, her four daughters assisted her in executing the fraud and received the money. The prosecutors stated that Lori came forward as someone who was “concerned about easing the way for those less fortunate.” Moreover, prosecutors revealed that she stole the money so that she could help her daughters, who were not doing well financially. 

The Washington Post also reported that Lori Isenberg made “handwritten” changes to Larry Isenberg’s will. Although she asked for forgiveness, Lori didn’t appear at the hearing and hid for almost two months. However, in 2019, Lori pleaded guilty to the fraud charges and received a sentence of five years in prison. On the other hand, her daughters pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft. The court sentenced them to three years in probation.

According to the Associated Press, in February 2021, Lori took a plea deal in Larry Isenberg’s murder case and pleaded guilty to killing her husband. The court sentenced her to life in prison with a minimum of 30 years behind the bars, per The Spokesman-Review.