ERIC RICHINS: Utah vs. Kouri Richins - Murder via fentanyl poisoning (2 Viewers)

Don't know why defenses and defendants keep trying the appeal thing lately about all under the sun BEFORE trial even. Seems to me those courts rarely choose to get involved and it almost always fails. I guess it delays and also is one last shot at something.

New jury trial set for Kamas mother charged with killing her husband​

A request for an appeal in Kouri Richins' case has caused a 10-month delay in her case.

New jury trial dates were scheduled in a virtual hearing on Friday, with jury selection beginning on Feb. 10, 2026, and the trial beginning two weeks later on Feb. 23.

Tons of details and tons of fraud. AllI can say is this woman never owned a business nor paid for one thing in her life by herself without stealing or defrauding. She didn't know how to do **** other than try to act successful. What a dumb b*tch.

Murder suspect Kouri Richins faces 26 new felony charges​

Kouri Darden Richins, slated to go on trial in February for allegedly killing her husband, is now facing a slew of new criminal charges.

Richins, 34, was charged Friday in Summit County's 3rd District Court with five counts of mortgage fraud, seven counts of money laundering, one count of communications fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies; plus five counts of forgery and seven counts of issuing a bad check, third-degree felonies.

She was also originally charged with two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. But a judge ruled those charges should be addressed in a separate trial. Now, she faces more than two dozen financial-related felony charges that prosecutors say tie into Eric Richins' death.


Richins' attorneys questioned the timing of the new charges.

"This sudden push to file new fraud charges over two years later underscores the weakness of the state's pending murder charges, since these fraud charges would not even come into play unless they fail to secure a conviction. The timing is also extremely troubling in light of the fact that the parties are trying to seat an impartial jury in Summit County," defense attorneys Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis said in a statement Friday.


According to the charging documents filed Friday, in early 2019, Kouri Richins "used a power of attorney to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit on Eric Richins' premarital home without his knowledge. … (She) used the proceeds from the HELOC to initially fund K. Richins Realty and hard money loans to finance its ongoing operations."

Eric Richins learned of the home equity line of credit in October 2020, which prosecutors say "was a source of tension between (Kouri) and Eric Richins. (She) informed Eric Richins that she would repay the loan and led Eric Richins to believe that she had repaid it. The HELOC was not paid off on the day of Eric Richins' death," the charges state.

Prosecutors note in the charging documents that in the five months prior to Eric Richins' death, K. Richins Reality was in debt.

"Despite K. Richins Realty's existing debt and insufficient revenue, (Kouri Richins) continued to use hard money loans to purchase three additional properties in November 2021. When (she) closed on the three properties on Nov. 30, 2021, she added $1.1 million in high-interest debt to her already staggering and unserviceable debt load. By that day, she had already defaulted on one loan and was delinquent on several others. She continued efforts to borrow from new high-interest lenders to meet her existing obligations. By the end of 2021, (she) stood on the precipice of total financial collapse," the charges allege.

On Dec. 23, 2021, Richins contracted to purchase an unfinished mansion in Midway "using $2.9 million in high-interest debt due in six months, even though she lacked the financial ability to service the additional debt, refinance the debt, rehabilitate the property, or otherwise dispose of the property," the charges say. "On the day of Eric Richins' death, K. Richins Realty owed hard money lenders at least $1.8 million; and the day after Eric Richins' death, it owed them nearly $5 million."

At the time of his death, Eric Richins' estate was worth approximately $5 million, according to prosecutors. He also had several life insurance policies, some of which Kouri Richins "mistakenly believed" she was the beneficiary of, the court documents state.

Eric Richins’ family spokesperson asks murder trial judge to block subpoena​

Attorney Greg Skordas says the June 23 subpoena from Kouri Richins’ defense team asks him to turn over all of his communications with Eric Richins’ family.

But those records are subject to victim-advocate privilege and shouldn’t be released, Skordas said in his July 8 court petition to block the subpoena.

The court papers also claim the defense wants copies of the Salt Lake City-based lawyer’s retainer agreement and checks payable to him from Eric Richins’ family.

Such records don’t exist, he says, because he’s serving as a pro bono spokesperson and victim advocate for the family, not as an attorney.


Also included in the subpoena is the defense’s request for access to all communications between Skordas and Summit County prosecutors and specific investigators. The petition says Skordas has never spoken to the named investigators.

He also claims that “almost none” of the communications with prosecutors — emails, letters, text messages or other correspondence — have anything to do with, or relevance to, the pending Kouri Richins murder trial.

The subpoena is seeking communications with prosecutors back to March 3, 2022, the day before Eric Richins’ death. Skordas says it’s “unduly burdensome” to produce three years and three months of communications.

He says Kathy Nester, the defense attorney who served him, should be sanctioned by Judge Richard Mrazik for not taking measures to make sure the subpoena isn’t burdensome. He says the subpoena should have been limited to communications relevant to Kouri Richins' case.

Utah state courts say a sanction can include, “but is not limited to, lost earnings and a reasonable attorney fee.” The fee would apparently go to Skordas.

Kouri Richins’ defense team declined to comment.

Trust her to try to do something rotten as this.

Kouri Richins defense says it’s swamped with 11 terabytes of potential evidence​

According to defense attorney Wendy Lewis, there’s upwards of 11 terabytes of information the Summit County Attorney’s Office has produced as it gathered evidence for its prosecution of Kouri Richins.

One terabyte is the maximum amount of information a single top-of-the-line iPhone can store.


As prosecutors pursue both first-degree felonies and complex fraud charges, defense attorneys say the process lawyers call “discovery” has gotten unwieldy.

“I don't mean anything that has anything to do with whether she killed her husband or not. I'm talking about just the universe of prosecuting Kouri Richins has become outrageous,” defense attorney Kathy Nester said.

Third District Judge Richard Mrazik conferred with both sides Aug. 1 at a routine pretrial conference.

He noted that it’s a best practice from the perspective of prosecutors to overproduce rather than underproduce evidence.

But he still ordered the prosecutors to send the defense a draft version of their witness list and exhibits for the murder trial. That may shrink the amount of work needed to identify what's important in the data, which sometimes includes duplicate documents.

Prosecutor's final exhibits and witness list is due Oct. 31.

The trial was previously scheduled for spring 2025, but was pushed back as both sides asked the Utah Supreme Court to weigh in on jury-related issues.

The next pretrial conference to discuss how to manage the volume of data is Dec. 5.

Lawyers for Utah grief author charged with fatally spiking husband's drink say key witness recanted​

Attorneys for Kouri Richins, the Utah mom charged with spiking her husband’s drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl in 2022, accused prosecutors of failing to turn over evidence after a key witness recanted his statement.

Prosecutors had alleged that Richins purchased the fentanyl used to kill Eric Richins from her housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, after Lauber said she procured the pills from a man named Robert Crozier.

But in court documents filed Thursday, Richins’ attorneys said members of the prosecution team interviewed Crozier in April, and he denied giving Lauber fentanyl. The filings state that prosecutors failed to notify the defense.

“The prosecution has been aware of this exculpatory evidence since April of this year. The prosecution did not inform the defense of this information,” the documents say. “No press release was issued. No reports. Nothing. The prosecution just kept quiet.”

The Summit County Attorney’s Office said it "does not comment on pending matters" and "will respond in the public record in 14 days as allowed" under court rules.

A spokesperson for Eric Richins' family did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.


During the April interview, Crozier told prosecutors that he sold OxyContin to Lauber, not fentanyl, according to the court documents filed by Richins’ team. Prosecutors asked Crozier why he told detectives in a 2023 interview that he had sold her fentanyl. Crozier said he did not recall saying that, and he was detoxing at the time and was “out of it,” the court filings state.

Richins’ lawyers said they only became aware that Crozier had changed his statement after they interviewed him last month. They said that Lauber believes she sold Richins fentanyl because that’s what she thought Crozier gave her.

“If the state cannot place fentanyl in the hands of the defendant, the state has no case. Mr. Crozier’s statement doesn’t just poke holes in their case, it throws a grenade into the middle of it leaving them nothing but speculation and conjecture, getting them nowhere near the realm of beyond a reasonable doubt,” Richins’ attorneys said.

It's VERY possible the oxy was laced with fentanyl, so both versions could be true.

He could very well be lying now and was telling the truth early on. He certainly won't be the best witness no matter which claim is true. There is still the fact that he died from Fentanyl overdose and that she was the one with the opportunity and present, and they still have the housekeeper who can say Kouri requested fentanyl and she got it for her or (thought she did as defense is claiming). What is more accurate considering the facts? I'd say that it was Fentanyl. She requested it, she got something and he died from fentanyl. I don't know that it really changes the case that much.

I wonder if he'd be in worse trouble for one over the other and that's his reason for denial now...

Prosecutors refute alleged dealer's claim in Kouri Richins murder case​

Prosecutors in the Kouri Richins murder case say a recent about-face by the man accused of providing the fentanyl used to kill Richins' husband is not credible.

And regardless of his claims, the Summit County Attorney's Office says there is still substantial evidence for a jury to find Richins guilty of murder.


The two defense motions were filed in early October: one seeking reconsideration of bail and conditions for her release, and a second requesting that the Summit County Attorney's Office hand over exculpatory evidence. Both motions are based on Crozier's new claim that he did not give Lauber fentanyl.

But in their responses to the motions filed Thursday, prosecutors say "Robert Crozier's recent assertion that he 'understood' that the pills he sold Carmen Lauber contained only OxyContin does not amount to a material change in circumstance. Regardless, substantial evidence exists to support the aggravated murder charge notwithstanding Mr. Crozier's recent assertion."


Prosecutors further argue that "Mr. Crozier's recent assertion that the pills he sold Ms. Lauber contained only OxyContin does not withstand modest scrutiny. He doesn't know the composition of the pills because, as the defense often notes, they were never tested. He was a low-level street dealer who got the pills from an unidentified 'source' at a time when nearly every pill on the street contained some amount of fentanyl.

"Ultimately, of course, Mr. Crozier's interview is corroborated by the constellation of means, motive, and opportunity evidence against (Richins) and the toxicology results showing that Eric Richins died of fentanyl poisoning. Mr. Crozier's recent assertion does not amount to a material change in circumstances because it is not credible," the motion states.

Court denies Kouri Richins bail for third time ahead of murder trial​

In October, Kouri Richins asked a Summit County judge to grant her bail on the grounds that new case evidence supports her claim of innocence.

Monday, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik disagreed, rejecting her pretrial release for the third time.


Kouri Richins is scheduled to go to trial on five felonies, including aggravated murder and attempted criminal homicide, in February. She has pleaded not guilty on all counts and maintains her innocence.

Prosecutors argue her motive was partly financial, and in a separate case, brought 26 additional financial felony charges against her this summer. Richins’ initial appearance before Mrazik on those is scheduled for Dec. 5.

SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:

Court denies Kouri Richins bail for third time ahead of murder trial

Defense attorneys said a witness recanted a sworn statement, but the judge says prosecutors have other evidence too.

www.kpcw.org

Court denies Kouri Richins bail for third time ahead of murder trial​

In October, Kouri Richins asked a Summit County judge to grant her bail on the grounds that new case evidence supports her claim of innocence.

Monday, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik disagreed, rejecting her pretrial release for the third time.


Kouri Richins is scheduled to go to trial on five felonies, including aggravated murder and attempted criminal homicide, in February. She has pleaded not guilty on all counts and maintains her innocence.

Prosecutors argue her motive was partly financial, and in a separate case, brought 26 additional financial felony charges against her this summer. Richins’ initial appearance before Mrazik on those is scheduled for Dec. 5.

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i watched a bit on this today I think on Lawyer Lee, not all, and she said the judge came down against the defense, doubled down almost, and denied release and what that means, etc. if anyone wants an interpretation of it, she had one. Anyhow, just one person that covered it. I didn't watch it all but it was short, 17 minutes I think.