Latest news with #Richins
NBC News
01-07-2025
- NBC News
Grief author suspected of killing her husband indicted on new charges
The Utah mom facing charges for allegedly killing her husband and later publishing a children's book on how to cope with grief was indicted Friday in connection with a series of financial crimes related to his death. Kouri Richins, 34, was charged in connection with more than two dozen counts of mortgage fraud, forgery, issuing a bad check, money laundering, communications fraud, and a pattern of unlawful activity in the months before her husband, Eric Richins, 39, was poisoned in 2022. The new charges come more than two years after the mother of three was arrested and charged in connection with her husband's killing, which she pleaded not guilty to. According to the indictment, Richins used a power of attorney in 2019 to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit (HELOC) on a house her husband owned before they got married without his knowledge. She then allegedly invested the money in her real estate business. "The secret origination and continued existence of the HELOC was a source of tension between the Defendant and Eric Richins," the indictment says. "The Defendant 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." Eric Richins then allegedly consulted an estate planning lawyer in 2020 to "protect himself in the short-term from recently discovered and ongoing abuse and misuse of his finances by the Defendants, and to protect his three children in the long-term by ensuring that the Defendant would never be able to manage his property after his death," the indictment alleges. Richins is also accused of stealing more than $100,000 from her husband's business and spending tens of thousands of dollars on his credit cards, the indictment says. Kouri Richins' lawyers, Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis, said the new charges were "extremely troubling." "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 lawyers said in a statement. Kouri Richins' arrest gained national attention because she published a children's book titled 'Are You with Me?'— which tells the story of a child whose dead father watches over him as an angel — and promoted the book on national television. Eric Richins was found unresponsive in the pair's Utah home — about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City — after having had a cocktail to celebrate his wife's business deal. Five times the lethal dose of 'illicit,' non-medical-grade fentanyl was found in his system, according to the local medical examiner's office. His murder trial is scheduled to begin in February 2026.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
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. Her April trial was delayed when her attorneys said they wished to appeal a decision to only allow jurors from Summit County, as the court declined Richins' request to also have jurors from Salt Lake County. Richins is a mother and real estate agent who is charged with murdering her husband and attempting to murder him a month earlier. She was charged over a year after his death. With the new trial, her attorneys asked for more time to select a jury — since now it will come from only residents of Summit County — and for the trial itself to be one week longer than initially planned because of the length of the witness list. Kathy Nester said Richins may testify, and if she does, it would be 'very lengthy.' Other witnesses will also need a lot of time, in addition to video and audio tapes, Nester said. In Friday's hearing, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik also set dates for additional hearings before the trial and asked attorneys to work together to decide when certain documents will be filed in order to have everything ready for the trial. There are currently four motions ready for oral argument and a decision, including requests to exclude the defense's expert witnesses, a motion from Richins' attorneys to not allow the 'Walk the Dog!!' letter into trial and prosecutor's request to bring evidence," Mrazik said. Kouri Richins' attorneys said they still wish to file at least one motion to ask for additional evidence to not be allowed in trial. Mrazik said the court will send jury questionnaires to 2,000 people, which is more than were sent for the previously scheduled trial. The court planned for six days to question jurors, with 40 potential jurors coming in each day. On March 4, 2022, Richins called dispatch to report her husband, Eric Richins, 39, was unresponsive in the early morning hours. She is accused of administering a fatal dose of fentanyl that night and has also been charged with giving a lethal dose of drugs to her husband on Valentine's Day, less than three weeks before. She was ordered to stand trial for aggravated murder and attempted murder, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Richins will face a separate trial for two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two additional counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Her attorneys said in a statement after the hearing that they are relieved she has a trial date and are confident 'once the facts are heard it will be clear to all that Kouri is innocent.' 'She is ready for the truth to come out — and of the false narratives that have defined this case to be confronted in a court of law,' they said. Richins' next hearing will be on Aug. 1.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Utah Supreme Court declines to consider appeal in Kouri Richins' murder case
Prosecutors asked a judge to lift a stay and schedule a jury trial in Kouri Richins' Summit County murder case after the Utah Supreme Court declined Richins' request to review a decision — a request that led to the delay of her April trial. The Utah Supreme Court issued its decision Friday after reviewing Richins' request for an appeal of Judge Richard Mrazik's decision to keep her jury in Summit County rather than move it to Salt Lake County and prosecutors' response. In the short document, it cited rule 5 of Utah's appellate court procedure which says it should only grant an interlocutory appeal, or an appeal of a decision that is not the final outcome of the case, if the order being appealed involves 'substantial rights' and may have a large impact on the final decision in a case. Richins, a Kamas mother and real estate agent, is charged with fatally poisoning her husband. She was arrested a year after his death, and in that year published a children's book featuring their children dealing with grief. Deputy Summit County attorney Margaret Olsen filed a request to set a hearing where a new trial can be scheduled along with other case deadlines later on Friday. Richins' attorneys had not yet responded on Tuesday. Mrazik denied the request to move the trial to Salt Lake County weeks before it was scheduled to start in Summit County, but granted the request to delay the trial while Richins' attorneys filed the appeal. He reviewed motions and heard arguments about multiple community surveys and media coverage when considering whether Richins could have a fair trial with a Summit County jury. Ultimately, he determined a fair jury could be found in Summit County. He said much of the media attention was from Salt Lake County outlets, both Kouri Richins and her husband grew up outside of Summit County and the population of Summit County is not homogenous. Richins, 35, is charged with murder in the March 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who was 39. She was later charged with attempting to murder him weeks earlier on Valentine's Day. She was ordered to stand trial on the charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Richins will face a separate trial for two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two additional counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. This story may be updated.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Judge denies request for more testimony as Kouri Richins' case moves ‘full speed ahead' to trial
A judge on Friday ruled against letting Kouri Richins' attorneys question more detectives. Attorneys for Richins — a Kamas mom accused of killing her husband and then writing a children's book about grief — had asked the court to reopen the opportunity for testimony about what evidence should be presented at trial, including audio from an interview along with cellphone and electronic data. The defense attorneys claimed there were problems with a state's witness testimony at a recent hearing. Summit County prosecutors called the request "a cheap litigation trick" and claimed the request was based on feelings rather than fact. Prosecutors explained that although one officer testified about not knowing Richins had an attorney, another officer when preparing for the hearing had said he did know she had an attorney. In response to prosecutors calling the defense attorneys' request "desperate" and "poppycock," Richins' attorneys said they "will not sink to that level, and we will continue to do what we must to protect our client's rights and hold the prosecution accountable for their actions." Richins' attorney Kathryn Nester said a summary provided to the defense team by prosecutors said three witnesses had relayed conversations about whether or not Richins could be interviewed. Third District Judge Richard Mrazik said during a hearing on Friday that regardless of whether the officers knew Richins had an attorney, the interview did not violate her Sixth Amendment rights. He said the discussion of what the officer knew is irrelevant to the Sixth Amendment because prosecutors had not yet filed charges or committed to prosecuting her. He said this is a different question than her Fifth Amendment rights, which concern whether she had a right to counsel. Richins' attorneys at the hearing on Friday said prosecutors and officers discussed whether to interview Richins on that day, which she claimed also breached attorney conduct rules. Mrazik said they could talk about that aspect again in court, but he would need her to provide Utah case law about it first. During the hearing, attorneys also discussed the jury questionnaire in detail, but the judge said it would not be sent out yet because Richins' attorneys plan to ask for the jury trial to be held in another venue, likely Salt Lake County. On Tuesday, Utah's Supreme Court issued a final decision confirming decisions made by the 3rd District Court that the jury selection in the case would be remote and that jurors could be pulled only from Summit County. Mrazik had said he was fine with the request to have jury selection in person and to include potential jurors from Salt Lake County, something attorneys on both sides agreed on, but the decision was ultimately up to the presiding judge in the district. Likely because these requests were denied, Richins attorneys are seeking to instead have the jury trial in Salt Lake County with jurors who may be less familiar with the case and people involved in it. On March 4, attorneys will present oral arguments around what evidence can be shown at trial. Richins is also scheduled for hearings on March 17 and 18 to discuss other motions before her trial begins in April. Mrazik encouraged the attorneys to work together on timing and said there has been no motion to delay the trial. If there was a request to delay the trial, he would be "disinclined" to grant it. He said "it is full speed ahead" toward trial, noting to the attorneys that pressure from the time is only going to increase as it gets closer. Richins was arrested in 2023 and later charged with murder in the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who was 39. During the year between his death and her arrest, Kouri Richins published a children's book about grief. She is accused of administering a fatal dose of fentanyl to her husband in March 2022 and has also been charged with giving him a lethal dose of drugs on Valentine's Day a few weeks earlier. The jury during Richins' upcoming trial will be asked to determine whether she is guilty of charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder, first-degree felonies; two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, a second-degree felony; and one count of forgery, a third-degree felony.
