Kouri Richins, the Kamas mother of three who authored a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband, and is now charged with his murder, will remain in jail while she is on trial.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik on Monday denied a request to allow Kouri Richins to post bail, which means she will remain in the Summit County Jail throughout court proceedings. Mrazik this week indicated the evidence presented by prosecutors weighed soundly against granting pretrial release of any kind, noting the potential punishment of 20 years in prison to the death penalty.
The judge noted the possibility of such a sentence could cause people to resort to desperate acts such as harming themselves or others, and he added that the uniquely dangerous nature of fentanyl also played a role in the decision. He said Kouri’s alleged conduct is especially dangerous and that it could not be adequately managed by pretrial release.
The court ruling came around four hours after three experts – the lead Summit County detective on the case, a former homicide detective turned private investigator with experience analyzing cellphone data, and the principal managing partner of a financial forensics firm – discussed evidence related to the March 2022 death of Eric Richins.
Prosecutors were tasked with proving there is enough substantial evidence in the case to support the charges, which included interviews with witnesses, financial records and cellphone data. Defense attorneys for Kouri Richins, meanwhile, attempted to poke holes in the testimony.
Kouri broke down in tears as Detective Jeff O’Driscoll took the stand and discussed the day first responders were called to the Richins home in Kamas for an unresponsive man.
He said the investigation led detectives to interview a woman, known as C.L., who was a housekeeper for the Richins’ personal home as well as properties Kouri owned through her real estate business. C.L. told deputies Kouri contacted her to procure fentanyl for an “investor with a back injury,” and later requested more.
Eric Richins died after ingesting five times the lethal dose of fentanyl.
O’Driscoll testified that C.L. has a drug history and was facing unrelated charges in another county. He said C.L. agreed to cooperate with law enforcement regarding the Richins case because she was upset about Eric’s death.
But Kouri’s legal team, led by Skye Lazaro, argued law enforcement made promises to help the woman if she provided enough detail that would ensure Kouri is convicted of murder. Lazaro implied C.L. was motivated to give information to reduce her own sentence, and that she is not a credible witness. The defense attorney also argued there are no independent eyewitnesses who can confirm Kouri purchased drugs from C.L., that fentanyl was not located in the home, and that cellphone mapping data doesn’t put the two women together.
Christopher Kotrodimos, the expert witness who reviewed carrier and cell data records, stated the mapping data could not be collected by the provider, not that it didn’t exist.
His testimony focused on the movement of technology devices throughout the Richins home on March 3 – as Kouri told deputies she was asleep and had not accessed her phone until making the 911 call – as well as gaps in data, which he said is the result of the defendant deleting messages off her cellphone.
“In the weeks prior to the death there is … a lot of that is missing,” he said.
Kotrodimos said data shows Kouri unlocked her phone at 3:07 a.m. on March 4 as well as at 3:12, 3:16 and twice at 3:19 a.m. This means there were roughly 15 minutes between when the device was first moved and when the 911 call was made. Cell phone data also corroborates the testimony provided by C.L. about where and when she allegedly delivered fentanyl to Kouri.
An additional cell phone, which replaced the first phone confiscated by police, also showed incriminating searches allegedly made by Kouri between April and August 2022. These included, whether law enforcement can locate deleted messages, if messages can be deleted remotely, luxury prisons for the rich in America, what poisoning goes down as on a death certificate, and more.
The state’s third expert, Brooke Karrington, reviewed the Richins’ bank accounts, trust deeds, insurance policy documents, tax information and more. She discussed a “noteworthy crescendo” in the couple’s finances in the months leading up to Eric’s death, and the dire financial situation Kouri was in.
“There are indicators of an increase in chaos and loss of control,” Karrington said.
She determined Kouri experienced significant growth with her real estate and house flipping business between 2019 and 2021 with loans increasing from $470,000 on two properties to $6 million on 13 properties.
Karrington estimated Kouri’s debt obligation for 2021 was a little over $4 million, and that the Kamas mother was servicing around $252,000 in December 2021. Some of these included weekly payments toward $500,000 of debt as well as a $600 daily payment. Most of the payees are hard money lenders, she said, though a few were credit cards.
There were also several other personal and business accounts used by Kouri, most of which were held jointly with Eric, that showed periods of overdrafts, maxed-out credit lines and checks that would not clear. There were also six different life insurance policies on Eric at the time of his death.
Karrington estimated Kouri received around $1.3 million in June 2022 from the payouts. Prosecutors allege Kouri killed Eric for financial gain.
Lazaro, however, argued it isn’t uncommon for people in Kouri’s business to work with hard money lenders. In her closing arguments, she added Kouri is in a worse position because of Eric’s death – not a better one.
“Being bad with money does not make you a murderer. Being bad at managing your accounts – it makes you bad at math, but it doesn’t make you a murderer,” Lazaro argued.
However, prosecutor Patricia Cassell said Kouri was unaware that she would not benefit from Eric’s death until after the fact. Eric, before his death, changed the beneficiary of his will to one of his sisters after Kouri allegedly attempted to change the beneficiary to herself. Kouri then sued Eric’s sister for control over the estate shortly after he died.
“The person who thought she was going to benefit the most from Eric’s death is the defendant,” Cassell said. She added the amount of fentanyl found in Eric’s body indicates his death was not accidental, and that the case has motive. “She needed to get out of this debt, and that’s the reason she killed Eric.”
Amy Richins, one of Eric’s sisters, made a victim impact statement on Monday that seemed to agree with prosecutors that Eric was killed for financial gain. She called Kouri “desperate, greedy and extremely manipulative,” and accused her sister-in-law of intentionally poisoning Eric.
She spoke of her brother as a dedicated father and husband, who was loving and attentive despite how hard he worked. Amy Richins said there was never a dull moment when Eric was around, and that he always wanted to make sure everyone was having fun.
However, the circumstances surrounding Eric’s death have left his family in a “living hell,” Amy Richins said. She continued that Kouri’s behavior gives her great concern as she fears the couple’s three young boys will be exploited and alienated, or that Kouri may hurt members of the Richins family if released.
“It feels as though she murdered a part of our souls as well,” Amy Richins said. “I may be naive, but I never knew evil like this existed.”
The defense has 30 days to appeal the court’s decision. A scheduling conference has been set for June 22 to determine the next steps before a trial date is set.