A ruling may soon be made about whether Kouri Richins, the Kamas mother of three who is accused of killing her husband, Eric, last March, will be able to communicate with her mother and brother during her trial. A preliminary hearing date has not been set and the trial isn’t likely to start until after the spring.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik will hear the arguments about a no-contact order filed by the County Attorney’s Office on Sept. 15 during a Nov. 3 scheduling conference, according to a court notification sent Thursday morning. County Attorney Margaret Olson previously requested an expedited decision on the state’s motion seeking to prevent Kouri from speaking with Lisa and Ronald Darden.
Prosecutors on Tuesday submitted a memorandum supporting their no-contact order in response to the defense’s Sept. 28 opposition filing.
The order was requested after deputies with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office located a six-page letter titled “Walk the Dog” written by Kouri. While Kouri claims the contents are part of a fictional mystery book she’s authoring about drugs and a Mexican prison, prosecutors said it is her “instruction to her mother to induce her brother to testify falsely.”
Defense attorney Skye Lazaro argued the County Attorney’s Office acted unprofessionally by suggesting her client attempted to tamper with witnesses.
Kouri had not been charged with an additional crime as of Wednesday afternoon. However, court filings from June stated she is under investigation for witness tampering as well as mail theft, mortgage fraud and bad checks.
Lazaro also accused prosecutors of violating a gag order as well as other court policies and asked for sanctions to be imposed. She alleged the County Attorney’s Office is using the “Walk the Dog” letter to guide the media.
“By declaring that ‘no such link exists’ (between Eric Richins and drugs from Mexico) and that Ms. Richins has ‘concoct[ed] a false narrative,’ the State’s Motion improperly comments on the veracity of Ms. Richins’ statements, her credibility, and the credibility of any witness that may be called to testify on her behalf,” the Sept. 28 filing stated. “Ironically, it is the State’s Motion — not Ms. Richins — that ‘concocts a false narrative.'”
Prosecutors denied the claims. They said the defense has misplaced concerns.
“Indeed, she wants Ronald Darden to lie to the defense counsel. This should concern us all. Upon learning about the letter, the State immediately sought a narrowly tailored no contact order to prevent more tampering like this from taking place. It would have been irresponsible of the state to do otherwise. The defense should share this concern and commit to an honest presentation of the evidence,” the reply memorandum stated.
The County Attorney’s Office also responded to allegations that they are trying the case in the court of public opinion. Prosecutors asserted they are following the required, transparent procedures of filing evidence.
“The defense has embraced all the pretrial publicity in this case .… Parties courting publicity should not be heard to complain about it,” a footnote in the filing stated.
They also noted Kouri has repeatedly said Eric Richins never used drugs except for occasional THC gummies despite the “Walk the Dog” letter allegedly attempting to create a story around his drug use, which they said supports their assertion no link exists.
Lazaro also revealed in court filings that the defense was able to obtain one of two letters prosecutors had been searching for around Sept. 13. They speculated it had been destroyed. It is unclear what the letter contained, but Lazaro said it was not written by Kouri.
The County Attorney’s Office cited this as an example of Kouri being able to circumvent inmate mail policies as the letter was “carried out” and was not a privileged attorney-client communication.
Lawyers in the case expect a ruling on the no-contact order during the Nov. 3 scheduling conference. If granted, Kouri will be unable to speak to her mother or brother for the duration of the trial. Mrazik will also hear the defense’s motion to enforce order and impose sanctions.
Kouri is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and three second-degree felonies for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance stemming from the death of her husband. Eric died after ingesting five times the lethal dose of fentanyl. Kouri is being held without bail.
This article was updated on Oct. 5 to reflect the notification of change in the court calendar.