Prosecutors and defense attorneys concluded their closing arguments in the trial of Kouri Richins on Monday after three weeks of testimony.
Now, a jury of eight will determine whether the Kamas mother charged with fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022, is not guilty or guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The trial was initially expected to last five weeks, until March 27. The Summit County Attorney’s Office rested its case on Thursday after calling about 40 witnesses to testify and presenting a range of evidence. Defense attorneys initially indicated they would call their own witnesses, but ultimately rested their case without doing so shortly after the prosecution.
The attorneys met on Friday to discuss jury instructions and returned to Third District Court on Monday to deliver closing arguments. Judge Richard Mrazik reminded the jury not to be influenced by public opinion, sympathies or biases — and instead advised them only to consider the evidence.
The prosecution’s evidence must leave the jury convinced that Kouri is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for such a verdict to be returned. If the jury is not convinced, or only partially convinced, they must give Kouri the benefit of the doubt and find her not guilty.
The charges
Kouri faces five charges that jurors will consider: aggravated murder and attempted criminal homicide, both first-degree felonies, two counts of false or fraudulent insurance claims, second-degree felonies, and third-degree felony forgery. Each charge includes a set of elements that must be met for the jury to reach a guilty verdict.
For aggravated murder, jurors must find that Kouri intentionally or knowingly caused the death of her husband for monetary gain and/or by administering a substance in a lethal dose. The attempted murder charge is based on an intentional or knowing attempt to cause the death of Eric for monetary gain and/or by administering a substance in a lethal dose. The insurance fraud charges stem from what prosecutors characterize as an intentional scheme to deceive or defraud and an attempt to claim insurance knowing it contained false information. The fifth charge, forgery, is connected to the insurance fraud scheme.
Each charge is considered separately, and a guilty verdict for one charge doesn’t mean another charge must also be guilty.
Mrazik encouraged the jurors to discuss all the evidence first and then to consider it with an open mind.
Update: The jury returned with a guilty verdict on all five felony charges at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. They deliberated for about three hours.