Judge considers taking Kouri Richins case to trial while prosecutors present evidence

PARK CITY – Witnesses took the stand at a Park City courthouse Monday to testify in the investigation of a Kamas woman accused of poisoning her husband to death in 2022.

Kouri Richins – who also wrote a children's book about coping with grief that features her late husband, Eric Richins, and their children – wore a black blazer on the first day of her preliminary hearing. She often wrote notes and showed them to her new lawyers.

During the hearing, prosecutors called three witnesses to the stand who presented evidence that Kouri Richards had purchased illegal fentanyl on multiple occasions in the weeks before her husband died of a fentanyl overdose, as well as evidence that she benefited financially from his death. Witnesses also testified that there may have been romantic affairs outside of the marriage.

Messages and interviews

Summit County Sheriff's Detective Jeff O'Driscoll testified about interactions between Kouri Richins and Carmen Lauber, a woman who cleaned houses for Kouri Richins and who he said gave her fentanyl.

Richins' attorney Wendy Lewis asked him if he was sure that the fentanyl taken by Eric Richins that led to his death was the same substance that Kouri Richins received through Lauber, and he confirmed that he was not sure.

He said Lauber helped Richins obtain fentanyl on February 11, February 26, and March 9, 2022. Eric Richins died on March 4, 2022.

Lewis said O'Driscoll had investigated Kouri Richins' relationship with a man referred to in some court documents as her “lover,” Robert Grossman, and asked whether officers had investigated any affairs Eric Richins may have had or looked at phone records of other suspects.

The officer confirmed that he had not questioned any suspects other than Kouri Richins, but said he had tried to remain unbiased toward other possible suspects and that investigators had indeed reviewed additional electronic devices.

O'Driscoll said his office is still investigating the case and in recent weeks a search warrant was executed to seize a voice recording device.

Chris Kotrodimos, a retired police officer and investigator who testified during the detention hearing on phone records in the case, testified about communications on Lauber and Grossman's phone. He said Kouri Richins began communicating with Grossman in November 2021 and continued to communicate with him almost daily, primarily via text message, until after her husband's death.

Kotrodimos also testified about phone activity on Valentine's Day, weeks before Richins' death, when she was accused of attempting to murder him. He said Kouri Richins sent Grossman a text message saying she was driving to see him, along with a screenshot of her location and route.

He said Kouri Richins deleted “a lot of data” from her phone, including relevant call logs, text messages and internet history.

He testified again about Kouri Richin's smartwatch, which he said was unlocked about 14 minutes before she made a 911 call at 3:21 a.m. to report her husband's death. He said data from the watch showed she moved about 250 feet (76 meters) shortly after she first unlocked the watch and about 140 feet (42 meters) at the time she called 911.

Financial investigation

Brooke Karrington, a certified public accountant, testified about financial documents she reviewed in the case, including bank statements, real estate documents and loan records related to Kouri and Eric Richins. She was initially hired by Eric Richins' family but stopped working for them when she was hired by the county.

She said that according to Kouri and Eric Richins' prenuptial agreement, Eric Richins' business would belong to him in the event of a divorce. Kouri Richins would only receive his business, C&E Masonry, through his death. The company also had an insurance policy that would benefit Eric Richins' business partner in the event of his death and give him the funds to buy out Kouri Richins' business.

Karrington spoke at length about the finances of Kouri Richins' real estate company, Richins Realty, which she said was founded in 2019 and primarily renovated and sold homes. She said the company has several loans from hard-money lenders, which have tighter loan terms and a higher interest rate, and owns about 15 homes.

By December 2021, Kouri Richins was making about 100 payments per month to various lenders, some daily and some weekly, according to the witness.

On March 4, 2022, she said Kouri Richins had completed the purchase of a property she had entered into a contract to purchase the previous December. Karrington called the project “very, very ambitious.” She said the purchase price for the unfinished home was $2.9 million, and Richins estimated that completing the home would cost more.

All the money for this project was borrowed, Karrington said.

Karrington said Kouri Richins used a bank account number with a bank statement for C&E Masonry, her husband's business account, on at least six loan applications. Karrington said while she sold properties, she did not make any money and instead increased her debt, including loans that were not secured by real estate.

She testified that Eric Richins had met with an attorney about a divorce and that he had recently learned of a mortgage line of credit on their home. She said that Eric Richins had set up a trust and will with that attorney to help his children, with his sister, not Kouri Richins, as the beneficiary.

What happens next?

The hearing will continue Tuesday morning, when Kouri Richins will have one more chance to testify before attorneys make their closing arguments. At that point, Third District Judge Richard Mrazik is expected to decide whether there is enough evidence to try her on all counts.

Kouri Richins is charged with aggravated murder and attempted manslaughter (both first-degree felonies); two counts of distribution of controlled substances; two counts of insurance fraud; and two counts of fraudulently making an insurance claim (all second-degree felonies); and three counts of forgery (a third-degree felony).