Kouri Richins: Attorneys request to move trial for woman accused of murdering husband with fentanyl overdose
The defense claims it will be difficult to find objective jurors if trial remains in Summit County
Attorneys are requesting to move the trial for a Kamas, Utah woman accused of murdering her husband three years ago.
Kouri Richins, a 34-year-old mother from Kamas, Utah, stands accused of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, with fatal fentanyl overdose in a Moscow Mule drink on the night of March 3, 2022, according to court documents.
She wrote a children’s book in the year following Eric’s death about dealing with grief, and gave interviews that gave the appearance she was a grieving widow.
Later reports showed that Kouri was deep in debt, had stolen money from her husband, and bought fentanyl from a housekeeper. Investigators suspect she had previously tried to poison him on Valentine’s Day over dinner, mere weeks before he died on the floor of their bedroom of the overdose.
New court documents show that Kouri’s attorneys are citing Rule 29 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and Article I section 12 of the Utah State Constitution in their request to move the trial from Summit County to Salt Lake County, KSL News reports.
Her attorneys claim that media reports since her arrest have served to “villify” her and taint her chances of a fair trial and an impartial jury. They say that local and national media, social media, podcasts, and statements have “almost exclusively highlighted the prosecution’s theory of the case, even when it is incorrect.”
The court has yet to respond, KSL notes. Her trial is scheduled to start on April 28, 2025.
Last month, prosecutors and defense attorneys disagreed over the testimony of Detective Jeff O’Driscoll. Prosecutors accused defense attorney Wendy Lewis of publicly questioning the detective’s character without any evidence to do so, KSL notes.
Defense attorneys claimed that O’Driscoll’s testimony held discrepancies, but the prosecution said they disclosed this discrepancy to the defense on Jan. 31 and provided findings from an outside attorney’s investigation into the testimony on Feb. 6.
The report, according to KSL, found no evidence that the recollections were inappropriate or that the detectives were untruthful.
Kouri faces three charges of second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and one charge of first-degree aggravated murder for the death of her husband, Eric Richens, the arrest warrant says.
Details on this case here:
Kouri Richins: Defense for woman accused of murdering husband asks to reopen witness questioning
Defense attorneys for the children’s book author accused of murdering her husband have filed a motion expressing their wish to re-question several witnesses while jury selections are underway for the upcoming trial.