00:00:00
♪♪ -This case is about
a wife and a mother who found herself in perhaps
a failing marriage --
00:00:16
a business in trouble. And took, some could argue,
an easy way out. -I think she really
wanted to improve her life
00:00:28
and be free and be rich, and have this facade
of being the successful person that you wanted to be.
00:00:35
-My name is Eric. -My name is Laura,
and we served as jurors in the Kouri Richins trial.
00:00:40
-Please have a seat. -Kouri Richins
didn't seem to me like someone with a very
strong moral compass.
00:00:51
-Eric Richins was found dead
in his home on March 4th, 2022. Eric was married
to Kouri Richins
00:00:58
and they had three children. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -The family had been
alerted by Eric that if something
happened to him
00:01:34
to look at Kouri, it was almost like
they knew something like this could happen someday.
00:01:40
-This was in the months
leading up to his death. He felt that his life
could be at risk?
00:01:44
-Right. They suspected Kouri
would take part in his death before it happened. -The state alleged that Kouri
Richins killed her husband, Eric
00:01:54
by giving him
a lethal dose of fentanyl. -A Summit County woman
who wrote a children's book
00:01:59
about coping with grief
following her husband's death, now accused of being the one
that actually killed him.
00:02:05
-The book was to honor him, to express to these boys
to remember their father. -She's accused essentially
of murdering the person
00:02:13
who is the topic of the book. Words of Wisdom,
do not write books while you're being investigated.
00:02:19
-As we were preparing
for trial... -Kouri was 100%
pure goodness and kindness. She's a good, good human being.
00:02:27
-She might have had
these good sides to her where she was giving, but she was willing
to give that part up.
00:02:35
-Did Kouri Richins ever ask you to purchase for her
illicit drugs? -Yes. -Based upon the testimony
00:02:43
and the evidence
we saw against Kouri, I came to see her as pretty cold
and pretty calculating.
00:02:51
-You have to understand that
the jurors did not know her. They didn't know her. -There was no smoking gun
in this case.
00:03:00
There was never
one thing in this case that was "Absolutely,
Kouri did it, and there's no question."
00:03:07
-She basically sacrificed her
husband to get what she wanted. ♪♪ -My sweet baby boys.
00:03:17
And as much as you've been
influenced into thinking that dad was murdered
and I took your dad from you,
00:03:24
that is completely wrong
and an absolute lie. -Kouri did not just kill Eric, she attempted to kill the spirit
of everyone who loved him.
00:03:34
She lied to his children.
She lied to the world and has shown no remorse while
dancing on his grave for profit.
00:03:42
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered
Eric for his money
00:04:40
and to get
a fresh start at life. -In February of 2026, in a packed courtroom
in Summit County, Utah,
00:04:51
Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth laid out the state's case
against Kouri Richins
00:04:57
for the murder of Eric Richins, her husband and father
of their three sons. It had been nearly
four years since Eric died
00:05:07
on March 4th, 2022,
of a lethal dose of fentanyl served to him by Kouri
in a cocktail, say prosecutors.
00:05:16
She had spent almost three years
in jail awaiting trial. -More than anything... ...she wanted his money
to perpetuate her facade,
00:05:28
of privilege,
affluence and success. -Eric Richins owned a
lucrative contracting business,
00:05:37
and Kouri worked as
a real estate agent buying and flipping houses. She was facing
not just murder charges,
00:05:47
but also insurance fraud
and forgery counts. -She was absolutely convinced that she would be found
not guilty.
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-Greg Hall is a friend
and former colleague of Kouri's. -What made her so convinced
of that outcome?
00:06:01
-Because she knows
that she didn't do it. -Initially, authorities
thought Eric may have died
00:06:07
from an accidental
drug overdose, but as investigators dug deeper, they concluded that
Kouri poisoned Eric
00:06:15
for financial gain. -Watch out for Kouri. Watch out if
something happens to me. -According to Greg Skordas,
00:06:23
a spokesperson
for Eric's family, Eric had raised concerns
about Kouri to his family.
00:06:28
-The night Eric died, were they immediately suspecting that Kouri took part
in his death?
00:06:35
-They suspected Kouri
would take part in his death before it happened. And so when it did happen,
00:06:40
it was everyone's worst,
you know, nightmare come true. ♪♪ -As the state built its case
against Kouri Richins,
00:06:53
her 911 call saying she found
Eric unresponsive in bed was an integral piece
of evidence.
00:07:00
♪♪ -The prosecution used the
recording throughout the trial to call into question
00:07:10
whether Kouri was even
trying to resuscitate Eric. -The operator repeatedly asks
the phone to be put on speaker
00:07:20
so Kouri can listen
while performing CPR. ♪♪ -But a prosecution digital
forensic analyst testified
00:07:32
that phone receiver
sensor activity showed Kouri was actually holding the phone
to her ear during the call.
00:07:39
-There's a proximity sensor
inside the device that activates the receiver. -The digital download expert
could actually see
00:07:49
that Kouri did not put
the phone on speakerphone. She was still holding it
up to her ear.
00:07:57
That means she
wasn't doing compressions. Or if she was,
she was doing it with one hand.
00:08:03
-The 911 call was impactful
for jurors Laura and Eric, who requested we
not use their last names.
00:08:10
-Listening to the call,
it didn't seem like there was much effort
in the compressions themselves.
00:08:17
-The impression these jurors had
of her resuscitation attempts didn't match Kouri's
description of events,
00:08:24
which she texted to her friend,
Chelsea Barney. Prosecutor Bloodworth read
the messages to the jury.
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-Some of her text messages
to a friend, she said she was screaming
and beating on his chest,
00:08:44
and the evidence did
not show that. -Some of Kouri's other actions
the day Eric died
00:08:50
puzzled the jurors
we interviewed. Like her behavior on this
deputy's body cam footage
00:08:55
shown in court. -It was strange. Right after Eric died, Kouri was holding
her face with her hands.
00:09:02
-It certainly looks like she
was trying to hide her face... uh, and her emotion.
00:09:08
♪♪ -And when the jurors
compared Kouri's behavior in the footage
to Eric's sisters,
00:09:22
they found the contrast
startling. -Eric's sister,
Katie Richins, came in. She was hysterical...
00:09:28
-[ Panting ] -...near hyperventilating
and her first thought was, where are the kids?
00:09:36
Are the kids okay? And through that whole video,
Kouri said, "My kids are in that room
and one of them's listening."
00:09:43
But never did she move
to go comfort those kids. -Eric's sister, Katie, testified
about arriving at the house.
00:09:50
-On the morning that Eric died, did Kouri Richins say anything about the house that
they were living in?
00:09:57
-Yes. She told me she
was going to sell it. -According to Katie,
just hours after Eric's death,
00:10:04
Kouri was talking real estate, how she planned
to sell their home and how she needed
to close on a house
00:10:11
she had just purchased
known as the Midway Mansion. -I had just lost... ...one of the most
important people
00:10:19
in my whole entire life... ...and she was planning
on selling the house that he had just
been wheeled out of...
00:10:31
...closing on a multi-million
dollar mansion. I could not wrap
my head around it.
00:10:37
-Prosecutors also presented
evidence of something accessed on Kouri's cell phone
that morning.
00:10:43
These GIFs seemingly
celebrating coming into money. -I thought the GIFs
were really odd.
00:10:49
If she was the one
that pulled them up, which it certainly seems
like that is the case,
00:10:55
that's just more evidence of
her state of mind at the time. -It was not clear
to the jurors
00:11:01
whether the GIFs
were celebrating Eric's death or celebrating the
Midway Mansion purchase.
00:11:08
Either way,
they found the timing curious. -Still inappropriate. The day after
her husband passed away
00:11:15
that she's accessing these. So it was strange. -Strange behavior aside,
the state's case hinged
00:11:24
on proving Kouri
intentionally poisoned Eric. That he did not die
of an accidental overdose.
00:11:31
The prosecution contends
it was Kouri who administered the fentanyl, either in a cocktail
called a Moscow Mule
00:11:39
or in a Lemon Drop shot
that she prepared for Eric. Investigators found this note
in a kitchen cabinet,
00:11:47
which the prosecution
says chronicles how Kouri killed Eric. -Notice that here
she writes "drink in bed."
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-And the prosecutor told
the jury about something else authorities found unusual
in this incident report
00:12:01
describing what happened
that night, Kouri immediately writes about
having a drink around 9:15 p.m.
00:12:08
to celebrate work. -Her story that night
that she wrote started with Eric drinking
a drink that she made.
00:12:18
Why would her story start then? Why wouldn't it start
when she walked in the door
00:12:23
and found that he wasn't moving? That was just one of these
really subtle things
00:12:28
that I thought was
really important. -Also important
for jurors was knowing how Kouri obtained the fentanyl.
00:12:36
For that,
prosecutors turned to a witness who became a controversial
figure in the case,
00:12:42
Kouri's housekeeper. -Did you ask Kouri Richins
about Eric's death? -Yes, I did.
00:12:50
-What did you ask her? -I said, "Please tell me
these pills were not for him." ♪♪
00:13:02
-What ma'am is your name? -Carmen Lauber. -Carmen Lauber was
Kouri and Eric's housekeeper,
00:13:08
and she cleaned homes for Kouri's real estate
flipping business. Prosecutors say Carmen
also did something else.
00:13:16
She supplied Kouri with
the drugs used to kill Eric. -Did Kouri Richins
ever ask you to purchase
00:13:23
for her illicit drugs? -Yes. -How many times?
-Four. -In a lot of ways,
she is the key witness.
00:13:33
-Skye Lazaro had been
Kouri Richins attorney before resigning from the case
due to a conflict of interest.
00:13:39
-Carmen really was
the only person who could tie Kouri
to obtaining fentanyl. -Carmen testified that in the
months preceding Eric's death,
00:13:51
Kouri asked her to get
pain medication for a client, which Carmen did. Then, about two weeks
before Eric died,
00:14:00
Kouri made another request
for something stronger. Carmen says she reached out
to a drug dealer friend
00:14:07
and told Kouri
she could get her fentanyl. -I had texted Kouri back
and told her that I had a friend
00:14:17
that could get them,
but they were fentanyl pills. -How did Kouri Richins respond?
00:14:22
-She said, "Okay,
go ahead and get 'em." -The state contends
Kouri mixed that fentanyl
00:14:29
into the Moscow Mule, or Lemon Drop shot
she served Eric. Carmen, though,
has an arrest record
00:14:35
from drug charges
and is not an ideal witness. -She had a history
of drug abuse,
00:14:41
and although I think
she's overcome that, those are who you deal with
in criminal cases.
00:14:46
They're not always the
shiniest people in the world. -The jurors we spoke with
were able to look
00:14:51
past Carmen's history
and found her credible. -I put a lot of weight
on Carmen Lauber's testimony.
00:14:57
I found it very impactful, very important
to the prosecution's case. And her testimony
was corroborated
00:15:05
with the digital evidence. -The state's digital
forensic expert testified about hundreds of text messages
between Kouri and Carmen
00:15:13
that matched Carmen's timeline of when Kouri
contacted her for drugs. Because the messages
had been deleted,
00:15:21
investigators could only
retrieve dates and times, but not the messages content.
00:15:26
-Between the two of them
about 800 text messages. -The prosecution argued
throughout the trial
00:15:33
that this was not the first time Kouri used drugs
to try to kill Eric. Investigators learned that
two weeks before his death
00:15:41
on Valentine's Day,
Eric became ill after Kouri served him
what they say was a drug-laced
breakfast sandwich.
00:15:50
-On Valentine's Day
it was a sandwich. When she murdered him,
it was a drink. -As for a motive, prosecutors
say Kouri needed money.
00:16:00
A forensic accountant testified
about her money problems. -What was the amount
of Kouri Richins liabilities?
00:16:08
Right about $8 million. -She said Kouri was in debt
for nearly $8 million from her
house flipping business,
00:16:16
some of it
from the recent purchase of that Midway Mansion. And Eric, between
the contracting business,
00:16:23
property, and life insurance
was worth a lot. -On the day that Eric died, his estate was worth
over $4 million.
00:16:34
-There was also evidence
that Kouri took out an additional $100,000
life insurance policy on Eric
00:16:41
about a month before he died, and that Eric's signature
was forged... -Those signatures were
not authored by the same person.
00:16:49
-...a forgery, prosecutors say,
committed by Kouri. -She used her business
address for this policy
00:16:58
and made herself
the beneficiary. And frankly,
even as a lay person looking at the signatures,
00:17:05
Eric did not sign that document. -And there may have been
another motive for murder.
00:17:10
According to the state, Kouri wanted a new life
with this man, Josh Grossman, a handyman she met through
her house flipping business.
00:17:19
They had an affair
for about two years. -I don't know how much
the family knew about the fact
00:17:25
that she had a paramour. I don't even know
how much Eric knew about it. That turned out to be
a helpful piece of evidence
00:17:31
that was discovered
during the investigation. -Josh Grossman testified that after he heard Kouri had
been arrested for Eric's murder,
00:17:39
by which time
they had broken up, he reached out to Eric's family. -I was overwhelmed with guilt,
sorrow, over my wrongdoings,
00:17:50
you know, infidelity. -With respect to Josh Grossman, he seemed like
a believable witness.
00:18:00
I think we all felt
really sorry for him at times that he was crying. -Josh told investigators about
a conversation he had with Kouri
00:18:10
that now under the lens
of murder, took on new meaning. Josh, who had served
with the army in Iraq,
00:18:17
was asked about
that conversation. -She asked if --
if I had ever killed anybody.
00:18:24
-Did she ask
a follow up question? -Yes. She asked me how it made me feel
or something along those lines.
00:18:32
-The jury was also shown text
messages between Kouri and Josh. I mean, you see
those text messages
00:18:39
back and forth, very lovey. ♪♪ ♪♪ I mean, you know, I don't know that that gets
any closer to the reality
00:18:58
of what actually happened
in this case. -Yeah. In hindsight,
I don't think those were, uh,
00:19:02
probably well thought out. These coming in the way they did
and the timing of them,
00:19:07
uh, I think certainly
did not help Kouri. -Can I get exhibit 3-1, please? -Something else
that did not help Kouri,
00:19:15
was this reservation she booked for a romantic
getaway with Josh. -And did you know about
a trip planned to
00:19:23
the Secret St. Martin's Resort? -Yes. -Kouri sent Josh the reservation
she made before Eric died,
00:19:30
with the trip planned for April, a month after Eric's death. -The reservation for that trip
was damaging to Kouri.
00:19:40
To me,
that made it look like
she had been planning something for a while,
and at some point soon,
00:19:46
Eric would be out
of the picture. -As the investigation
proceeded, Kouri said the prosecution was
worried about being caught.
00:19:53
It showed web searches Kouri made after Eric's death,
including... ♪♪ ♪♪ -Kouri's
internet searches questions
00:20:15
that were being searched led me to believe she had
a guilty mind. -These searches were done
00:20:22
after she was handed
a search warrant when they searched the home. It kind of takes the sting
out of them, I think.
00:20:29
It's somewhat understandable. -This is after the fact. -This is after,
and well after, in fact.
00:20:34
-She was looking
for information based on what she found out
after Eric died. -It was one of the points
00:20:39
that Kouri's own
defense team made as it tried to poke holes in
the entire prosecution's case.
00:20:46
-You know what
you're never going to hear, is how that fentanyl got
inside of him,
00:20:52
because there is
zero evidence of that. ♪♪ ♪♪ -Just outside
of Salt Lake City, home to famed ski resorts
including Park City,
00:21:13
is the nearly 10-acre estate that Kouri Richins
was planning on flipping. -It looks ginormous.
-It's massive.
00:21:22
Skye Lazaro told us
Kouri hoped to walk away with nearly $10 million in profit. -I think this was
kind of her dream
00:21:30
when she got into this idea
of flipping houses, was to be able to do
properties like this.
00:21:38
-And it was that estate, said Kouri Richins
defense attorney Kathryn Nestor in her opening statement,
00:21:45
the couple were toasting
the night Eric died. -Eric and Kouri Richins
were celebrating.
00:21:53
They were celebrating
because Kouri was about to close on the biggest
real estate deal
00:21:58
that her company had ever done. They had a lot to celebrate. They also had
a wonderful family.
00:22:07
-Nestor showed jurors
a family photo of Eric and Kouri with their three sons
seemingly happy
00:22:14
and spoke about the love
they shared for their boys. -And what's more important is that the boys adored
their father,
00:22:20
and Kouri knew that about
her sons and about her family. -Nestor asked jurors to consider
why Kouri would poison Eric,
00:22:28
knowing the impact it
would have on their three sons. -Now, after you've listened to
all the evidence in this case,
00:22:34
you're going to have to decide
if Kouri Richins intentionally and knowingly poisoned
the father of her kids,
00:22:42
knowing that she was
going to cause those little boys to feel pain every day
for the rest of their life,
00:22:49
for the loss of their father. -Kouri's friend Greg Hall,
says Kouri would never do that.
00:22:56
-She was loving, she was kind. She was giving.
A wonderful mother. -Eric suffered from pain a lot.
00:23:05
-Nestor told jurors Eric Richins
lived with chronic pain. -He suffered from knee and
back pain related to his work.
00:23:13
He did hard work. -And used drugs recreationally, often taking marijuana gummies.
00:23:19
-These are all gummies
that the police found in Eric's things. -Nestor said Eric
also used pain medication.
00:23:26
-You're also going to hear that there was an empty
pill bottle right next to him.
00:23:31
-The label on that pill bottle was for the painkiller
hydrocodone, and it had expired in 2020.
00:23:38
Nestor suggested it was Eric who may have come
into contact with fentanyl. -You're going to hear
that just a few weeks
00:23:44
before Eric died,
guess where he was? Mexico. Guess where the fentanyl
comes into this country from?
00:23:53
Mexico. -One by one... -We'll proceed
with cross-examination of Ms. Richins-Benson.
00:24:01
-...the defense challenged
the state's witnesses, beginning with
Eric's sister, Katie,
00:24:06
and her account of Kouri's
behavior the night Eric died. -And you also said
that she just stood there
00:24:13
and did not comfort you
in any way? -Not that I recall.
-Okay. Your honor,
we'd like to play a clip.
00:24:20
This is State's exhibit 1-4. Okay. So that's Kouri.
Freeze it right there. And that's her squatting
down to comfort you
00:24:29
while you're on the ground,
And that's y'all hugging, right? -Correct. -So your memory about that
was clearly wrong.
00:24:36
-To be fair,
it was four years ago. -Okay. -When it came to the state's
key witness, Carmen Lauber...
00:24:43
-Good afternoon, Ms. Lauber.
-Good afternoon. -...the defense pointed out
that she made a deal with police
00:24:48
in order to stay out of prison. Defense attorney
Wendy Lewis played a portion of one of Carmen's interviews
with investigators.
00:24:56
♪♪ ♪♪ -So that's what
they said to you? -Yes. -You may be getting seven years
in prison on your state case?
00:25:27
-Correct. -But if you help them out,
that's not going to happen? -Correct. -The investigators keep
pushing on her,
00:25:36
"We need more.
That's not enough." And finally,
in the last interview, they basically
just spell it out.
00:25:50
-You know, it's --
"This is your one get-out-of-jail-free card." You have to basically
say it's fentanyl.
00:25:56
-And you are willing
to do whatever it takes to save yourself from
getting kicked out of drug court
00:26:02
and going to prison, correct? -I'm willing to go
forward with the truth, yes. -I think the defense
was really hammering her,
00:26:10
And I don't think
it went over that well. -She said, "Okay,
go ahead and get the fentanyl."
00:26:17
-That's your testimony today. -When I told her what I had,
that's what she said, yes.
00:26:22
-Even if Carmen bought
fentanyl for Kouri, the defense said
there was no proof that Kouri used the drug
to poison her husband.
00:26:30
Kathryn Nestor told the jury the cups Kouri
served the drinks in were never tested that night.
00:26:36
-The nanny ended up putting
them in the dishwasher the next morning. -I think the most
powerful point the defense made
00:26:44
is that we
don't know exactly how the fentanyl got into
Eric Richins stomach. -When you have to prove murder,
00:26:53
you have to prove
that she's the one that administered
the fentanyl to him. -The defense pushed back
on the state's claim
00:27:01
that Kouri had tried
to poison Eric weeks earlier with that
Valentine's Day sandwich.
00:27:07
Kouri's friend Aly Staking said the couple downplay
that episode as Eric having
an allergic reaction.
00:27:19
-Was everyone laughing? -Okay, and did Eric appear upset
about what had happened prior
00:27:28
with the sandwich? -No. -And as for the financial
motive that Kouri was broke, Skye Lazaro says Kouri Richins
multi-million dollar debt
00:27:38
was typical in the house
flipping business. -That's what they do
for a living is they invest in homes to flip.
00:27:44
-So you're saying
it's part of the business. Right. You get in -- in debt
and then you flip the house,
00:27:49
you sell it, and then
you make your money back. -Absolutely. -And that $100,000
life insurance policy
00:27:55
the state claimed
wasn't signed by Eric, Nestor said there is
an innocent explanation.
00:28:01
-I'm telling you right now, wives everywhere sign
their husbands names on a lot of things.
00:28:06
You've got to find that she did
it without his knowledge, and I don't know how
they're going to prove that.
00:28:11
-The defense also
downplayed Kouri's affair with Josh Grossman, who testified they never
went on that romantic getaway
00:28:19
Kouri had booked for them. -Then Kouri ended
the relationship, correct? -Right. -It was a little bit
difficult to understand
00:28:27
what the situation was
with Josh Grossman, because she did seem
to drop him pretty quickly.
00:28:35
-Do you think that
Josh Grossman's relationship with Kouri had anything
to do with Eric's death?
00:28:40
-No, if that were the case
after Eric passed away... ...that relationship would have
continued, not been tapered off.
00:28:48
It doesn't make
any logical sense. -On March 12th, 2026, after three weeks and 40
witnesses from the state...
00:28:57
-Your Honor,
the state rests its case. -...the jurors say
they were expecting to see defense evidence
and hear from their witnesses.
00:29:05
-Oka, now we can hear
the rest of the story. -But what happened next... -Who's defense counsel's
first witness?
00:29:13
-...caught everyone off guard. -My mouth just dropped open. I was just like, "What?"
00:29:19
I was so shocked, and I was
actually really disappointed. ♪♪ -State's counsel
and defense counsel are present.
00:29:37
Ms. Richins is present. -13 days into the trial, Judge Richard Mrazek asked
Kouri Richins defense team
00:29:45
about their first witness. -I was totally prepared
for however many days or weeks
00:29:51
of vigorous defense. -Who's defense counsel's
first witness? -Um... -Can we have just a minute?
-Yeah.
00:30:05
We have -- we have a couple
of options. -Understood. -But the option
defense attorneys
00:30:11
Wendy Lewis
and Kathryn Nestor chose was one these jurors
were not expecting. -Your honor,
actually at this time,
00:30:18
the defense intends to rest. -I was like, seriously? Now we've seen just
about everything in this trial.
00:30:26
-I was disappointed
because I'm like, you know, I felt like
there was more to the story
00:30:33
and they denied us
access to that. -I just want to make sure... ...you've consulted
with your client about this.
00:30:42
-Absolutely. -Ms. Richins, may I ask you
two direct questions? -Yes. -Do you understand
that you have the right
00:30:50
to testify at trial? -Yes, I do. -Are you following
your attorney's advice and waiving your right
to testify at trial?
00:30:59
-Yes, I am. -I accept your waiver. I find it's knowing
and voluntary. -Laura says she at least
expected the defense
00:31:08
to present testimony about
Eric's alleged drug use and what role,
if any, it played in his death.
00:31:14
-They were just hinting
ever so slightly at these things without backing it up. So I was really hoping
for some testimony.
00:31:24
If that's really true, or are you just trying
to confuse everything? -Greg Skordas, who happens
to be an attorney himself,
00:31:31
says perhaps the defense saw
no need to call witnesses because it felt there was
enough reasonable doubt.
00:31:38
-If you think you're winning after the prosecution
puts on its case, then there's no reason
to put on a case
00:31:44
because you can only
hurt yourself. So why -- why even risk putting on a witness
that could hurt you?
00:31:50
-Laura says
throughout the trial, she would sometimes look over
at the defense table.
00:31:55
-There was really
no vibe coming from her. Like, I couldn't sense whether
she was upset or angry or sad.
00:32:02
She had a very flat affect. -Was that part of it, the likability of
Kouri Richins at that point,
00:32:09
do you think they saw a woman who was having an affair
who was in debt? -I think that's how it
certainly could be taken.
00:32:17
There never was a real
opportunity to humanize her, to make her likable, to make her seem like a person
who wouldn't do that.
00:32:26
-Mr. Bloodworth,
would you like to proceed? -In its closing, the prosecution portrayed
Kouri Richins
00:32:32
as a ruthless social climber, chasing a life beyond what
she had at her family's expense.
00:32:39
-Behind the facade, however... ...Kouri Richins
was incompetent. Her business was imploding.
00:32:51
All the while, Kouri Richins was more interested
in spending time with Josh Grossman than Eric,
00:32:59
but she did not have
the money to leave Eric... ...or the money
to salvage her business.
00:33:05
She is a risk taker. There was a way forward. Eric had to die. -The defense used
its closing argument
00:33:16
to lay out its entire case. -They want you
to look at a woman in the worst moment of her life.
00:33:24
-Citing several reasons
why there was reasonable doubt. -The investigation in this
matter was nothing but sloppy.
00:33:33
It was driven by bias. -Wendy Lewis told jurors
the investigators developed tunnel vision
early on,
00:33:41
driven by Eric's family's
belief that Kouri was guilty. -Everything about
this investigation
00:33:47
was led by the Richins family. -It did give me pause whether there was this bias
in the entire investigation
00:33:56
that started with
the Richins family. -What else do we find on
that first day that Eric died?
00:34:01
-Lewis pointed to that trip
Eric took to Mexico shortly before his death, and that empty pill bottle
on his nightstand.
00:34:10
-The hydrocodone bottle. What was kept in that bottle? What might be the best way
00:34:18
to bring illegal pills
back from Mexico? Put them a prescription bottle? So what's another explanation?
00:34:24
What could have happened? Maybe he thought
it was something else and he accidentally
got fentanyl.
00:34:31
Maybe had they
tested that bottle, we would know... ...but they didn't. -She urged the jurors
to stand with Kouri Richins.
00:34:39
-Kouri Richins did
not kill Eric Richins. The state did not prove this
case beyond a reasonable doubt.
00:34:46
And you have the courage, have the courage
to tell them this and find Kouri Richins
not guilty.
00:34:53
-How was Kouri feeling? Did she ever feel like
this may not go her way? -No. Absolutely not.
Honestly, not at all.
00:35:01
She was upbeat,
hopeful, enthused. She was absolutely convinced that she would
be found not guilty.
00:35:11
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -After sitting through
the three week trial, jurors Eric and Laura had no way of knowing
what other jurors were thinking,
00:35:36
nor how long reaching
a verdict could take. -I was thinking, this
is going to be a very long week.
00:35:42
-But in the end,
deliberations would only last about three hours. Laura, one of the two women
on the eight person jury,
00:35:49
was selected as foreperson. -When we got back there,
I think everyone was bursting.
00:35:54
I felt like I was bursting
at the seams. -For the jurors,
Kouri's money trouble proved to be a motive
for Eric's murder.
00:36:03
-She was in such a position that she had to take
drastic action to dig out of the financial hole
that she was in.
00:36:11
I shared that I thought
the evidence was devastating against Kouri
and that she was guilty.
00:36:17
I think that opened
the door to other people to share exactly
where they stood. -And when the decision
was made to vote,
00:36:27
the rest of the jury agreed. Not just that
Kouri murdered Eric, but that she previously
attempted to kill him
00:36:34
with that poison-laced
Valentine's Day sandwich, and that she committed
two counts
00:36:40
of insurance fraud and forgery. -Ms. Richins, please stand. -On March 16th, 2026, Judge
Richard Mrazek read the verdict.
00:36:54
-Count one aggravated murder. We, the jury,
unanimously find that the defendant,
Kouri Richins, is...
00:37:02
...guilty of aggravated murder. -Kouri Richins was stunned as she learned she
was found guilty
00:37:10
of all five counts related
to Eric's death, says her friend Greg Hall. -Totally unexpected.
00:37:16
She was absolutely crushed
and heartbroken. -Kouri Richins declined
our request for an interview.
00:37:23
♪♪ -State of Utah
versus Kouri Richins. -Two months later on what would have been
Eric Richins 44th birthday,
00:37:36
Kouri Richins,
now wearing a prison uniform, was back in court
to receive her sentence.
00:37:43
Eric's family gave
heartfelt statements. His sister,
Amy emphasized the impact his loss has had on
his three sons.
00:37:52
-This crime didn't
just happen once. It happens every single morning
when those boys wake up
00:37:57
and realize their father
is still gone. -The boys were five,
seven and nine when their world was shattered.
00:38:05
Today they are nine, 11 and 13, and through written statements
read by each of their counselors
00:38:12
for the first time,
the world got to hear from them. The first statement read
aloud was written
00:38:19
by the youngest Weston. -"When someone
talks about Kouri, it makes me feel hateful
and ashamed.
00:38:25
She took away my dad. It's made me have
a hard time trusting people." -The middle child, Ashton,
called Kouri greedy
00:38:33
and said she did not properly
care for him and his brothers. -"When she got hurt,
you didn't even care."
00:38:39
-He accused her
of harming the family pets. -"You wouldn't let me put
my kitten in the garage
00:38:46
for safety at night. And we found it eaten
by raccoons the next day. You wouldn't let us turn on
and use the heater lamp
00:38:54
for the chickens and bunnies,
and they froze to death." -Carter, the oldest,
said Kouri was often drunk
00:39:02
and would lock him in his room. -"This happened
pretty much daily. I feel angry
that she locked me in my room.
00:39:08
I miss my dad, but I do not miss
how my life used to be. I don't miss Kouri.
I will tell you that."
00:39:13
-All three boys asked
the judge to give their mother, whom they only
referred to as Kouri,
00:39:19
the harshest possible sentence. -"What she did is very sick." -When it was their turn,
00:39:25
Kouri's friends and family
pleaded for leniency. Her brother, Ronnie... -Then Kouri Richins
was allowed to speak.
00:39:46
She did not testify at trial, but now she approached
the podium and used her time
to address her kids.
00:39:53
-I will use
any opportunity I can to get a message to you. -She says she has been
cut off from them
00:39:59
for the past two years. -As much as you've been
influenced into thinking that dad was murdered,
that I took your dad from you,
00:40:07
that is completely wrong
and an absolute lie. And just because someone
may not be perfect,
00:40:13
that's a far reach for
them to be capable of murder. -Judge Mrazek had two options
00:40:21
when considering
Kouri Richins sentence, either 25 years to life
with the possibility of parole
00:40:27
or life in prison
without parole, and he made it known
he carefully considered each.
00:40:34
-The court's duty is
to make a decision, a weighty,
long-lasting decision based on the best
information available today.
00:40:46
Accordingly, Ms. Richins, the court hereby sentences you
to life without parole.
00:40:52
♪♪ -For Eric's family,
it was the end to a years long nightmare. Greg Skordas,
the family spokesperson,
00:41:06
says the true heartbreak
is for the kids who are now living with
Eric's sister, Katie.
00:41:13
-I can't think of
anything worse as a child to lose your father... ...except to know that it was
because of your mother.
00:41:25
I mean, think about that. ♪♪