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Talking Dateline: Book of Lies

April 29, 2026 /

This episode discusses the case of Corrie Richens, who was convicted of murdering her husband, Eric Richens, by poisoning him with fentanyl. Andrea Canning and Blaine Alexander cover the details of the case, including Corrie's 911 call, her subsequent media appearances, and the children's book she wrote about grief.

Andrea describes the events leading to Eric's death, emphasizing the peculiar circumstances surrounding his sudden passing and Corrie's actions afterward. The episode highlights how she appeared on a local TV show to promote her book shortly before her arrest.

The conversation includes insights from a private investigator involved in the case, Todd Gabler, who was hired by Eric's family. He discusses the complexities of the investigation and the emotional toll on those involved.

Andrea and Blaine also touch on the dynamics between Corrie and Eric's family, revealing tension and distrust that escalated after Eric's death. They discuss the implications of Corrie's actions and the impact on her three children.

The episode concludes with viewer questions and comments, reflecting on the community's reaction to the case and the potential for a movie adaptation of the story.

TLDR

Corrie Richens was convicted of murdering her husband Eric by poisoning him, leading to a complex investigation and media frenzy.

Episode

30:50
00:00:00
Hi, everyone. I'm Blaine Alexander. And today we are talking Dateline. I'm so excited to
00:00:09
have Andrea Canning here to talk about her episode, Book of Lies. Hi, Andrea. Hey, Blaine. I like to call you my Atlanta partner in crime, right? That's exactly it.
00:00:19
Yes. So hello, partner in crime. Hello, my partner in crime. We've become a sort of dynamic duo here, haven't we?
00:00:26
Yes. Well, this episode is certainly a good one. If you haven't seen it, you can watch the episode on Peacock or listen to it in the Dateline podcast feed and then come right back here. And later, we'll have an extra clip from Andrea's interview with a private investigator on the case. And then, of course, we will answer some of your viewer and listener questions from social media. All right, Andrea, let's talk Dateline.
00:00:47
Let's do it. Okay. So, Andrea, before we dive into this conversation, and there is a lot to cover in this conversation.
00:00:54
Oh, yes. I think it's fair to say. But just give us a quick rundown of what this episode is about.
00:01:01
Yeah, this episode is about a mother, Corrie Richens. She had three young boys. She's married
00:01:07
to Eric Richens. Corrie calls 911 in the middle of the night. She has found Eric cold to the touch.
00:01:15
First responders come. She's on the phone with 911. They're telling her to do CPR. She's saying
00:01:20
she doesn't know what's wrong. They come. They're trying to figure out what happened to Eric Richens.
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He's healthy. He's young. He's 39 years old. He just dies suddenly. So fast forward,
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Corrie, in her grief, writes a children's book about grief. Corrie goes on TV, which is now,
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I guess you could call it an infamous TV appearance on Good Things Utah. She talks about her book.
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She talks about her husband dying. And then not too long after that, she is arrested for the
00:01:53
murder of Eric Ritchens. They say that she poisoned him with fentanyl five times the lethal amount was
00:01:58
found in his system. She had said that they were celebrating a new deal. She was a home flipper.
00:02:04
And they had a Moscow mule and a lemon drop shot. Prosecutors say that she poisoned those drinks
00:02:10
with the fentanyl. And it took a long time, but Corey did go on trial for murder and she was
00:02:16
convicted. Wow, that is quite a story. I think that I mean, we talk about all sorts of different
00:02:22
ways that, you know, kind of murder plots unravel, but going on a local lifestyle TV show,
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talking about the book that you wrote is certainly, I think, a first. And I think that's what, you know, well, we know that's why this case got so much attention was
00:02:36
that book. You know, it was apparently she didn't write it herself. She had a ghostwriter, but
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she did publish it. And, you know, it's just people, people see it sort of as another layer
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layer of diabolical behavior that you would, you're accused of killing your husband,
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and then you write this children's book about grief that you're, you know, the victim and,
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you know, this is so sad. And all the while, according to prosecutors, she had murdered her
00:03:04
husband. This is something that when you look at her on the show, you kind of think what was going
00:03:10
on inside her head. So I want to ask you, what was it like interviewing that reporter who did that
00:03:15
interview and who had that show. Yeah. I mean, the poor reporter or the anchor, right? Like
00:03:19
co-host. She's called a co-host. But, you know, Dina, she was, you know, she's just trying to do
00:03:25
a good thing. You know, she's having a local author, in quotes, come on her show. And it's
00:03:31
such a sensitive topic and meant to help other families, you know, grieving and with children.
00:03:37
And my goodness, you know, then she ends up in the middle of a murder mystery, because an anonymous email comes into the station, you know, with the subject line.
00:03:49
Like there were two, right? It was like one was like the name of the book and then, you know, she killed her husband.
00:03:55
And it's just like, wait, what? This is a lifestyle show. We, you know, we deal with cooking and beauty segments, right?
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And, you know, the one time they have this more serious topic on, it leads to this.
00:04:08
So, I mean, that's the kind of thing that I personally, though, as an on-air person, would be fascinated to end up in a situation like that.
00:04:16
I know that sounds really awful, but I would be like, wait, what? What happened?
00:04:21
You know, I would be all over it. It takes, I mean, yes. I think as reporters, we're kind of like, oh, that's crazy.
00:04:27
But like, oh, what else can we find out about this? This is insane, right? And listening to her story, it resonated with me because in my local news days when I was here in Atlanta, I was the weekend morning anchor.
00:04:38
And so you have an hour of news and it's like, you know, of course, the hard news at the top.
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But then there's like 20 minutes at the back end where you're talking about like, here are the pets that need to be adopted.
00:04:47
Let me pet this puppy. And, you know, here's this community event. And so you just have kind of just an interesting shepherd's pie of whatever community events or local people.
00:04:56
And that's something that easily would have been part of that. Right. So many of us would have done that.
00:05:00
Yeah. And here's your alleged killer. Yeah. So we'll throw that in with the puppies and the baking and the community service.
00:05:09
Exactly. Exactly. I'm curious. Did you ever get a chance to read the book or see a copy of it?
00:05:13
Yeah. Yes, I've seen the book. It's just a basic book and it's colorful and there's a picture of Eric.
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He's a guardian angel and it has a dedication to him. She even has their dog in there.
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Um, but yeah, it's like, it's really about a father helping or watching over his son.
00:05:36
Um, they do have three sons. So, but it was, I believe it was supposed to be based on Eric being the angel.
00:05:42
Okay. Okay. Um, well, one thing that I loved about this episode, Andrea is going to the diner and
00:05:47
meeting, um, the owner of the diner there. Gabe. Gabe. Yes. Yes. So just you know seeing the type of people who come in see it just seemed to give a feel of okay I understand what this guy like what this kind of town is like Yeah and it just like homey like country surrounded by mountains
00:06:09
You get a lot of guys coming in there and women. They like outdoorsy stuff. They're hunters.
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They snowmobile. They do all those winter things. because it's more of a, even though it's a mix actually, because it's the area park city and
00:06:26
surrounding area. I mean, you have billionaires there, you have mansions, and then you also have
00:06:32
the people who, who grew up there, you know, or move there and they just like the country and
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they don't have, you know, gobs of money. But they're just good people. And they just, you know,
00:06:42
they love the beauty of it and they love the outdoors. And so it's kind of a mix, but
00:06:46
the diner felt very folksy. And Gabe was really nice and was very surprised to learn that his
00:06:54
diner was unfortunately at the center of this. Part of this whole thing. Exactly. Well, speaking
00:07:00
of that, Andrea, I mean, in addition to locations, you actually got inside one of the homes that
00:07:05
Corey was flipping, which, or that Corey had flipped, talked to the homeowner. I thought that
00:07:11
was fascinating, too, because, I mean, it really kind of puts you inside something else that was at
00:07:16
the center of all of this. That was an important piece. Yeah. And this woman, we didn't really get
00:07:21
into her story too much, Molly Crosswhite, because there was so much other, you know,
00:07:25
serious stuff to get to. But I mean, she bought the house. And then, you know, all of a sudden,
00:07:32
she's contacted by a detective and he's not telling her why, right? He's not telling her
00:07:40
what it's about. And she didn't know she was buying the house from Corey. It was a company.
00:07:49
Like, so she bought it from like an LLC. So she starts doing her own detective work.
00:07:56
You know, wait, why was this detective here asking these questions, wanting to look around?
00:08:01
because he's not really sharing the details with her. And so she starts going through her papers,
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and it's Corey Richens, who was behind that company, who sold the house. And she was like floored, Molly,
00:08:19
when she realized that now this house is where the prosecution alleges alleges that Carmen, the housekeeper, left the drugs for Corey in the fire pit in the backyard.
00:08:32
Right. So she couldn't believe it. She just was, I mean, when that happens, you just are, wow, like this house I bought is now
00:08:39
in a murder investigation. It's crazy. This story is just full of so many people who were unwittingly in some way tied to this,
00:08:46
right? Like the co-host of the show, the owner of the diner. I mean, all of these people who in some way have found themselves to be, you know, intersecting with this murder plot.
00:08:57
Even Linda, who worked at Home Depot. Yes. You know, who introduced Eric and Corrie, pushed, you know, pushed along the romance of Eric and Corrie because she loved Corrie and she thought Eric was like the best customer and he was so nice.
00:09:12
And you saw her. She was in tears over this because she really believed in this couple.
00:09:18
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I mean, speaking of her seeing just this beautiful couple, the first thing that made me say, oh, gosh, this is this is going to be wild was the tense nature, I guess, between Corey and Eric's family.
00:09:34
I think that that was such a big tell. And it was very clear that obviously there was tension between the two of them and their marriage. But the tension between Corey and the family was wild.
00:09:45
I mean, let's just kind of talk about that. I mean, just kind of going back, does it seem like there was strain on their relationship from the start?
00:09:52
Like, when does this pick up? There's a spider on my computer. Just give me one second.
00:09:56
Okay. Okay. Sorry. Oh, my God. It's running across the desk. Sorry for anyone. Okay.
00:10:07
Who doesn't like having bugs killed? I just killed it. I'm sorry. It's all right.
00:10:10
We're fine. Like, big, big? Or like, no, it wasn't too big. I just don't like spiders.
00:10:15
I don't blame you. Especially not on your computer in your house. Does anyone like spiders?
00:10:20
No. Okay. I'm so sorry about that. I did hear your question. You killed it very fearlessly, though.
00:10:26
That was very... Yes, with a container of pistachios. Okay. All right. Let's... Okay.
00:10:35
I was thinking that a paperweight. What was that? Okay. It's just that container.
00:10:39
Okay. Back on track. So this relationship with Corey and the family, you know it's a little murky because everyone has like different lenses perspective on things
00:10:50
and so like I have heard that Corey got along with Eric's dad but then you hear like she didn't get
00:10:55
along maybe with the sisters but but then Linda was saying there was a baby shower and they all
00:11:00
seem to be getting along so that's for really for them to say not me you know what that relationship
00:11:06
was. But after Eric's death, certainly it was on full display that there was major, major tension.
00:11:15
Yes. I mean, I think just the fact even going before, just the fact that he quietly made changes
00:11:21
to his will and made his wife not in charge of his affairs and kind of said, hey, if something
00:11:28
happens, you know, might want to look this way. That's a, I mean, that's wild to think of somebody
00:11:33
being that concerned about the state of their marriage, that they would do something like that
00:11:38
ahead of time. Like, that's unbelievable. And, well, it actually started even at the house the
00:11:44
morning of Eric's death, because the sister made a comment to someone from law enforcement,
00:11:53
like you need to look at Corey And that tells you right away that there was not a good relationship I mean if there was a good relationship you not going to be immediately pointing the finger at your brother
00:12:06
spouse that, you know, she killed Eric, right? So clearly things couldn't have been great.
00:12:13
But another thing that was like a big red flag for that relationship, at least from this is
00:12:17
from my own feelings, was having her sign a prenup five minutes before she's walking down the aisle.
00:12:25
In her wedding dress. In her wedding dress. Yeah. I mean, that was, I just feel like, why is that happening?
00:12:33
Regardless of whose side you're on, how you feel about who, that just doesn't feel right.
00:12:40
Right? Agree. Agree. Like, figure that out before. You see, I have to, this is hilarious and certainly not the point.
00:12:49
It's very much an aside, but I know that we're both Real Housewives fans. Oh, yes.
00:12:53
And it made me think about one of the weddings that's featured in the show where there's a huge argument over a prenup before.
00:13:02
Which one? This was Atlanta. It was Todd and Candy. There was episodes that were sitting around whether or not to sign a prenup.
00:13:08
And that was just a huge deal. Candy's the moneymaker, honey. She's the one who, right?
00:13:13
Candy. I mean, I think Todd was a producer. No offense to producers. But I think Candy's businesses and her music was bringing in a lot more money.
00:13:21
There was a lot of drama around that, right? And so anytime, you know, you hear a prenup coming up, I mean, people could say there's
00:13:28
no good way. There's no right way. There's no better way to do it. But certainly when someone's in their wedding dress five minutes before they're getting
00:13:34
ready to walk down the aisle, that is not the way that you do it, right? That's not fair to anybody.
00:13:39
Yeah. Yeah. I don't think that was right. But yeah, I mean, no one's disputed that it happened.
00:13:45
So, I mean, we've kind of heard it a number of times at this point. When we get back, Andrea is going to share an extra clip from her interview with the private investigator on this case.
00:14:05
Well, let's talk about the private investigator here. I mean, a unique aspect of this case was there was a private investigator hired by the Richens family.
00:14:15
And I know that that is often a feature in many of our Dateline stories. There's a private investigator who comes in because the family just thinks, OK, the police aren't digging deep enough or no one's listening or whatever it is.
00:14:28
And we see that private investigator really become a factor in getting to the bottom of what happened here.
00:14:35
Yeah, he was very effective in this case. And we should say, Blaine, also that his name is Todd Gabler, the private investigator.
00:14:42
The Richens family brought him on in part because Corey was suing the estate because of the trust and all that.
00:14:51
So they needed him to look into that. And they felt that Corey was squandering Eric's money potentially and that there were financial issues.
00:15:03
And then also they had this hunch that she may have killed him, they believed. So the private investigator was brought in for that.
00:15:11
And he also, he in turn hired a forensic accountant to help out. So they kind of had a big team on this, like a powerful team looking into everything.
00:15:21
And the private investigator was giving information to law enforcement of what he was uncovered.
00:15:29
He uncovered a lot. Yeah, yeah. I mean, when you talk to a private investigator, obviously they're brought in by one side or another.
00:15:37
They have a very specific point of view. So talk about how you kind of walk through that when you do an interview and how you handle that and treat that in a story like this.
00:15:47
Well, yeah, in this case, he was very important because we don't have law enforcement doing interviews.
00:15:54
So he, you know, sometimes the private investigator kind of takes on that voice, right?
00:15:58
And the private investigator knows so much about the case. And in this case, he really did.
00:16:02
And so it was really just like, what impact did he have on the case? And what steps did he take?
00:16:08
And what did he learn? And you kind of just go from the beginning, like, how'd you get the case?
00:16:12
You know, and then you, what did you do next? Oh, where did that lead you? Oh, wow.
00:16:16
And, you know, you just kind of let it unfold the way it unfolded for him. And he said something interesting.
00:16:23
I said to him, I said, wow, you really went down a rabbit hole. And he corrected me.
00:16:28
And he said, I think the difference between a professional investigator and an amateur
00:16:31
investigators that a professional avoids falling down the rabbit hole. The amateur goes heading
00:16:37
into those holes without a notion about what is objectively appropriate. And he said, he sat the
00:16:44
family down basically and said, I am not here to deliver you the answer that you want. Like,
00:16:52
if that's what you're looking for, not accusing them of asking for that. But he said, I am here
00:16:58
to get to the truth and whatever that is. Meaning, if I discover that Eric died of an overdose,
00:17:05
you know, that he somehow accidentally did this to himself, I am going to deliver that finding to
00:17:10
you. That was not the finding, of course, that the conclusion he came to. But I really appreciated
00:17:16
that about him, that, you know, he was there to, he says, just find the truth and deliver the family
00:17:25
the information that he uncovered. It's fascinating to hear you say that because
00:17:30
that sounds almost exactly like a private investigator I interviewed in a story that
00:17:35
aired about a month ago. It was Malice. It was about the family of Jake Embert here in Georgia.
00:17:40
And his family hired a private investigator because the scene was staged to look like a
00:17:44
suicide. They said, there's no way. This isn't it. And he said the exact same thing. He said,
00:17:48
listen, if I find that he did die by suicide, basically, you're going to have to accept that,
00:17:52
Right Right Obviously that not what he found But the exact same thing And I think that the mark of any good private investigator I think so too You don want someone just telling you what you think or what you want to hear
00:18:05
That's just not helpful to anybody. Exactly. And Andrew, we actually have some extra sound from the private investigator.
00:18:12
He's talking about Josh Grossman, Corey's lover. Let's listen to that. You discover Corey Richens has a lover, a secret lover.
00:18:20
I do. and in March of 2023, he calls me. And so as the defense brought out, I told him that Corey was under investigation for Eric's death,
00:18:37
that she likely murdered him. I don't say that to try and influence a witness. I say that to see how it lands on that person.
00:18:47
I want to know not about the truth of the matter. I want to know how he responds to that notion
00:18:53
and what Josh Grossman tells me next is very instructive he says that he carries a wallet will
00:19:02
so that if something should happen to him people will know that he has written in this wallet will
00:19:10
that Corrie was involved in the death of her husband that's what that statement of mine
00:19:18
elicits from him Wow. Wow. Well, let's talk about I'm glad we had that clip from the interview. I mean, let's talk about Josh Grossman. I mean, there was in terms of lines that I will remember from Dateline episodes when he walked up and was getting sworn in and they give him the normal, you know, the normal spiel. And he goes, oh, wait, what do you mean by the whole truth?
00:19:41
I was watching this with Jay. We were watching it together last night. And we both just like looked at each other like, I mean, who says this?
00:19:50
Okay, this is what I mean by the whole truth. What? You tell the truth. Tell the truth.
00:19:55
You can't handle the truth. No, that's like from the movie, right? What's that movie that really with Jack Nicholson?
00:20:02
Oh, A Few Good Men. A Few Good Men. There you go. Is Grossman A Few Good Men? I don't know.
00:20:07
But as many like TV shows and everything. Oh, as many TV shows and movies that have people just swearing in the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
00:20:15
Nothing but the truth. Okay, well, what do you mean by the whole truth was wild?
00:20:19
Like part of it or all of it or what? And also that's just putting a flag saying, hey, I'm not going to tell the whole truth, right?
00:20:26
Like if you have the question, like, is what I'm about to say the truth or not? So then the judge tells all the juror or tells everyone to leave the courtroom.
00:20:35
He's like, let me have a little chat with this young man. What in the world? I mean, isn't that just kind of an immediate shot to his credibility when he gets on the stand?
00:20:45
I mean, it's odd. I don't know in what world you don't understand that direction.
00:20:52
It's never heard that one before. After that, I mean, do you think the prosecution then had kind of like some rebuilding to do?
00:21:01
I mean, yes, the jury was excused, but they did hear it. I mean, immediately if I were on the jury, I think, ooh.
00:21:05
Well, let me watch what this guy is saying. Blaine, we did interview those two jurors.
00:21:10
Right. Who who said that they felt really bad for Josh and they believed him. And imagine if you're the lover of a woman on trial for murder and you got to get up in front of all those people.
00:21:23
I mean, I still don't understand like why he said what he said. But like at the same time, you probably be a bit of a basket case, I would think.
00:21:30
Yeah. I mean, and clearly he was. He was really having a hard time on the stand.
00:21:33
I mean, very emotional. I'm curious, Andrea, what did you make of their relationship?
00:21:38
Josh and Corey. Yeah. I mean, there was some evidence that she wanted a future with him based on some planning text messages.
00:21:49
Like they would live in the carriage house at the mansion. They had booked at one point, I believe, a trip somewhere tropical together for after the murder.
00:22:00
It seems like he definitely cared about her. Remember that one text message about when she says, if I got divorced, and he said, I would marry you now.
00:22:08
So I think he was in love with her. Was she in love with him is really the question that I do not have an answer to.
00:22:19
Now, her official statement on it is that she loved her husband. And yes, she had an affair, but she loved Eric very much and was planning on being with him forever.
00:22:33
Well, you mentioned the jurors. Let's talk about those jurors. You know, it was one thing that the jurors said, I think that was interesting is, of course, there's the evidence, they looked at the evidence, they considered it. But they said that something that was hard for them was convicting knowing that they would be taking a mother away from her sons.
00:22:48
Yeah, that's always hard for jurors, because regardless of what you think and believe, and yes, they believe Corey killed Eric, those poor boys, you know, one minute they're living this happy life with their mom and dad, and then the next, their dad's gone in the middle of the night, and emergency responders are in their house.
00:23:10
and then you fast forward some time and you've got search warrants and mom's being arrested and
00:23:16
it's just really sad um you know because it sounds like eric was an awesome dad and cory
00:23:22
was an active mom and you know at the soccer games and all that and like you know i i i hope
00:23:30
that they're doing really well with eric's family there that's that's who who they're with and then
00:23:35
And finally, I want to end talking about Eric's family. I mean, how with this verdict, there's never, oh my gosh, a sense of closure, right?
00:23:43
You can't bring a person back. But how did they feel afterwards having seen this case come to a conviction?
00:23:52
I mean, I think there was relief. You know, we didn't, again, we didn't interview them.
00:23:56
So I think it was just this. Just relieved this chapter is over. Doesn't bring Eric back, but they, in their hearts, believe Corey's responsible.
00:24:07
And she was found guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. Five guilties. And she has other stuff hanging over her head for financial stuff.
00:24:19
So, yeah. Well, there's certainly a lot to be said about this one. This was a fascinating episode, Andrea.
00:24:25
And, of course, lots of social media questions and comments that we will get to after this.
00:24:30
Can't wait. Welcome back, everyone. We are here to answer some of your social media questions.
00:24:47
And this is being taped after the show aired. So Blaine is on assignment, as am I.
00:24:53
So I am joined by the very talented producer, Karen Israel. Karen, thank you for stepping in.
00:25:00
Thank you, Andrea. Great to be here. Yeah, and it was great working with you on this story, as always.
00:25:07
So, Karen, you're going to kick it off with some of the observations, comments, questions from our loyal Dateline viewers and listeners.
00:25:15
So, I like this first one. It's about Gabe's Diner from at JS3NJ on X asked, did the crew eat there?
00:25:28
Oh, yes, we sure did. We ate there twice, right, Karen? So I'll say what I had and then you can say.
00:25:36
I remember what you ate. Okay well why don you tell people what I ate then since you have such a good memory Well it must have been good because you had it twice the tuna melt You are correct Yes I had the tuna melt
00:25:48
It was delicious. And I also remember I snuck in a blonde brownie at the very end, the second trip.
00:25:57
Yes. And that was good, too. And I got a little piece of that, too. You did. It was really yummy.
00:26:01
The food is very good at Gabe's Diner. Gabe was great and so helpful to us. and cool little fun fact.
00:26:09
He told us when we were there, he was signing or working on the paperwork. He purchased the lot next to the diner
00:26:16
and he's putting in a mini golf course. Yes, that's right. He's quite the entrepreneur.
00:26:22
Yes, it'll be even more of a draw in the Camas Valley. All right, what do we got next, Karen?
00:26:28
At Kgirl8 Lawana on X asks, who was the publisher of the book? Okay, so do you know this?
00:26:35
because I don't know this. So I just know that it was a self-published book. And she actually
00:26:44
used a ghostwriter to write the book. And it was self-published. And that's what I know.
00:26:53
Okay. Vicki McCarthy Padgett on Facebook said she wrote the story and had it published within a year,
00:27:01
Like she had it planned already. Do we know that? I mean, I guess. We don't know when she came up with the idea.
00:27:09
Right. Or we don't, that we don't know. What we do know is yes, obviously it came out after his death, for sure.
00:27:16
One thing that was that we did learn in court was that at least in messages with her brother she said that this was she was planning to write another book that this was kind of her test run of a book and she was going to write she called it the
00:27:32
big one in a text. I don't know if that was about Eric's death. I don't know what she was thinking with that one.
00:27:42
Yeah. All right. Next viewer. This is an interesting one, because we learned a lot about this.
00:27:48
we learned that Corey and her friend Greg are in contact off and on for 15 hours a day.
00:27:54
At Mabel Monahan on X asks, how are they able to do that if she's locked up? Those jail prison
00:28:02
phone calls cost a fortune. Yeah, that one, I was shocked, Karen, when he told us that. I could
00:28:07
not believe the amount of time that they spend talking on the phone. You know, the local jail,
00:28:13
it's there's there's not those the protocol of prisons where people have jobs and they have to
00:28:18
be up at this hour and then they or they work you know they work in the kitchen or they work in the
00:28:22
library like you don't have the same things happening in a local small jail so i guess
00:28:29
that's how she has like she wouldn't be able to do that in prison no no and i from what i understand
00:28:37
And she has some kind of tablet, iPad type. Yes, a tablet. And from that, so a lot of their communication is like a text system.
00:28:49
It'll be interesting, as you were saying about the different rules in prison, how much access she'll have to a phone or other means of communication.
00:28:59
Yeah, and I know she'll have it, obviously. She'll have the emails. She have the phone And it just I just don know that it going to be be on demand like it seems to be right now Vani Tweed on Facebook says very interesting story I sure there will be a movie Did she
00:29:16
get sentenced? Yeah, no. Well, you know what's the sentencing date? It's actually a significant date.
00:29:22
It is. The date it's scheduled is May 13th, which is Eric's birthday. And as for a movie, I absolutely have no information on this, but I could see this being a Lifetime movie.
00:29:35
Couldn't you? I could see it. Because they do a lot of rip from the headlines movies.
00:29:40
And now that there's a resolution, I could definitely see them doing that. This one certainly has enough twists and turns for a good movie.
00:29:53
It sure does. Karen, thank you so much for being our surprise guest for this Talking Dateline.
00:29:59
It's been fun going down memory lane. It's great. We'll have to go back to the Mirror Lake Diner sometime.
00:30:05
Anytime. Anytime. Hopefully under different circumstances, maybe, you know, just to relax and enjoy some good food.
00:30:12
Well, that is it for this week's Talking Dateline. Starting this week, you can watch the video version of this podcast on Peacock.
00:30:21
Make sure to check it out. And remember, if you have any questions for us about stories or about Dateline, you can reach us 24-7 on social media at Dateline NBC.
00:30:30
DM us your audio or video on our socials at Dateline NBC or leave us a voicemail at 212-413-5252 for a chance to be featured.
00:30:40
Thank you for listening and thanks for watching.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 80
    Biggest twist
  • 75
    Most heartbreaking
  • 75
    Most surprising

Episode Highlights

  • The Infamous TV Appearance
    Corrie Richens appeared on a local TV show discussing her book about grief, shortly before her arrest for her husband's murder.
    “Going on a local lifestyle TV show, talking about the book that you wrote is certainly a first.”
    @ 02m 28s
    April 29, 2026
  • The Ghostwriter's Role
    Corrie's children's book about grief was allegedly ghostwritten, adding a layer of intrigue to her case.
    “It was apparently she didn't write it herself. She had a ghostwriter.”
    @ 02m 36s
    April 29, 2026
  • Tension in the Marriage
    Signs of strain in Corrie and Eric's marriage were evident even before his death.
    “The fact that he quietly made changes to his will... that's wild.”
    @ 11m 33s
    April 29, 2026
  • The Private Investigator's Insight
    The private investigator hired by the Richens family played a crucial role in uncovering the truth.
    “I am not here to deliver you the answer that you want.”
    @ 16m 52s
    April 29, 2026
  • Josh Grossman's Testimony
    Corey's lover, Josh, revealed he carried a wallet will implicating Corrie in Eric's death.
    “He carries a wallet will so that if something should happen to him, people will know.”
    @ 19m 02s
    April 29, 2026
  • The Complexity of Love
    Did she love him back? The question lingers as we explore their relationship.
    “Was she in love with him is really the question that I do not have an answer to.”
    @ 22m 13s
    April 29, 2026
  • A Chapter Closed
    The family feels relief after the verdict, but closure remains elusive.
    “Just relieved this chapter is over.”
    @ 24m 00s
    April 29, 2026
  • The Verdict
    Corey was found guilty on all counts, leaving a family to grapple with loss.
    “And she was found guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.”
    @ 24m 07s
    April 29, 2026
  • Potential Movie Adaptation
    The story's twists could make for a compelling film, possibly a Lifetime movie.
    “This one certainly has enough twists and turns for a good movie.”
    @ 29m 47s
    April 29, 2026

Episode Quotes

  • Wow, that is quite a story.
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies
  • This is a lifestyle show. We deal with cooking and beauty segments!
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies
  • I would marry you now.
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies
  • There's never a sense of closure, right?
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies
  • Just relieved this chapter is over.
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies
  • This one certainly has enough twists and turns for a good movie.
    Talking Dateline: Book of Lies

Key Moments

  • Infamous TV Appearance01:33
  • Murder Mystery03:42
  • Unwitting Participants08:46
  • Private Investigator14:09
  • Family's Pain23:16
  • Closure Elusive23:38
  • Verdict Announced24:07
  • Movie Potential29:47

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown