Bail hearing for female defendant who killed her husband and wrote a book begins

Park City, Utah — Editor’s Note: This video first aired in May 2023.

Attorney for a Utah woman who later died and wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after the death of her husband. accused of poisoning manslaughter He argued in court on Monday that he should be released on bail while he stands trial.

Cori Richens, 33, who has been charged with murder and drug possession, listened intently to questions from the chief detective prosecutor investigating her husband’s death. As Detective Jeff O’Driscoll testifies about the drug authorities believe were used in the murder, as the Rapt Gallery, made up of locals, including employees of Eric Richnes’ construction company, sits behind her. Richens grabbed a tissue and took a deep breath. She was kneeling on her head and crying as he talked about how he felt her “cold to the touch.”

In court documents, prosecutors said amidst marital quarrels and fights over the multi-million dollar mansion they eventually bought as an investment, a Moscow Mule cocktail she made for her husband, Eric Litchins, was given five times the lethal dose. of fentanyl.

A mother of three, she self-published a picture book about an angelic father who watches over his deceased sons.

When charges were filed last month, the stereotype that the case was a true crime was created, and people began to scrutinize the children’s book and use it as a tool to help children grieving the loss of loved ones. Began to scrutinize her remarks to promote.

Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell said she plans to question multiple witnesses Monday morning.

Prosecutors have portrayed a conspirator woman who tried to kill her husband by putting hydrocodone in her Valentine’s Day sandwich weeks ago, and have repeatedly denied any involvement on the day of his death in March 2022. , even told police that “her husband is active.” He doesn’t just die in his sleep. This is insane. ”

In a motion seeking her release filed Friday, Kouri Richins’ attorneys argued that the evidence against her was circumstantial because police did not seize fentanyl from her parents’ home. They also questioned the credibility of key witnesses expected to support the prosecution’s request for her detention.

Lawyers said prosecutors “simply accepted” Eric Richnes’ family testimony that his wife poisoned him, and after an investigation that lasted nearly 14 months found no evidence to support the theory. We back-calculated to confirm that.” In filings, including a letter filed Monday, her attorneys also said detectives illegally detained and interrogated Ms. Richins while serving a search warrant for her parents’ home about a month after her husband’s death. claimed to have done so.

The incident also puts the spotlight on Camas, Utah, an agricultural city behind the Wasatch Mountains near Park City, one of the West’s premier destinations for skiing, hiking and outdoor recreation. ing. The couple and their three sons lived in a new housing development in the town of Francis, about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City.

If the case goes to trial, it could hinge heavily on an unidentified informant that prosecutors say sold Ms. Litchins drugs that the coroner later found in her husband’s system. .

The indictment and warrant list detailed interviews that an informant said she sold lytin hydrocodone and fentanyl in the weeks and months before her husband’s death. Prosecutors say the drug-buying schedule aligns with Eric Litchins’ death and claims that his wife put lace in his sandwich weeks earlier.

Kouri Richchins demanded stronger drugs after her husband survived an initial poisoning charge, prosecutors said, “part of Michael Jackson’s stuff,” the dealer told investigators. . When the pop star died of cardiac arrest in 2009, a coroner found prescription drugs and a powerful anesthetic in his system, not fentanyl.

The indictment suggests that the case likely unfolded with financial and marital disputes as motivations. Court filings show that the couple quarreled over buying an unfinished 20,000-square-foot (1,860-square-meter) mansion nearby and discussed a divorce before they died.

Prosecutors also say Kouri Richchins made significant changes to the family’s inheritance plans before her husband died. take out life insurance He launched a policy with benefits totaling nearly $2 million.

They also alleged that Richnes withdrew and used a $250,000 home equity credit line, withdrew $100,000 from her husband’s bank account, spent over $30,000 on her husband’s credit card, and was slated for business taxes. He also claims he stole approximately $134,000.

Some of the allegations fall under petition to civil court The lawsuit deals with how Eric Richnes’ relative and widowed wife split the masonry business with their former partners after Eric Richnes’ death, as well as the trust Kouri Richnes set aside for his next of kin. filed conflicting lawsuits over whether it could benefit from

Greg Skordas, a lawyer and victim advocate who works with Eric Richnes’ relatives, said Richnes’ three children are staying with relatives while their mother awaits trial. said. Katie Richnes-Benson, Eric Richnes’ sister and trustee of his estate, has applied for her guardianship.