SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (Scripps News Salt Lake City/Court TV) — A Utah woman accused of fatally poisoning her husband will stay behind bars until she faces a jury next year, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Kouri Richins has been in the Summit County jail since her May 2023 arrest. She’s facing multiple charges in the March 2022 death of Eric Richins, who prosecutors say was poisoned by a cocktail laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children’s book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Last month, after nearly 18 months behind bars, and with her trial not scheduled until Spring 2025, Kouri filed a new appeal asking for her bail conditions to be reconsidered so that she can be released from jail now.
In the filing, Kouri’s defense referenced that she was no longer facing the death penalty and cited her good behavior while in jail.
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Kouri’s defense team also argued that with the trial now delayed until 2025, she will have served nearly two full years behind bars by the time it begins.
In his ruling, Judge Richard Mrazik commended Kouri for using her time in jail “as productively as possible,” but said due to her facing lengthy prison sentences which could lead to her “dying in prison,” the situation “creates a powerful incentive for [Kouri] to harm herself or witnesses in this case, and to flee the jurisdiction of the court” if she was released on bail.
Judge Mzarik also denied, in part, a motion from Kouri’s defense team to split some of the charges against her. The defense’s request to sever charges of murder and related insurance fraud and forgery counts from attempted murder and related mortgage frauds and forgery counts was denied, but Judge Mzarik granted their request to sever mortgage fraud and forgery charges related to 2021 accusations.
The defense team was also denied the opportunity to seat 12 jurors for trial, with Judge Mzarik sticking to eight.
Judge Mrazik also granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Following Tuesday’s hearing, Kouri’s attorney Kathy Nester released the following statement to Court TV:
“With two charges dismissed and four others severed, the defense stands more confident. The case against our client is rapidly narrowing, exposing deeper weaknesses with each step.”
This story was originally published by Scripps News Salt Lake City, an E.W. Scripps Company.
