SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (Court TV) — Prosecutors trying Kouri Richins say they plan to introduce body camera video, a 911 call, police interviews and text messages as they begin to prove their case at a preliminary hearing on May 15.
Kouri Richins sits with her attorneys in court before a scheduled hearing on Nov. 3, 2023. (Court TV)
Kouri is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Eric Richins, who died after consuming a lethal dose of fentanyl. Kouri is also facing numerous fraud and forgery charges, which include accusations that she fraudulently applied for life insurance and forged Eric’s signature on documents.
Prosecutors preparing for the preliminary hearing have submitted several items into evidence that they plan to introduce on April 17, including a series of text messages recovered from Eric and Kouri’s phones, as well as those recovered from a person referred to in court documents as Kouri’s “paramour.” Those texts include references to an alleged previous poisoning attempt on Feb. 14, 2022, as well as plans between Kouri and the alleged paramour to meet up on the same date.
READ MORE: Filing: Kouri Richins texted secret ‘paramour’ the night her husband died
Also included with the evidence is the 911 call Kouri made, describing her husband to dispatchers by saying he’s “not breathing, he’s cold … he doesn’t have a pulse,” as well as the body camera video from the deputy who responded to the Richins’ home that night.
The State’s motion also references a transcript of a jail phone call with Kouri, her mother and her brother on Aug. 22, 2023, as something they will introduce as evidence. These calls are separate from the ones recorded on Sept. 19, 2023, where Kouri tells her brother about a “65-page novel” she has been writing while behind bars.
Prosecutors also plan to present evidence of the alleged financial crimes at the preliminary hearing and have told the judge they plan to show forged documents Kouri submitted as part of loan applications.
The evidence detailed in the motion is in addition to the evidence prosecutors previously introduced with witness testimony and other documents at a detention hearing in June, where a judge ruled that Kouri would remain in jail without bail pending her trial.
