PARK CITY, Utah (Court TV) — Kouri Richins will stay behind bars as she waits for her murder trial after a judge refused to grant her bond, despite new evidence.
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. A judge ruled to keep her in custody for the duration of her trial. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Richins faces a number of charges, including murder, in the death of her husband, Eric Richins. Eric was killed in 2022 by a lethal dose of fentanyl, which prosecutors say Kouri put into his drink to kill him and cash in on his life insurance.
Kouri has been behind bars for more than two years as she awaits trial, and her attorneys had fought to have her released on bond after telling a judge that a key prosecution witness had recanted his testimony. Prosecutors have said that Kouri got the drugs she used to allegedly kill her husband from her housekeeper, who in turn purchased them from a drug dealer. A defense filing indicated that the drug dealer denied ever selling fentanyl to the Richins’ housekeeper.
MORE | Kouri Richins accuses family trust of paying witnesses in murder trial
Judge Richard Mrazik said in his written decision denying the defense motion that a reasonable jury might not believe the drug dealer’s change of story. Judge Mrazik also said the defense “fails to acknowledge or address the other evidence from which a reasonable jury could find Defendant had a motive to commit the crime charged and exhibited consciousness of guilt.” Evidence prosecutors have already presented against Kouri includes sworn testimony from the housekeeper and records showing Kouri’s financial distress at the time of Eric’s death.
“While Defendant may be able to use [the witness’] recent recantation to poke holes in the State’s case, the holes are not substantial enough to undermine the court’s prior determination regarding substantial evidence,” Judge Mrazik wrote.
Kouri’s murder trial is scheduled to begin in February 2026.
