SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (Scripps News Group) — Days before her trial is set to begin, Kouri Richins has requested it be moved out of Summit County due to the belief that she cannot receive a fair trial.
The latest request for a change of venue was filed on Friday after the defense team received the jury questionnaires. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Feb. 10.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
The request asks for the trial to be moved from Summit County to Salt Lake County. Richins’ defense team had previously requested a change of venue last year, which was denied.
According to the latest request, there is a limited pool of prospective jury members who are unaware of or have no knowledge of the case. The defense claims among the questionnaires, of which 1,723 were returned, approximately 85 percent show the person was aware of the case in which Richins is accused of killing her husband.
Because Richins’ defense would not welcome a juror who has prior awareness of the case, they said they would be left with approximately 72 potential jurors.
“With a jury pool of less than 100 jurors it will be nearly impossible for Ms. Richins to receive a fair trial by a jury of her peers,” the filing reads.
Richins is accused of killing her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl she allegedly slipped into a drink. Prosecutors have also alleged that she made changes to her husband’s life insurance policy before he died.
It’s not known when Judge Richard Mrazik will announce a ruling on whether to grant a change of venue.
Richins is due in court Monday for a motions hearing.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Group, an E.W. Scripps Company.
