The Case Against Kouri Richins

Why don't we talk about money when we talk about domestic abuse? Financial abuse doesn't leave bruises. It creates a trap so complete that leaving becomes impossible—not because you're afraid of being hurt, but because you literally cannot afford to go. This is Parts 3 and 4 of "Surviving the Fog"—examining financial coercive control and the psychology of the mask through the Kouri Richins case. W...

This is our Week in Review of the Kouri Richins murder trial—and the prosecution's case is facing serious questions. The jury has heard two completely different realities over five days. The prosecution says Kouri systematically positioned insurance policies, sourced fentanyl through her housekeeper Carmen Lauber, and poisoned Eric for money. The defense says Lauber is a meth user who changed her...

How did Eric Richins miss the signs? Prosecutors allege Kouri was millions in debt, had a boyfriend, and arranged fentanyl purchases—all while Eric believed he had a marriage. The answer isn't that he was naive. Research on coercive control and narcissistic abuse patterns suggests he was targeted. Nobody marries a monster. They marry a mask. Love bombing—the overwhelming attention that feels like...

The prosecution is laying out its case against Kouri Richins—and the evidence spans fentanyl purchases, life insurance fraud, and a relationship with another man that allegedly motivated murder. Carmen Lauber, the former housekeeper who prosecutors say procured the drugs that killed Eric Richins, delivered key testimony under immunity deals. She told jurors Kouri requested drugs four times in earl...

Part 5 of "Surviving the Fog"—the final episode examining escalation, lethality indicators, and the psychology of the most dangerous time. Leaving is when risk spikes. The relationship was never about love—it was about control. When control slips, they don't let go. They escalate. Prosecutors allege Eric Richins was asking questions. Wanted to change his will. Something was shifting. Valentine's D...

Day 9 of the Kouri Richins murder trial in Park City, Utah focused on the most personal evidence prosecutors have introduced yet — the private text messages, recorded phone calls, and friend testimony that put Kouri's own words directly in front of the jury. Witnesses included a coworker who testified Kouri said it would be better if Eric were dead, Kouri's best friend since ninth grade who lost h...

The prosecution just presented what could be the most damaging day of testimony against Kouri Richins: the finances. A forensic accountant walked jurors through a business that was "imploding," a pattern of bounced checks, hard money loans stacking up, and a net worth of negative $1.6 million by the day after Eric Richins died. Former felony prosecutor and defense attorney Eric Faddis analyzes eve...

Allie Staking, friend of Kouri, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and laced a Moscow Mul...

Chelsea Barney, Friend of Kouri, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and laced a Moscow Mu...

Part 4 of "Surviving the Fog"—examining the psychology of the public persona vs. private reality. After Eric Richins died, Kouri wrote "Are You With Me?"—a children's book about coping with parental loss. She featured her sons. Published it. Promoted it. Did media appearances as a grieving widow helping families heal. All while under investigation for allegedly murdering her husband. If the prosec...

Gabe Morin, Owner of Mirror Lake Diner & Joshua Kaze, Friend of Eric Richins takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life...

Marie Bramwell, Attorney & Becky Lloyd, C&E Stone Masonry, take the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1...

Day eight of the Kouri Richins murder trial was unlike any day that came before it. No forensic accountants. No cell tower maps. Just texts, tears, and a question asked in the Uinta Mountains two weeks after Eric Richins died. Robert Josh Grossman — Kouri's boyfriend before and after Eric's death — testified in Park City, Utah on the four-year anniversary of the morning Eric was found dead. Prosec...

After nearly three years in jail awaiting trial, Kouri Richins has maintained her innocence. According to her mother, she believes "a hundred percent" she'll be found not guilty. Her defense team previously withdrew citing an "irreconcilable situation." When someone has sustained their alternative narrative this long, through this much contrary evidence, what are we looking at psychologically? Is...

The forensic accountant's testimony may have been the most methodical — and most devastating — presentation in the Kouri Richins trial. Nearly half a million dollars allegedly siphoned from Eric Richins through a pattern prosecutors say escalated over years. It started with smaller transactions around 2015-2016. Then came the $250,000 home equity line prosecutors say was opened with Eric's forged...

Robert Josh Grossman, Kouri's lover, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and laced a Mosco...

Kristal Bowman-Carter, estate planning attorney, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and l...

Christina Miller, Divorce Attorney, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and laced a Moscow...

Part 3 of "Surviving the Fog"—examining financial abuse as the ultimate form of coercive control. The Kouri Richins case is fundamentally a financial case. Prosecutors allege: $4.5 million in debt 200+ overdraft transactions totaling $300,000 A $3.2 million mansion closing the day Eric died Properties she allegedly couldn't afford without his estate If those allegations are accurate, this is finan...

Anne Coates, Senior Manager at CMFG Live Insurance, takes the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, an...

Day seven of the Kouri Richins murder trial delivered what may be the prosecution's single most important day of testimony — a forensic accountant who spent hours walking the jury through the financial wreckage prosecutors say gave Kouri Richins a motive to kill her husband Eric. Brooke Karrington, a thirty-year forensic accounting expert, reviewed hundreds of thousands of documents before taking...

Lashawnda Rodgers & Brian Frecklton, Iinsurance & financial advisors, take the stand in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insu...

The defense in the Kouri Richins trial is winning on what investigators didn't do—and that strategy may be enough. Through meticulous cross-examination, attorneys Kathy Nester, Wendy Lewis, and Alex Ramos have exposed a pattern of forensic tests never performed, evidence never collected, and investigative decisions that raise serious questions about whether this case was built on assumptions rathe...

Dr. Erik Christensen took the stand expecting to bolster the prosecution's case against Kouri Richins. What happened instead has given the defense ammunition they'll use through closing arguments. The state's own former Chief Medical Examiner admitted Eric Richins' death certificate still lists manner of death as "undetermined"—not homicide. Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke are joined by defense atto...

Brooke Karrington, Forensic Accountant, continues her testimony in the Kouri Richins Trial.  Complete coverage of the State of Utah v. Kouri Richins. She's accused of murdering her husband Eric Richins by poisoning him with fentanyl in their Kamas, Utah home in March 2022. The prosecution alleges Kouri researched untraceable poisons, secretly increased Eric's life insurance to $1.9 million, and la...