Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Utah Mom Accused of Poisoning Husband Hit With 26 New Charges

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Kouri Richins, the Utah mother and children's grief book author accused of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, now faces 26 more felony counts. Prosecutors say Richins engaged in a pattern of unlawful conduct that included money laundering, mortgage fraud and issuing bad checks. Richins is also accused of attempted murder and murder in Eric's death. Summit County prosecutors have revealed new details about the case. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the information in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code CRIMEFIX at https://www.oneskin.co #oneskinpodHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Mark Weaver https://x.com/MarkRWeaverProducer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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I Go Through the New Charges and Information as a Prosecutor offers his theory on why these charges are coming now. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjana Levy. After losing an appeal over jury selection, Corey Richens' trial for the murder of her husband, Richens is now scheduled to begin in February of 2026. Corey Richens has pleaded not guilty to the charges related to Eric Richens' death in March of 2022. Prosecutors say that Eric died because Corey Richens poisoned him with a massive dose of fentanyl. Corey has vowed to fight the charges, telling a Dateline producer, this is war. Now prosecutors have filed more charges against Corey, 26 counts, including money laundering,

mortgage fraud, issuing a bad check, communications fraud, and pattern of unlawful conduct. That last one is essentially accusing Corey Richens of running a criminal enterprise. It's Utah's version of a RICO statute. Now, just a little little background according to prosecutors. Eric Richens met Cory in 2009 when she was working as a cashier at Home Depot. They had a child in 2012 and married in 2013 that next year. Prosecutors write in early 2019 the defendant used a power of attorney to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit, the HELOC, on Eric Richens' pre-marital home without his knowledge.

On April 26, 2019, the defendant formed K. Richens Realty LLC for the purpose of selling and buying real estate. The defendant was the sole member of the company. The defendant used the proceeds from the HELOC to initially fund Kay Richens' realty and hard money loans to finance its ongoing operations. Now these charges are the backdrop, of course, for the murder case and really part of the foundation of it.

Prosecutors say Eric Richens found out about that home equity loan in 2020 and Corey promised him she would repay the money. But they say she never did. And the loan was an ongoing source of tension between Corey and Eric, as you can imagine. Prosecutors described Corey as a bad businesswoman. She wanted her real estate business to be successful, but they say she couldn't keep up with the interest payments on those hard money loans that she was taking out. And Eric Richens was really suspicious. Prosecutors write, On November 3, 2020, Eric Richens executed several estate planning instruments,

including a health care directive, durable power of attorney, poor over will, and the Eric Richens Living Trust. In each of these instruments, he appointed his sister, Katie Richens Benson, his agent, fiduciary or trustee, to the intentional and purposeful exclusion of the defendant. He transferred his home and his interest in C&E to the trust.

Eric Richens removed the defendant as the beneficiary of a $500,000 New York Life Insurance Company policy on his life and designated the trust as the beneficiary of a $500,000 New York life insurance company policy on his life and designated the trust as the beneficiary. The defendant did not understand this estate plan until after Eric Richens' death. Prosecutors said that Corey was robbing Peter to pay Paul, taking out loans to pay off interest on other loans, she was drowning in debt at the time that Eric Richens died, and she couldn't keep up with the payments for her business. Prosecutors say at the time that Eric died,

his estate was worth $5 million, and Corey, she believed she was the beneficiary of his life insurance policies. And prosecutors say Corey Richens tried to kill Eric not just once, but twice. They say the first time was actually on Valentine's Day in 2022, when Corey got a cleaning lady to get fentanyl for her. not just once, but twice. They say the first time was actually on Valentine's Day in 2022, when Corey got a cleaning lady

to get fentanyl for her. Prosecutors write, Ms. Lauber told law enforcement that she delivered the pills that she purchased from Mr. Crozier to the defendant in a hand-to-hand transaction in the driveway of Ms. Lauber's home in Heber on either February 11th, 2022, or February 12, 2022. Then on Valentine's Day, prosecutors said

Corey Richens got sandwiches for her and Eric from a diner. And Eric actually suspected that Corey had tried to poison him. They write, on August 22, 2023, nearly four months after the defendant was arrested for the murder of Eric Richens, the defendant discussed this incident in two phone calls. In a phone call with her mother, the defendant confirmed she was the person who picked up the sandwiches from the diner on Valentine's Day. She said, We ate in the office. In a phone call with her brother, the defendant discussed buying lunch at the diner that day. I want to tell you about OneSkin. They are sponsoring today's episode of Crime Fix. Let's be honest, being on camera as much as I am, having the right

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to integrate it into my daily routine. Just a few simple steps and I'm good to go. For a limited time, you can try OneSkin and get 15% off using the code CRIMEfix when you check out at oneskin.co. That's 15% off at oneskin.co with the code crimefix. And remember to tell them we sent you when they ask you where you heard about them. Invest in the health and longevity of your skin with OneSkin. Your future self will thank you. Trust me. Eric Richens died on March 4th, 2022. The medical examiner found fentanyl and an anti-psychotic drug in his system, and that drug can have sedating effects. Prosecutors wrote,

on the night of Eric Richens' death, the defendant told law enforcement, we eat gummies. Sometimes we eat a gummy before he goes to bed. It didn't seem like he did, though. A year after Eric Richens' death, the defendant told law enforcement that she saw Eric Richens take a THC gummy in the bedroom after drinking the Moscow mule. The defendant then clarified, I didn't actually see him take it. He told me he took it,

and then he had to have taken it while I was making the drinks, Corey, of course, is accused of spiking Eric's Moscow mule with the fentanyl. Prosecutors said Corey said something else about the gummy. Prosecutors wrote, in explaining to law enforcement how the defendant thinks the fentanyl got into Eric Richens' body, the defendant said, I honest to God think it was in one of those gummies, 100%. After the defendant's arrest for the murder of Eric Richens,

the defendant's mother asked the defendant if she was sure the fentanyl came from a THC gummy. The defendant replied, "'That is what I'm banking on, yes.'" The OME did not find any THC in Eric Richens' blood or gastric fluid. The state toxicology lab tested the THC gummies in Eric Richens' home at the time of his death

and determined that they did not contain fentanyl. Now, I've spoken with Greg Skortus, an attorney who is a spokesperson for the Richens' family. This is what he told me last year about any claim that Eric Richens used drugs. Yeah, I mean, she's pled not guilty and obviously she's presumed innocent, but Eric was not a drug user. He was a very healthy man. He was an outdoorsman. He supported his children in their athletic endeavors as a coach. He liked the outdoors here in that part of the state, hunting and fishing. He would not have abused his body in any way, and there's no evidence that he did. I mean, there was some conversation that he had tried some gummies or something. But in terms of opioids, fentanyl, there's just no evidence to support that he ever used

drugs like that. So right there, Greg Skordas said Eric Richens was not a user of illicit drugs, but this may be part of the defense theory at trial. Prosecutors write about other evidence that could show a consciousness of guilt. Forensic analysis of one of the defendant's cell phones shows that by April 16, 2022, three days after law enforcement first informed the defendant that Eric Richens died of a fentanyl overdose.

The defendant's cell phone was used to access website articles with the following titles, among others, Utah State Prison, Timpanagos Women's Facility. What happens to deleted messages? among others, Utah State Prison, Chippenagos Women's Facility. What happens to deleted messages? Cause of death usually does not impact life insurance payment.

How do police and forensic analysts recover deleted data from phones? And signs of being under federal investigation. Now, on top of this financial mess, which sounds like an absolute nightmare, prosecutors have previously said in court documents that Corey Richens was having an affair. They quoted a witness as saying that Corey Richens feared leaving Eric would be difficult and that his family would use their considerable wealth

to fight for custody of their children. Witness 8 said in December of 2021 that Richens said it would be better if Eric was dead. The following day, prosecutors say Richens texted her paramour, I'm in love with a man that's not my husband. I want to, but I can't break up my family. It's having our cake and eating it too. I do just want to love you. Then in January of 2022, prosecutors say someone accessed a $2 million life insurance policy for the business partner of Eric Richens, changing it to Corey Richens and then back to Eric. And prosecutors believe Corey didn't realize the policy was actually for the business partner.

That same month, prosecutors say Corey consulted a divorce lawyer, but ended those talks telling her brother she didn't want half of everything but wanted to walk away free and clean. Ultimately, Summit County prosecutors say Corey Richens murdered Eric Richens for money. They write the defendant was the beneficiary of two insurance policies on Eric Richens' life issued by TrueStage with an aggregate death benefit

of $350,000. One of the policies issued on May 12th, 2017 and the other on February 4th, 2022, one month prior to Eric Richens' death. On April 28th, 2022, the defendant submitted a claim against the policies. On June 7th, 2022, True Stage learned that Eric Richens' cause of death

was drug intoxication fentanyl. On June 14th, 2022, True Stage left that Eric Richens' cause of death was drug intoxication fentanyl. On June 14, 2022, True Stage left a voicemail with the defendant requesting a copy of any prescription Eric Richens had for fentanyl. Later that same day, the defendant informed True Stage that the fentanyl was not prescribed and that she didn't have any idea how Eric Richens obtained the fentanyl. The next day, June 15, 2022, the defendant reiterated to TrueStage that she really did not know where Eric Richens obtained the fentanyl. Richens went on to write a children's book about grief for her sons. It was released before her arrest for Eric's murder.

Her trial was supposed to begin this year, but then the judge denied her request for a change of venue. If they do, if she does, supposed to begin this year, but then the judge denied her request for a change of venue. If they do, if she does, and if an appellate court determines that this court has abused its discretion in denying the motion to change venue and that the motion should be granted, the court rules as a matter of law for the reasons already stated on the record that the court has the authority to pull jurors from another county and that the proper result,

if the motion to change venue were to be granted, would be to pull jurors from Salt Lake County for a host of practical reasons. First, it's just not that far away. It would take jurors from Murray, Holliday, or the zip code that I live in, barely more than 10 to 15 minutes than somebody from Colville to get to this courthouse. Second, in consultation with the Summit County Sheriff's

Office regarding securities concerns related to a high profile trial. Transporting a defendant back and forth from Summit County to Salt Lake County each day is not a good security plan. And third, with respect to housing Ms. Richens in ADC, there's no guarantee she would take her. They would take her. It's a Summit County case. She would likely have to be housed in Summit County. The witnesses are in Summit County. This is a Summit County case. It is not an abuse of this court's discretion to pull jurors from Salt Lake County for a Summit County case if defendant had shown or if an appellate court determines that defendant cannot find a reasonable likelihood or cannot there's a reasonable likelihood that a defendant cannot

get a fair trial in Summit County. In short, if this case goes up an appeal, I want to make sure the parties get an opportunity to get guidance on that issue as well. Corey Richins lost her appeal and now the murder trial, as I mentioned earlier, is scheduled for next February. So why file these 26 charges against her now? Okay, so I want to bring in Mark Weaver. He has worked as a special prosecutor in the state of Ohio, prosecuting high profile death penalty cases, all around good guy, Mark, Cory Richens was already facing a bunch of charges, including the most

serious charge you can face murder for the death of her husband, Eric. So why are the prosecutors piling on all of these paper crimes, we already we kind of already knew about this was this is part of the murder case. Now they're they're filing all these other charges, money laundering, you know, writing a forgery, writing a bad check, all these things. What gives? Because murder is about, it's the most serious charge you can face. I would call this leverage charges. I'm sure there's evidence for them.

I'm sure there's a good faith reason to think they can bring these things. But if the defendant has been unwilling to plead to the murder, and there's so much evidence on the murder, outstanding documentary evidence and some of the Google searches and the scientific forensic information they have about the fentanyl, they've got her cornered in the murder case, but she's unwilling to plea. When you drop these, what you said, paper charges, these are serious. A RICO case is a serious case. You go away to prison for a long time for a RICO conviction. It is essentially a message from the prosecution to the defense counsel. Yeah, this is your last chance because you might think you can roll the dice and win

on the murder case, maybe somehow, a reasonable doubt somewhere. But even if you do, we will hammer you with these additional financial fraud counts, forgery. This woman appears to be quite a conniver, quite a schemer. And if they've got the paper documents to prove it, then this sets the table for a plea deal in the murder case. So you believe, you know, all this, all these paper charges, you know, I call them, you know, paper charges, because that's kind of what they are. Even though they did, they kind of put, they do play into the murder charge. You believe they're trying to pressure her to plead out

and just admit to the murder. Because she basically said over a year ago, she told a Dateline producer who was in the courtroom, this is war. She was ready to go to war. Then she lost her private practice attorneys, and now she has a public defender, which they're doing

a fine job. But you think they're like, hey lady, we got you dead to rights. Just plead out. Yeah. If she says this is war, she's thinking of the army in front of her and the army she has. This is the prosecutor who's on that other side of the army pointing to the hillside saying, I got some cavalry over there that's ready to come in

to your war. And so you might think you can defeat this army that I'm standing with, but we got all these charges, we got mortgage fraud, we got forgery, and we think we can make a RICO case. So you might think you can win this war, can you win the next one? Mm-hmm. Is it possible though, just I want to play devil's advocate for a moment, is it possible though that maybe they're worried about the murder charge? Maybe they think they don't have her and they're filing these as like a backup plan.

That's always possible. Having said that, the only reason why they should be worried is if there was some problem in collecting the evidence they have. The evidence that's in the public record right now makes it very clear that this woman planned her husband's murder. She might have planned to kill him once before with a sandwich before she did the Moscow Mule Fentanyl cocktail. If there's some underlying procedural problem that they're worried about, maybe some chain of custody issue or some probable cause issue, which they think might have this case grow weaker, then I think your theory could be correct.

But either way, this woman will be in prison for a long time, either on murder charges or Enrico charges or both. You know, this case is incredibly sad. You know, they've tried to suggest that Eric Richens may have been using fentanyl himself, but it sounds like they have her asking somebody to get the Michael Jackson stuff, which that's a totally different drug. It's propofol. Circumstantially, it sounds like they have a lot of evidence against her.

Plus, she had another, she had a boyfriend, a romantic interest while all of this was going on. Yeah, she claimed maybe he had taken gummies, although there was no THC in his system. As I said, it's a pretty meticulously built case. We have motive, there's a financial motive, a long history of financial problems between the two of them. We have the means, we have this fentanyl and we have this Moscow Mule and we know that she was in a position to do this. And so, the paper charges, the RICO charges,

they're serious in themselves. I've worked on just a couple of RICO cases. They're serious crimes, but murder is the primary objective here for the prosecutor. I'm sure they'd be willing to dismiss all of these additional recent charges if they'll get a plea to the murder. So what do you see happening here? I mean, I don't see them trying this with the murder case. I mean, maybe they will,

but I would assume they'd try the murder case to keep it clean. I mean, I don't know, it seems cleaner to keep the murder there. You're going to talk about all of this stuff, but piling it all together, that just seems like it would be really cumbersome. Or would you try to sever those and keep it all separate? Dr. Craigson I think you keep it separate because at

least some of these charges have nothing to do with the murder. Others are connected. It might be easier just to keep it separate. I don't think there's gonna be two trials. I don't think there's gonna be any trial. This is gonna resolve in a plea. You can see these charges as an engraved invitation to come back to the table to talk about a plea negotiation. For all we know, negotiations broke down and this is the prosecutor's way of saying, maybe you wanna come back and talk to us because now we have a whole other set of charges. I've done this in my career. When negotiations break down, I will

remind the defense counsel of the leverage I have, and I will go back to the grand jury. I'll get additional counts. I'll bring them in, and all of a sudden, we've set the table for a different kind of plea negotiation. It will be interesting to see what happens, because Corrie Richens,

you know, she's in some hot water. She's in big trouble. And at least, you know, everything that we see right now, it does not look good for her, but she has pleaded not guilty. Mark Weaver, thank you so much for your time as always. Thank you, Anjanette. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.