Hidden True Crime - KOURI RICHINS EXPOSED: Full Story, New Details, & Court Updates | Utah Mom Accused of Murder

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

About Hidden True Crime: Lauren Matthias was a television reporter for a decade and has followed the Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case since 2019. She and her husband, Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, started Hidden True Crime in 2020 with their Season, 'Beyond the Veil,' a psychological deep dive into the doomsday murders and prophet. What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a forensic psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Armoire and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.armoire.style* Check out Effecty and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.effecty.com* Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://happymammoth.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/hidden-a-true-crime-podcast1836/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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there is so much more and was so much more going on behind closed doors. And in this episode, we'll delve into everything you need to know ahead of the long-awaited trial and try to unravel the complexities of this tragic situation. Eric was born May 13th, 1982. To Jean and Linda Richens. As the oldest sibling, he grew up alongside his two younger sisters, Katie and Amy. The Richens family was well known in Camus, a town in Summit County, Utah, where they owned a picturesque cattle ranch that later transformed into a permanent conservatory for the community. In fact, several buildings in Camus bear the Richens' name, reflecting their active involvement and popularity within the town. Throughout his childhood, Eric demonstrated a talent for sports and learned

the importance of hard work through his experiences on the ranch. Eric was an avid outdoorsman and known for his love of hunting, archery, riding anything with wheels and fishing. He was also said to be an incredible son, brother and friend. The Richens family were also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. Like many young Mormon men, after graduating from Woodcross High School, Eric completed a two-year mission in Mexico City for his church, where he became fluent in Spanish. He then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in International Studies with a minor in the Spanish language. In 2005, Eric went on to marry a woman named Julie, but it ended in divorce four years later after she

allegedly cheated on him with a co-worker. The year 2009 was a big year for Eric. Not only was he going through his divorce, but he was also in the middle of starting up a business with his best friend named Cody Wright. Eric and Cody founded a masonry company called C&E Masonry, which focused on intricate outdoor stonework, pavers, and tile in high-end homes. And for the company, Eric made frequent trips to Home Depot to get supplies. While waiting around for his orders to be fulfilled, he was known to socialize and joke around with the employees becoming one of their favorite regulars. Well, maybe you know where this is going. At the time, Corey was working at Home Depot as a and even though Eric thought she was gorgeous.

He was always a little too nervous to ask her out. He was also freshly single, but with some teasing and encouragement from another employee, Eric finally decided to go into Corey's line to strike up a conversation. When he realized how sweet and easygoing she was, he worked with the courage to ask her out on a date. And from there, they became inseparable.

And he kind of look over at Corey and I was like, oh, you know. and he just kind of looked over and I says, you know, go over there and check out with her, you know, so they did. Anyway, they ended up having a date and everybody was cracking up, oh, he finally did it, you know, and it was just so cute, you know, and they finally went out. And from then on, they were like glued to each other, you know, it was just, it was perfect, I thought. Eric and Corey came from completely different backgrounds. Corey was born in April 1st, 1990, to parents Lisa and Ronald Darden. Her first name actually comes from her mother's maiden name,

which her parents chose to honor and keep within the family. While details about Corey's early life are limited, it does appear that she and her siblings, Ronnie Jr., Renee, and Mindy were primarily raised by their mother. Their dad Ronald lived in North Carolina and struggled with alcoholism, evidenced by multiple DUIs and public intoxication charges. Tragically, he would go on to pass away in 2010 at the age of 57. Like Eric, Corey demonstrated a strong work ethic throughout her life,

holding various jobs, including running a housekeeping business, working at a design firm, a hospital, and finally, of course, Home Depot. She earned a bachelor's degree in health care administration from Weaver State University and later obtained a master's degree in human resources from Utah State University. So after the start of their whirlwind romance, Corey and Eric went on to have their first child together named Carter in July of 2012. That same year, they purchased a home in Francis, Utah, from Eric's sister Katie and her husband, Clinton Benson.

About six months later, Eric and Corey got married at the whole. home in a backyard ceremony on June 15, 2013. Now, before the ceremony, Corey was surprised when Eric's mother presented her with a prenuptial agreement to sign. Now, obviously, this is not the most romantic thing to have handed to you right before you walk down an aisle. And since Eric's first marriage had ended in divorce and now that he had many more assets with his business, you know, Eric's mother, through history and learning was probably just

trying to look out for her son, among other things. The pre-up, though, gave Corey access to Eric's share of C and E. Stone Masonry, as well as his entire estate in the event of his death. As long, point this out, as long as they were still married. Corey and Eric went on to welcome two more sons after their wedding, Ashton and Weston, and life seemed to be going perfectly for the young family. Over the years, Eric's masonry business continued to grow and thrive, and even though he was an extremely hard worker. He's still dedicated time to help coach all of his son sports teams.

As a conservative LDS man, he really hoped that he could be the primary breadwinner of the family with Corey staying home to raise the children. The problem was, even though Corey loved motherhood, she also had career aspirations of her own and she ultimately became a partner for a company called Conrad Cruz Real Estate Services and then started her own business buying and flipping houses called K. Richens Realty LLC in 2019. Now, it was around this time. This is really when things seemed to start going south for the couple. Corey quickly found herself in financial trouble while attempting to establish herself at the competitive Utah real estate market. And in September 2020, Eric was informed by one of his financial advisors that Corey had actually accessed a

$250,000 home equity line of credit on their residents, withdrawn over $100,000 from his bank accounts, and charged more than $30,000 on his credit cards. He had also learned that Corey had taken over $134,000 from his masonry business, which were funds that Eric had planned to use for federal and state quarterly tax obligations. Even though Corey was doing this in order to keep her business afloat. It must have been a shocking revelation for Eric to realize the extent of her betrayal. And when he confronted her about the situation, she did agree to repay the full amount of $515,000 that she had taken. But at that point, the trust between them seemed broken beyond repair. A few months later, in November, Eric decided to meet with a divorce attorney and an estate planning lawyer. Prior to

all these issues, in addition to the prenuptial agreement, Eric had a will that made Corey the beneficiary of his assets. And now that the status of their marriage was up in the air, he decided to place his estate under the control of his sister Katie and form a trust fund for their three children. He designated the trust as a beneficiary of his share of the C&E business and his 500,000 life insurance policy. So that was no longer going to Corey. She was no longer the beneficiary. But what he didn't know was that between 2015 and 2017, Corey, had already purchased at least four life insurance policies on Eric that amounted to get this nearly $2 million. And so even though Corey wasn't aware of all these changes Eric was making

to the trust, based on a conversation with a friend, it was clear that she knew something was brewing. And in exchange, Corey texted in quotes, quote, I don't know what to do. If he thinks I owe him money, then that's fine. I'll pay whatever he thinks, and then I'm out. It's getting a little out of hand, end quote. And so then the friend replied to her text, in quotes, quote, how much did you take out, end quote. And then Corey said, quote, a lot. 250K will take me a couple of months until my investments pay out. So I just got to be top notch careful, end quote. She goes on to write, quote, there's nothing more important to me than the boys and making sure custody is always going to be at least 50-50. And if he digs and digs and finds something, a

don't want him hiring some expensive attorney to fight for the kids or something. End quote. According to people close to Eric in actuality, the children were his primary motivating factor for keeping him and Corey's marriage together. They went to counseling and did their best to patch things up with the promise that Corey would be honest going forward and pay the money back that she had taken. But unfortunately, over the course of the next year, Corey was unable to pay back the money and in fact was only sinking deeper and deeper into debt.

Earlier, I mentioned that Eric and his friend Cody owned C&E Masonry together, and they also decided to purchase life insurance policies on each other through the business. They set up what was called a buy-sell agreement, which stated that should Eric or Cody pass away, the surviving partner must purchase the decedent's interest in the business using the proceeds of the life insurance policy.

And this would ensure that if one of them pass away, away, the business could still remain afloat. That being said, so on January 1st, 2022, for some reason, Corey decided to log into Eric's business life insurance account. And she changed the beneficiary on Cody's policy to herself instead of Eric. Now, this is pretty strange because what she was changing was who would get the life insurance if Cody passed away, not Eric. So it's not really clear. if she understood that at the time, but regardless, Cody and Eric were both immediately made aware by their insurance agent who quickly restored it to the original beneficiary. But Corey was seemingly

undeterred, and not long after that, Corey applied for yet another $100,000 life insurance policy on Eric, which was processed and issued by February 4th. And a little over a week later on Valentine's day, Corey placed an order at a local diner for one of Eric's favorite sandwiches. She placed it on the seat of his truck, accompanied by a love note. Sounds sweet, but later that day, Eric told a friend that after taking a single bite, he broke into hives and struggled to breathe and in a panic. He used his son's epipin, took some Benadryl, and then fell asleep for several hours. He then told another friend that he thought Corey was trying to poison him through his favorite

sandwich and that if anything were to happen to him, Corey would be responsible. It's important to note that Corey refutes the claims of Eric having such a strong reaction to the sandwich. Months later, when texting with a friend, she wrote, quote, it was Valentine's day. And Eric and I were both working from home and I ordered lunch from a diner. He never broke out into hives or used an epipen. He said the sandwich hurt his stomach so he was going to take a nap. No hives. no EpiPen, end quote. Later that day, Eric did feel well enough to go coach one of their son's game. So I will give Corey that.

But not long after, towards the end of February, Corey set her sights on a massive, unfinished mansion located in the neighboring Heber City. The 20,000 square foot estate referred to in sales brochures as, quote, architectural masterpiece, end quote, featured a butler's pantry, swimming pool, therapy pools, a rock climbing wall, two kitchens, not one, two, and a large guest house. Since it was unfinished, Corey hoped that she could purchase the property for relatively cheap and flip it for a profit. Her mother Lisa later said that Corey and

Eric sat down with an accountant who told them that if they could get the home renovated under budget, they could technically walk away with $12 million. And of course, Corey was excited about the idea of making $12 million because not only could it help aid credibility to her business, but it could get her out of this crippling debt situation that she had found herself in. But Eric, being a little bit more pragmatic, it seems in all things, he didn't necessarily see the property as a good investment and probably felt nervous about gambling even more. money when Corey was so far in the hole already. This apparently caused arguments between them, but ultimately Corey submitted a $2 million offer, which was accepted, and the property was put under

contract. From there, things get a little fuzzy, and there are multiple different stories. According to Eric's family, even though the offer was accepted, he had been planning on telling Corey, he wasn't going to go through with signing the documents to close the house. Corey's family, on the other hand, said that Eric was happy for her. And on March 3, 2022, her mother, Lisa, was over at their house having a drink with them to celebrate. She recalled Eric saying, quote, let's have a shot. Let's celebrate Corey, end quote.

Later, after Lisa left and the kids were put to bed, according to Corey, she and Eric went on to celebrate a little more. Now, this part is also unclear as well, but it's important. And in one account, Corey says that she and Eric went to the kitchen and made lemon drops on Moscow mules. They brought the Moscow mules into their bedroom where they sat on the bed and drank them together. But, however, in another retelling, Corey said that she made the Moscow mules alone and then brought the drinks into the bedroom to Eric. In this version, she said that Eric told her that he ate a THC gummy, which is something he typically did do before bed, Corey says.

They then brushed their teeth and laid down at around roughly 930, 9.45. Shortly after, one of the sons woke up from a nightmare, according to Corey, and Corey went to his bedroom to help him fall back asleep. She woke up in the child's bedroom around 3 a.m. and got up to get back in her bed with Eric. And when she laid down next to Eric, she says that she felt that Eric was cold to the touch. And yet, according to Corey,

she just figured it was because they kept the AC turned up pretty cold at night. And when she went to cover him with a blanket, she noticed that his body felt heavy. That's in quotes. She turned the light on, and that's when she realized that Eric wasn't breathing. According to Corey, she immediately called 911.

and the dispatcher told her to use the bed sheet to get Eric on the floor to begin administering CPR. The 911 call recording captures Corey counting as she claims to be performing chest compressions, but when the EMTs arrived, they didn't see her actively doing said compressions. The presence of blood and foam in Eric's mouth also caused the first responders to question whether Corey actually did attempt CPR at all. However, despite the paramedics' best efforts, Eric was tragically pronounced dead at the scene on March 4th, 2022. Now, I think it goes without saying that following Eric's death, his family, friends, and especially his three little boys, were just as confused as they were heartbroken. Eric was seemingly healthy and vibrant.

He was a great father. He had no medical issues. And rumors started circulating around town that he had died peacefully in his life. sleep from a brain aneurism. Ultimately, his autopsy, though, would soon refute that claim. According to the medical examiner, Eric had actually died from fentanyl intoxication, with levels in his blood being approximately five times over the lethal dosage. There was also a medication called quittapine, which is ecotic medication used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. It's commonly used as a sleep aid due to its.

sedating effects, and as also a medication Corey was prescribed. This immediately caused investigators to want to look into Eric's death further because even Corey herself was adamant that he didn't have a drug problem. Not only that, but behind the scenes, his family members were encouraging police to look into Corey, as Eric had, again, allegedly said that if anything ever happened to him, Corey would be to blame. Now, we all know that everyone grieves differently. that is fair and that is true.

But Corey's behavior after Eric's death was different, to say the least. The very next day, Corey reportedly sealed the deal on the mansion by herself and then ended up throwing a large party at the home where Eric had just died, drinking and celebrating the accomplishment. And the next day on March 6th, Corey arranged for a locksmith to drill into a safe where Eric kept money and important documents. Eric's sister Amy saw the locksmith driving in the neighborhood and decided to follow him to the house. And then she informed Corey that she did not have the authority to enter the safe without the

permission of Eric's trustee, which was their sister, Katie. Corey, who of course did not know that Eric had created a trust or changed anything in his will for that matter, told Amy to leave. But when she refused, they got into a physical altercation. Corey reportedly punched Amy in the neck and face, and after they were split up by another family member, Amy called police. And when the deputy arrived at the scene, Amy called Eric's estate planning attorney who explained to Corey the truth about the trust and that Katie was trustee and beneficiary, not Corey. Corey was reportedly furious and said, in quotes, I can't believe you people. How can you do this? This is my house.

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with code Hidden True Crime at your child. checkout. That's effecti.com, eFF-F-E-C-T-Y dot com, and use code hidden true crime to get $50 off your first month of GLP-1 weight loss treatment, no hassles, no memberships, and no hidden fees. Get started today. In addition to the Valentine's Day incident, Eric's family told detectives that back in 2019, Corey and Eric took a trip to Greece with some friends on that trip. Eric reportedly became violently ill after Corey gave him a drink. And he thought that she might have tried to poison him. However, Corey's family refute these claims and say that it was a misunderstanding with the bartender at the resort. But that is another time now that poisoning is in question. And apparently,

Eric had been on a medication being treated for Lyme disease and wasn't supposed to be drinking alcohol. He allegedly asked a bartender for a virgin cocktail, but the barsteader, but the barfirm The bartender accidentally gave him one with alcohol, causing him to become ill. So, you know, varying stories here. But these stories, in addition to the fact that Eric died from illicit fentanyl poisoning, was continuing to lead investigators to believe that his death may not have been an accidental overdose and perhaps something more sinister. And so the investigation continued.

The next month in April of 2022, the lead detective on the case named Jeff, O'Driscoll, executed a search warrant for Corey and Eric's residence. Corey and Eric's phones and several computers were seized as evidence, and all available data from those devices was downloaded. Upon inspecting the data from Corey's phone, the information investigators uncovered would turn this entire case on its head. It appeared through several text messages around the time frame from March 1st through March 15th that they'd been deleted, but several communications between Corey and a woman

named Carmen Lauber were located. Now, Carmen Lauber has been identified as a housekeeper who Corey often hired to help her clean estate properties. Police records, though, show that Carmen has had multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. She also has charges of theft, DUI, burglary, and aggravated assault. During the investigation, Carmen was brought in for an interview with Detective O'Driscoll and admitted to supplying Corey with fentanyl pills on two separate occasions, including around Valentine's Day and just before Eric's death.

After Valentine's Day, later in the month of February, Corey texted Carmen saying that the fentanyl pills that she had previously provided were not strong enough and asked does she get her a stronger dose? She allegedly made the comment that she wanted, quote, some of the Michael Jackson stuff, end quote, which in actuality would be a drug called propawful. There is supposedly evidence, though, that Corey may have asked another dealer in the past for propowful,

but couldn't get it. Carmen stated that Corey paid her approximately $900 each time she supplied the fentanyl pills. She provided details of the solicitation of the drugs, the pickup and drop-off locations and other details that were later corroborated with digital forensic evidence. And in addition to the evidence of the fentanyl, there were also inconsistencies discovered in the timeline Corey gave the night of Eric's death. Corey claimed that when their son woke up from a nightmare, that she went into his room

and left her phone on the charger in the master bedroom. But, however, her phone data shows that it was locked and unlocked multiple. times and there was movement throughout the home during that time. Several messages were also sent and received during this time window, but many of those messages were again deleted. Among these deleted messages, though, were text between Corey and another man, yes, here we are, making it obvious that she had actually been having a long-term affair. So if money wasn't enough and now bring in the affair, and it's not exactly clear, when the affair started, but Corey had obviously fallen for a man named Robert Grossman,

who was a handyman hired to work on the houses that she was renovating, which, you know, isn't cliche at all. But here comes the handyman. And in December of 2021, Corey booked a five-night, all-inclusive vacation for her and Robert at a resort called Secrets St. Martin. Corey provided Robert's initials and date of birth for the reservation, which was scheduled for April 2020. the month after Eric Richon's death. About a week after Corey made the reservations, she confided in a friend that she wanted to get a divorce from Eric, but was afraid that he would find a way to take the children from her.

She said that she felt trapped and that, quote, it would be better if Eric were dead, end quote. Yes, that is a text. The next day, Corey texted Robert, quote, I'm in love with a man that's not my husband, end quote. And also, quote, I want to, but I can't break up my family. It's having your cake and eating it too.

I just want to love you. I do love you, and quote. To which Robert replied, quote, I thought you were getting a divorce, end quote. Corey then said, quote, that's what I'm saying. What if that's in a year? You're just supposed to sit around and wait for me? Uh, no, and I would never ask you to, L.O.L. end quote.

Hmm. A few weeks later on January 9th, she texted Robert again saying, quote, random question, have you ever done anything besides smoke weed, drug wise? Robert responded, yeah, pretty random. We've already had this talk. Another month later, in February, more phone records show that after Eric had that e-allergic reaction, I'll use quote, there too, allergic reaction, we don't know. On Valentine's Day, instead of staying home to make sure that he was okay, Corey actually left the house to go spend time with Robert. She lied to Eric in a text that day by saying she was, quote, waiting for the cabinet

installer guy, end quote, at one of her real estate properties. But, well, no, no, she was with Robert. The following day on February 15th, Corey texted Robert and said, quote, if I was divorced right now and asked you to marry me tomorrow. Would you? End quote. And also, she texted, quote, I just want to lay on the couch and cuddle with you. Watch a murder documentary and snuggle, end quote. Oh, yes, the irony. A few days later, she texted and said, quote, I want you today, every day, not just sexually, but physically, mentally, every day when I wake up. I do want a future together. I do want you. Figure your life out together. If he could just

go away and you could just be here, life would be oh so perfect. I love you, end quote. On February 23rd, Corey texted Robert and said, quote, I have a crazy dream. You quit your job. I divorce and come up with millions and millions. We buy Midway, which is the Heber City Mansion. That's what she referred to the Heber City Mansion as and live in a guesthouse and rent out the huge house as a big event center, $15,000 a day like they'd charge down the road, maybe $12,000 to stay competitive. And we will just run the event center as our daily job and hang out every day. Raise some kids.

Have a little family. Deal? End quote. On March 2nd. Corey texted Robert, quote, life is going to be different, I promise. You're one hell of a patient person. I hate your hard days. I wish I could be there to turn them around for you.

Can I try Friday? Give me a few days. Hang in there until then. please, end quote. Well, that text is important. Let me remind you. It said, can I try Friday? Give me a few days. Hang in there until then, please.

Well, it just so happens that by Friday, Eric Richens would be dead. While the investigation into Eric's death and Corey's personal life was ongoing, largely without her knowledge, Corey went on to file a civil lawsuit against Eric's estate, alleging that she deserved several monetary and physical assets. According to her claim, even though Eric transferred the business interest to his trust, that does not diminish her rights to the business as granted in their pre-up. She stated that Eric included the family home in the trust without her authorization or knowledge

and that the trust cannot just cancel out the pre-up unless both parties agreed. These civil matters were ultimately put on hold, and Eric's sister Katie outlined in a petition that Corey was, being investigated on homicide charges in relation to her brother's death. Once Corey caught wind that she was being looked into by investigators, because isn't that wild to think she didn't even realize this, more cell phone data was uncovered showing that she began making some pretty incriminating Google searches. And here's the few of the searches. Are you ready for this? They include, can you delete everything on an ICloud account?

Can you delete text messages and can those text messages be retrieved from an iPhone? Can cops uncover deleted messages on iPhone? How to permanently delete information from an iPhone remotely? Can cops force you to do a lie detector test? Will life insurance pay if death certificate says pending? Luxury prisons for the rich in America. Okay, let's just stop for a second. that is probably one of the more interesting ones that I have read as she prepares for a life behind bars.

Why not look up luxury prisons for the rich in America? Women, Utah prisons. Can you overdose on naltrexin? Can FBI find deleted messages? How to turn someone in for hiring illegal employees? Sell a social security number. What happens if you give Narcan to someone who doesn't need it? How long did life insurance companies take to pay?

Alter ego. Well, that's an interesting one. Someone is poisoned. What does it go down on the death certificate as? How to pay someone to write a book about you? Put a pin in that one. Corey Richon's net worth. Can the cause of death be changed on the death certificate?

What is a lethal dose of fentanyl? Corey's legal team would explain all of these Googians, Google searches away by saying that she was just curious. And these are things she searched for after Eric's death and after she realized that she was being investigated. And then in March of 2023, Corey did something now that that actually is the most infamous part of this case. The case still hasn't hit the media at this point, but it's going too soon. Because in March of 2023, Corey released her book called Are You With Me? Which she supposedly wrote to help her children process their grief from losing their father. On April 6th, she appeared on the Good Day Utah

talk show to promote the book and appeared to be a grieving widow struggling with the aftermath of her beloved husband's death. So my husband passed away unexpectedly last year. So it's March 4th was a one year anniversary for us and he was 39. It completely took us all by shock. And we have three little boys, 10, 9, and 6. And you know, we kind of, my kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced last year and, you know,

hoping that it can kind of help other kids, you know, deal with this. and kind of, you know, find happiness some way or another. And to make sense and process, I'm sure, and I'm sure you felt that going through and trying to explain it and articulate it for you and your boys. Yes, exactly, exactly.

And so I've done, you know, I'm new to all of this, so kind of doing research and reading books and things to try and understand, you know, not only how to grieve as a widow as a wife, but also you know with my kids how to help them how to help them understand what just happened and what I have kind of found is as I mentioned it's kind of the three Cs is how I has visualize it and it's you know connection continuity and care and it's you know making sure connection is the one major one and making sure

that their spirit is always alive in your home you know and memories are always brought up and doing things that your loved ones love to do, whether it's riding bikes or their favorite dinner and just constantly, you know, talking about them. And Corey, do you mention at dinner, here's dad or dad would like this meal or let's bring dad on a bike ride? Yeah, exactly. And it's, you know, explaining to my kid just because he's not present here with us physically,

that doesn't mean his presence isn't here with us and he's doing these things with us. And he's, you know, here for birthdays and he's here for Christmas. And it's just comforting to them to know that, you know, they're not living this life alone. Like, Dad is still here. It's just in a different way. A different way. Well, I opened up your book, and one of the first pages I saw as a little boy, it looks like he's standing in a hallway at school and he's saying, are you still here?

Yes. Yeah. And it's, you know, and that was like the first day of school. And, you know, all the nerves that kids face on the first day of school with New, you know. And just hoping, you know, dad, like, walk with me, like, help me get through today. like give me the strength to do that. And it has found, you know, it's been a lot of peace for my kids to, you know, to really remember that in the back of their head, that they're never alone, you know.

So you actually wrote this book with your children. I did. And it's only been a year. How did you process and say you go from processing death to I need to write a book and help others? You know, I just watched the struggle that my kids were going through. And I actually, you know, I went on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and trying to find something that we could use to cope at nights.

Nights are the hardest, it seems like, for everybody when, you know, dealing with anything. But I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night. And I just could not find anything. I couldn't find anything that really, you know, suited them or help them find comfort and peace. And so, you know, I was like, let's just write one. And so, you know, I took things that my kids have said to me this last year and we kind of articulated it and put it into a story and you know just have hopes that it will help

other kids grief is not linear and this sounds like it's a touchstone when you need it to come back to for you and your boys so the first one you had mentioned was connection of the three C's keeping the person's spirit alive the second continuity yes and that's you know just making sure you're trying to stay you know as much as you can on routine and you know whether that's you know sports you know sports or pick up and drop off from school or community activities just you know trying to stay in a routine as much as possible and then the last see is care yes does that mean so you know on top of just loving your kids and

hugging them and kissing them and you know extra cuddles and everything I think it's important that I've learned to really affirm you know their feelings when they're mad or they're sad you know it's just that after of I understand like that you are upset, you know, because of this. Like, let's talk about it, you know. And so I think really it's not, you know, it's the emotional and physical touch of it. But really letting your kids understand that you know why they're feeling the way that they are feeling. And it's okay.

And let's deal with it and talk about it. And however, though, and here's where the case hit the media. Just one month after that interview on Good Things, Utah, on May 8th, 2023, Corey is arrested and charged with felony first-degree murder of Eric Richens and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. On June 12th, the detention hearing was held to determine whether or not Corey would remain in custody until trial. This hearing was almost like a mini trial in itself, with the prosecution presenting evidence and calling witnesses to bolster their opinion that she should be denied bond. And also to say it's accidental, what are two pills might be accidental? 20 or five times the lethal dose is not accidental, Your Honor.

That is someone who wants Eric dead. And the person who benefited the most from Eric being dead is the defendant, or the person who thought she was going to benefit the most from Eric being defended. She thought she was going to be entitled to Eric's estate. She didn't know that there was this trust that had put the money into Katie Richens. on the day that Eric died, that she was the one that was going to benefit. She benefited from the insurance policies. She thought she was going to benefit from more.

And she thought she was going to benefit from Eric's estate. She tried to benefit from the other life insurance policy on Eric's business. That didn't happen. She also was in dire financial straitian. So during this hearing, Corey's defense attorney, Sky Lizarro, said that the only reason Carmen Lauber, the drug dealer, decided to cooperate with investigators was because investigators told Carmen

that it would be her get-out-of-jail-free card. She also claimed that Carmen was basically scared into saying what investigators wanted to hear because investigators had charges to use as leverage against Carmen to get her to cooperate and share that she sold this fentanyl to Corey. We learned a lot about Corey's financial situation, the alleged procurement of fentanyl,

all of which ultimately made the judge in the case, Richard Mrazik, decide that she will remain in prison until the impending trial. For the end of the hearing, Eric's sister Amy was also given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Richens family. Dear Judge Marazik, I'm here today to represent my brother, Eric Eugene Richens. His life was taken in a senseless act of poisoning on March 3, 2022. His wife, the defendant, has been accused of committing this crime. If she is found guilty, she has committed the ultimate act of betrayal. Eric is gone, and I am brokenhearted. He was my best friend and protector.

The feeling of loss is so great it is visceral. Eric died under horrendous circumstances. I am tormented at the thought of what he endured. I play it out in my mind. I go through the terrible sequence of events. I wonder when he realized he was in mortal danger. I wonder what Corey may have said to him in his last moments. How long was he conscious, knowing he would die?

Where were Eric's boys when all of this happened? Did they hear Eric's body fall to the ground? We have watched as Corey has paraded around portraying herself as a grieving window, widow and victim, while trying to profit from the death of my brother, both by trying to profit from a book about his death and trying to get life insurance and assets that should go exactly where Eric wanted them to, to his boys. Immediately after Eric was killed, Corey told us she could not help us get anything ready for the funeral as she was too distraught with grief. We shortly found out that was not true at all. In fact, she pulled herself together enough to go close on the purchase of a $2 million home,

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Start your free trial today atora.com slash remove. Protect yourself now atora.com slash remove. An attempt to have Eric cremated. She mustered out the strength and resolve to do most of this within 48 hours of his death. Corey assaulted me. Her behavior gives me great concern as she has a great concern. exploited the boys for money and will likely do so again. In addition, Corey has weaponized Eric's children, manipulating my dad to do or not do things

by threatening to come to cut him out of their lives if he did not capitulate to her demands. She similarly deprived the boys of contact with myself, my sister, and her daughters, unless we agreed to give her the money in Eric's trust. Since Eric's death, we have learned and unfortunately are continually, reminded that Corey is desperate, greedy, and extremely manipulative. If she gets out on bail, I will be afraid not only for my own life and those of all of my family, but most importantly for the lives of Eric's three sons. Our family has already suffered enough. Please do not let Corey out on bail where she will be a risk to do further harm. Please protect what Eric put his life on the line for, his three boys. Thank you. Since that,

there have been many more bombshell revelations that continue to intensify the state's theory of Corey poisoning Eric. In a pretrial release document, it states that on the night of Corey's arrest, she spoke to her mom and brother from jail and did admit to contacting Carmen asking for pain pills. Corey said that she did so on Eric Richens' behalf, which basically refutes her initial claims that Eric didn't use pain pills, while also corroborating Carlin. statement that Corey did approach her for drugs. On April 18, 2023, the state of Utah announced that it will not be pursuing the death penalty in Corey's case, resulting in her aggravated murder charge being downgraded to a non-capital first-degree felony. This carries a potential

sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted. About a month later, the now infamous, Walk the dog letter was released. What's that you say? Don't worry. I'm about to tell you. This led prosecutors to believe that Corey was engaging in witness tampering. The letter was discovered after Corey was transported to Park City Medical Center on September 12th. It has not been made clear why she went to the hospital. Her brother Ronnie said in an interview soon after the incident that Corey's medications may have been mixed up. So after Corey returned to the jail, she was placed in observation until the afternoon of September 14th. And during that time, her cell was searched and a manila envelope labeled

Sky Lazzaro, attorney privilege, was found and searched by jail staff. The state went through what appeared to be a handwritten letter to her mother, in which she described things that her brother Ronnie needed to testify to regarding the case. Scrawled at the top were the words, quote, walk the dog, end quote. So hence the nickname of this infamous document. The first few pages of the letter read, quote, Sky is saying, even if the gums have fentanyl in them. The prosecutor will say, I tried to put the fentanyl in the gummies,

so Eric would have them. Stupid, I know, but that's what she's thinking. We will still test them, though. However, she wants to link Eric getting drugs and pills from Mexico, so we need some kind of connection. Her private investigator is doing some research on a ranch cartel place that Eric would stay at. Here is what I'm thinking, but I'll have to talk to Ronnie. He would probably have to testify to this, but it's super short.

Not a lot to do it. He will need to talk to Sky at the meeting next week. And upon information and belief, just like they say, a year prior to Eric's death, Ronnie was over watching football on Sunday. And Eric and Ronnie were chatting about Eric's Mexico trips. Eric told Ronnie, he gets pain pills and fentanyl for Mexico from the workers at the ranch and to not tell me because I would get mad because I always said he just gets high every night and won't help me take care of the kids.

There are pictures on my phone of Eric passed out on the floor or in the chair. Ronnie should have text from Eric talking about getting high as well. Eric told Ronnie he keeps them in an allergy pill bottle in his work truck so I wouldn't find them. Ronnie never told me about the conversation and Eric finally told me and asked if Carmen could get him some. Eric never wanted anyone to know he had an issue, especially get caught. He always wanted Corey to go down for him.

When they traveled, Eric would put his job. drugs in Corey's bag at the airlines right before they boarded. That way, if they got caught, Corey got in trouble, not him. Once they got to where they were going, Eric would put the drugs out of her bag and it would cause a huge fight. She was pissed he would risk her going to jail for his drug use. He just would laugh about it. She went on to say, quote, reword this, however, he needs to. But just make the point. Just include it all. The connection has to be. made with Mexico and drugs. Ronnie will have messages to prove Eric

confided in him about getting high. He can be short and to the point, but it has to be done. Upon information and belief, LOL, they never found pain pills or fentanyl in my house because he hid it in an allergy bottle in work truck. And Cody emptied out the

work truck within a week. So they were never found, end quote. Wow. If you're saying wow, that's a wow. the Corey just pretty much laid out her whole defense in essentially i mean what it sounds like to me is asking her brother to lie or create some sort of story cori's attorney sky lazaro filed a motion stating that on may 31st twenty twenty three the state filed a motion for a gag order claiming that it was necessary to prevent tainting of the jury pool and to protect cori's rights to a fair trial

regardless, the state decided to file the document titled Walk the Dog Letter on the public docket in this case, which she believes was a tactic to, quote, influence the court of public opinion, end quote. She requested that the prosecution be held in contempt for going against the gag order. She even claimed that Corey's case should be dismissed for the violation and because the items in the Manila folder should have been private due to attorney client privilege. In a bizarre twist, Corey went on to say that the Walk the Dog letter wasn't actually a letter at all, but part of a fictional novel that she had been working on while in jail. In phone calls with her mom and brother Ronnie, she said that the state took pages out of context within a larger file that contained this book

that she was writing based on her situation. She said that even though the book was based on true events, much of it had been changed so that the story was a work of fiction. She even pointed to the fact that in the story, her father is still alive. And after the initial detention hearing, she was released. And in her opinion, that should have made it obvious that this story wasn't true. And just a work of fiction she was working on. Not really believing this claim, though, the state felt that these pages were clearly

in attempt to basically coach her brother on what to say and that there was evidence of her holding up these pages during a visit with her mom for her mom to read them. them. And so, to their point, if this were part of a book she was writing, why would she hold the pages up for her mom to read? Why would she write, walk the dog at the top? In a later interview, Corey's mom said that she had been taking care of her elderly dog and is constantly worried about her mom taking the dog on enough walks. Many people have pointed out that this only bolsters the idea of it being a letter intended for her mom rather than some random excerpt from her, her new book. And after the

Walk the Dog portion of the document was seized, Sky Lazzara was given the remainder of the Manila folder. In October of 2020, prosecutors petitioned the court asking that the defense hand over the remainder of the document, as it could contain more proof of

witness tampering. In November, they filed a motion for no contact between Corey and her family members, but this was ultimately denied, as well as access to the rest of the folder. Regardless, the judge still shut down the defense's motion to dismiss the trial. In March of 2024, Corey was hit with additional charges, including for the alleged Valentine's

Day sandwich poisoning, which prosecutors do now believe was an attempted murder, as well as mortgage and insurance fraud for reporting, forging loan applications, and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after Eric's death. That same month, a newly unsealed court document created yet another bombshell in the case. If there haven't been enough bombshells, oh yeah, here's another bombshell. With speculations that Corey's mom may have actually been involved in connection to Eric's death as well, in the affidavit, a summit county sheriff's investigator, wrote, quote, it is possible that Lisa Darden, the mother of Corey Richens, was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric Richan's death. They discovered Lisa had been living with a female romantic partner

who died suddenly in 2006, an autopsy determined the woman died of an overdose of oxycodone. The woman apparently had a history of drug abuse, but at the time of her death, she wasn't in recovery, which the investigator said would likely rule out the possibility of an accidental overdose. I mean, this is whoa. Like Corey, Lisa had become the recipient of the woman's estate shortly before her death. The affidavit also said that there were text conversations found on Corey's phone showing that Lisa had disdain for Eric. It concluded that based on Lisa's proximity to her partner's suspicious overdose death years before

and her relationship with Corey, it is possible that Lisa was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric's death as well. In a statement regarding these revelations, Sky Lazzaro said, quote, Summit County is well aware that opioid addiction and fentanyl overdose is a rampant problem throughout the country. According to the CDC, 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Not only was Summit County the first Utah County to file a lawsuit against Big Pharma opioid manufacturers and distributors. In 2022, Park City Police, the Summit County Sheriff, Summit County Attorney, and Park City School District issued a joint statement to its citizens warning. Quote, they're finding an increasing amount of fentanyl, a drug fueling a surge in accidental, overdoses nationwide.

The fact that Ms. Darden's significant other was one of the millions that suffered from and ultimately succumb to opioid addiction is hardly suspicious. It is tragic and unfortunately quite common. The fact that Ms. Darden was the beneficiary of her romantic partner's life insurance policy is also not unique. It only demonstrates that her circumstances are no different than most families in America. To suggest otherwise is nothing more than a business. baseless conspiracy theory, end quote.

Well, during a hearing in May, the defense filed a motion to disqualify the prosecution from the case, stating that the prosecutor named Brad Bloodworth encroached on Corey's attorney client privilege with multiple violations of her Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. Bloodworth allegedly had access and listened to jailhouse recordings between Corey and her defense team for the span of nearly eight months in 2023. And if that's true, whoa. Bloodworth responded by saying that Corey's attorney refused to register and download an app

that Shields attorney client calls and that as soon as he heard that she was speaking to her defense team, he would immediately stop listening. The judge ultimately went on to deny the motion to disqualify the prosecution, specifically blood worth, but that wasn't even the most interesting thing that went on during this hearing. Through all of these proceedings, it was obvious that Sky Lizarro had been committed to zealously defending Corey. Not only that, but Sky has a well-regarded reputation as a successful defense attorney. So it came as a huge surprise when her law firm requested all of a sudden to pull out from representing Corey moving forward. In another motion filed that same day, the firm Sky works

for wrote, quote, Ray Quinney and Nebucher PC is hereby providing notice that it has a professional duty to withdraw from its current representation of the defendant. The ethical mandate for withdrawal result from an irreconcilable and non-wavable situation. It first emerged from a civil case in which the firm has been representing Ms. Richens, but is imputed to the firm as a whole and thus requires the firm to withdraw from its representation of the defendant in this criminal proceeding, end quote. There was speculation online that perhaps Sky felt she could no longer represent Corey given all the evidence against her or because Corey could no longer afford the private attorney fees. However, in an interview, Sky clarified that the reasoning was really out of her control and had to do

with a conflict arising within the firm and not herself. Corey was subsequently assigned a new team of public defenders, Kathy Nestor and Wendy Lewis of Nestor Lewis attorneys at law. The judge stated that the preliminary hearing would need to be postponed to give the new defense team time to catch up on the multiple terabytes of discovery in the case. And not longer after these developments, Corey decided to break her silence for the first time publicly since her arrest. In a recorded message, she sent to Dateline True Crime Weekly podcast, Corey said, Quote, I've been silent for a year, locked away from my kids, my family, my life, living with the media, telling the world who they think I am, what they think I've done, or how they think I've lived.

It's time to start speaking up. You took an innocent mom away from her babies, and this means war, end quote. On August 21, 2024, a final hearing was held ahead of Corey's preliminary hearing, which will determine whether or not the case will go to trial. And during the hearing, Corey's new defense team requested that she be allowed to appear in the courtroom without handcuffs as she had in previous hearings. In the request, they argued that the bindings would make it difficult for her to take notes. During the hearing would be a distraction for the defense team, and they do not believe she is a risk to them or anyone else in the courtroom. The judge stated that he would need to consult with the Summit County Sheriff's Office before making a decision. And ultimately, though,

she was not required to wear handcuffs during the hearing. And I know this because I was there. I spent two days at Corey Richens' preliminary hearing. And finally, that anticipated preliminary hearing kicked off on Monday, August 26, 2024 with thousands of people tuning in to see what the new details, what new details may be disclosed. And again, I was in the courtroom. The hearing started with defense attorney Wendy Lewis,

questioning Detective Jeff O'Driscoll, about the investigation into Eric's death. Detective Adriscoll detailed his interviews with Carmen Lauber, the housekeeper who claimed to have provided Corey with fentanyl. He noted that he felt Carmen was downplaying her involvement during their conversations, but through four interviews, they established that she had allegedly obtained

both prescription and counterfeit fentanyl pills for Corey, even though it had been estimated that between 15 to 30 pills were exchanged during each transaction. O'Driscoll admitted that authorities had not located any of the fentanyl pills, though, which, you know, that is a compelling defense argument. They had not actually located any of them. Next investigator, Christopher Cotodemus, testified about the investigation into cell phone records, reiterating that data had been deleted from Corey's phone, including call logs and text messages. He pointed out that the web history for the phone abruptly stopped before March 20, 2022, with all information prior to that date missing.

The defense challenged the credibility of Coach O'Demos' investigation, noting that he lacked access to the raw data. And then finally, a forensics accountant, Brooke Carrington, reviewed the financial aspects of the case, again, going over that Eric had consulted a lawyer about a potential divorce in October 2020 and had established a will that excluded Corey as a beneficiary. Carrington highlighted that by late 2021, Corey had amassed around $4.5 million in debt related to her house flipping business,

and although she made numerous payments, she was struggling financially. Well, I would think so. And additionally, Carrington discussed the life insurance policy Corey took out in early 2022, which had suspicious details regarding contact information and allegedly forged signatures. The defense argued that the policy's $100,000 value was significant lower than previous. policies. So that's what the defense argued on that. But basically the first day of the preliminary hearing included things that we had already learned from the original detention hearing. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see Corey Richens in the courtroom without handcuffs for the first time.

The beginning of day two began with the defense announcing that Corey had waived her right to testify during the hearing. And next, Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said that there had been a clear paper trail documenting Corey's financial crimes. Judge Mrazik agreed that Corey had financial and marital affair motives to kill Eric and that there was probable cause to believe that Corey purchased a controlled substance. However, the judge wasn't sure if the state can show probable cause that Corey actually gave Eric Fentanyl on Valentine's Day in 2022, which is the basis for the charge of attempted homicide before the actual homicide charge.

Ludworth argued that the best evidence for attempted homicide is the alleged successful homicide on March 4th, 2022. He said that after the first attempt in February, Corey texted Carmen asking for something stronger, which indicated that she learned from the first attempt. However, not surprisingly, the defense argued that making those kind of conclusions by retroactively applying knowledge to past events is exactly how the law should not be applied.

The preliminary hearing was originally scheduled the last three days, and I plan to be there for three days, but after only two days, the judge concluded that the prosecution had shown probable cause on all the charges, and the case against Corey will continue to trial. Corey is ultimately pleading not guilty to all of the 11 charges. The parties may meet for a pre-trial court. conference in late September of 2024 ahead of jury selection, which will take place over the course of a week in April 2025. The trial currently is set for April 28th and is expected to last four

weeks. In a statement, Corey's team said, quote, we firmly believe the charges against Corey do not withstand through scrutiny and are confident that the jury will find the same. Our focus now is ensuring that justice has served through a fair trial. We are committed to defending Corey against these charges, firmly believing that the truth will prevail, end quote. To wrap things up, we're now at a pivotal point in this case with a trial finally on the horizon. Many people have already made up their minds

about whether Corey intentionally killed Eric, but it is important to always remember that in our justice system, everyone is innocent until proving guilty, and Corey certainly deserves her day in court, regardless of the evidence stacked against her. We also need to think about the lasting impact on three little boys who are now living without either parent. They have lost two parents. The situation has to be incredibly tough on them, as well as on Eric and Corey's family and friends. Both Corey's family and Eric's family took up the majority

of a very large courtroom for that preliminary hearing. They are attending every hearing, and it is a large family and a supportive family, both the Darden's and the Richens. While a lot of information has come out already, I'm sure there will be much more revealed during the trial, maybe even some that could change our perspectives. I'm open to changing my perspective. Are we going to hear some surprises at trial?

You know, that's up to our current defense counsel and what they want to put forth is a defense in this case. So I don't want to speculate, but I do think that there's more to be told to the story in favor of Corey. If Corey is found guilty, I hope the prosecution can present their case clearly to bring justice for Eric and his family. And if not, I hope we at least get some answers to what has really happened to Eric so that everyone can find closure and move forward. Again, especially for the case of these three children. Dr. John and I have been following this case from the beginning.

We talked about the book that Corey published, the children's book, where she went on Good Things, Utah, to discuss this book and how this helping her children to grieve. That was the moment the case hit the media. And there's been a media storm ever since because, well, it wasn't that day. It was the month later when she was arrested. And then everyone went back to watch that interview to try to process that this woman that they thought was a grieving mother might now actually be a murderer. it definitely was a lot to take in. And Dr. John assessed that interview. Interestingly enough, this is actually my old station.

I used to work for the station where Corey Richens appeared and brought this children's book that she had written about grief. So John and I assessed this interview. And that has only been on YouTube. It was back when this case came out. We are going to soon share that on our podcast as well. So hit subscribe. make sure that you have subscribed to this podcast so you don't miss any further episodes,

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