SERIALously - 54: Bryan Kohberger, Kouri Richins, & Buster Murdaugh

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey true crime besties, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. Hey everybody, welcome back to this week's episode of Headline Highlights over here on Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime BFF, here to break down some of the craziest cases this week. There are some updates in cases, there are some new cases. A lot has been going on and it's interesting because what I once thought was kind of a slow week in the true crime world all of a sudden picked up overnight it feels like which is never a good sign. So we're going to get into a lot of it today. Before we do I wanted to also give you guys a quick heads up and a reminder that the merch will officially be launching next Tuesday I have changed the landing page on the website to where you can sign up so that you don't miss it and you can be notified because we are very

Starting point is 00:01:16 limited with sizes and quantity so if you want to make sure you snag some of that and go to the website right now which is shop10tolife.com. I will also link it in the show notes, and make sure that you drop your email to be notified, because we are going to open pre-orders up Tuesday at 8 a.m., and again, there is very limited quantity available. But anyways, in today's episode, we are going to discuss, of course, the latest news on everything going on in the true crime world, and like like i said it's a lot brian koberger the infamous accused quadruple murderer in idaho might actually get his wish after all to not have cameras in the courtroom while he still alleges that there was prosecutional

Starting point is 00:01:57 misconduct in the grand jury proceedings also cory richards the one who basically is accused of poisoning her husband and then writing a grief book a children's grief book at that and now she's been arrested for his murder well she's now studying for the LSATs behind bars and what else would a case update be without some sort of update in the Murdoch saga because Buster Murdoch still believes that the killer responsible for his mom and brother's murder is still on the loose, and he is doing a brand new interview and sharing a lot more information. So buckle up as I try not to go off the rails here in today's episode because these updates and these cases have me heated, if you can't tell already.

Starting point is 00:02:40 Let's start with Corey. A new article by People magazine was published about Corey Richens. Remember, she is the mother from Utah who wrote that children's book about how to deal with grief after her husband suddenly passed away. The book was based on her family, specifically her three boys. Now since then, if you have been following the case with me over on my YouTube, you know that she has been charged with actually murdering her husband, which the prosecution says she did so by poisoning a Moscow mule with a beyond lethal dose of fentanyl. So if you want to get fully caught up on that case too, I will also link it here in the show notes for you. But specifically, prosecutors are saying that Corey was dealing with a debt of almost

Starting point is 00:03:22 two million dollars when she made the decision to give her husband Eric a spiked cocktail that contained five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, which they say that she had procured this lethal dose from a housekeeper that was moonlighting as a drug dealer, all in order to collect on at least five life insurance policies that she had taken out in his name and which would more or less cover her debts. Now also as a reminder too there was a lot of allegations that she had tried to poison him before. He had actually changed the insurance policy to where things weren't in her name. It's really complex so once more I will leave that in the show notes for you. But according to People Magazine, now some of Corey's friends are speaking out and claiming that she is innocent and that the truth will come out, also alleging that the prosecution has taken many things completely

Starting point is 00:04:16 out of context. The friends are even going as far as to say that they believe once everything comes out in trial that they are saying, I quote, I'm certain that once it does, the jury will make the right decision. So I wonder what information that is going to be that they are so confident will exonerate Corey. The article continues by saying, and I quote, Corey, who worked as a housekeeper through college, often felt an outsider in Eric's affluent ranching family, this according to her friends. About a year after the birth of their first son, Carter, the couple married in a backyard wedding in June of 2013. Shortly before Corey walked down the aisle, decked in her wedding

Starting point is 00:04:58 gown and pearls, Eric's mother presented her with a prenup agreement, barring Corey from claiming Eric's 50% stake in his stone masonry business, except in the event of his death. This was according to a civil suit over Eric's estate that was filed by Corey in the Summit County District Court in June. The couple came to a head when Corey decided to start a real estate business a real estate sorry yes a real estate business a few years ago. Corey told investigators in an email sent weeks before her May 8th 2023 arrest that Corey wanted us to live the typical conservative life where the man takes care of his family and the wife is a homemaker a wife a mom that's it, saying that is not my personality and not the way I was raised.

Starting point is 00:05:47 She also added in this email, I wanted to be more. So what's the truth here? Prosecutors say that hours after her arrest in a recorded jailhouse phone call that Corey told her mother and brother that Eric asked her to purchase those pain pills for him and suggested that the drug dealer had sold her fentanyl instead. And now Corey, who is facing between 25 years to life in prison without parole if she's convicted of her husband's murder, is studying for the LSATs in the hopes of becoming a defense lawyer for people unjustly accused. Yes, that is correct. The LSAT, the law school admissions test. So my question is, is this a move where her defense wants to be able to tell the jury, hey, she's innocent. She's even hoping to become a defense lawyer to help others at some point.

Starting point is 00:06:39 Or is she genuinely innocent and just trying to fill up her time in jail and before trial? I really don't know. Also, just because you take the LSAT doesn't mean that you will be admitted into law school or be able to pass the character and fitness examination of the state bar. So just saying, Corey, you still have a long way to go if you want to become a defense attorney. But I'm curious what the motive is here. Is it all for optics or is it because she legitimately wants to help wrongly convicted people like she's claiming

Starting point is 00:07:10 herself to be? What do you think? Let's transition a bit here over into good old Buster. Moving on to Buster Murdoch, Alec Murdoch's son. He recently broke his silence in a full interview as part of a new docuseries called The Fall of the House of Murdoch. And that is out today and is aired exclusively on the subscription platform for Fox Nation. Here are some of the trailer and teasers that have been released so far. You decided to attend the trial every single day. How grueling was that for you? Oh, it's incredibly grueling. I mean, every anxious, negative emotion is going through my mind at this point. I'm trying to take it in.

Starting point is 00:07:53 I'm trying not to break down, trying to hold composure. He's also doubling down on what he says is his father's innocence, despite the overwhelming evidence that pointed to his guilt. I don't think that he could be affiliated with endangering my mother and brother. Are you fearful for your life if you believe the killer is still out there?

Starting point is 00:08:14 Absolutely. I think that I've set myself up to be safe, but yes, when I go to bed at night, I have a fear that there is somebody else still out there. When I look up the definition of psychopaths, like someone who can completely get away with lying and acting normal and carrying through as if nothing's happening, does that describe your dad when you look at those definitions of that? I'm not prepared to sit here and say that it encompasses him as a whole, but certainly I think there are characteristics where you look at the manipulation and the lies and the carrying out of that such, and I think that's a fair assessment.

Starting point is 00:08:50 Twelve jurors all agreed that your dad killed your mom and Paul. That's right. What do you think about that? I do not believe it was fair. Why? I was there believe it was fair. Why? I was there for six weeks studying it, and I think it was a tilted table from the beginning.

Starting point is 00:09:10 And I think, unfortunately, a lot of the jurors felt that way prior to when they had to deliberate. It was predetermined in their minds prior to when they ever heard any shred of evidence. Did you ever go there and say, maybe it's possible that he did this? No, because I think that I hold a very unique perspective that nobody else in that courtroom ever held.

Starting point is 00:09:32 And I know the love that I have witnessed. Why would the jurors be inclined to go against your dad? Because of everything they had the ability to read prior to the trial. Do you ever worry, you know, am I like Dad? No, I do not worry because I am not a thief, I am not a liar, I'm not a manipulator. In those regards, I am nothing like him. His sister said someone approached her and said that you and Stephen were romantically involved.

Starting point is 00:10:02 and said that you and Steven were romantically involved. His brother says that someone approached him and says that you were with a group of young men who beat him with a baseball bat. What do you say to that? To both of those? Absolutely. Baseless rumors. I unequivocally deny anything that you just read off of that piece of paper.

Starting point is 00:10:25 I did not have any personal intimate relations with Stephen and that obviously cannot be proven because it is baseless. I never had anything to do with his murder, and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level of any regard. Where were you the night that Stephen Smith was killed? The night Stephen was killed, I was at our Edisto Beach house.

Starting point is 00:10:48 With your family? With my mom and my brother. What did you feel like when you heard that this thing was surfacing again? Well, it's a lot like this, and, you know, I don't want to be rude here, but have you ever been accused of murdering somebody? No. Well, let me tell you, this is very, very, very, very, very, it's a terrible thing to place on somebody with absolutely no fact. I mean, it has harmed my reputation. I mean, people perceive me as a murderer.

Starting point is 00:11:19 Okay, so that was obviously a lot. So let's break that down. Now, before we go into this, let me just preface everything with how awful I do feel for Buster. I honestly can't imagine what it's like to have your dad in prison for the murder of your mom and your brother, and while I'm shocked that Buster broke his silence, his interview was not so shocking in a lot of ways as well. First of all, there's no surprise that he completely denies any involvement in the death of Stephen Smith. So far, nothing official has been filed against him either. As far as him still believing that his dad had nothing to do with the murders of his mom and brother,

Starting point is 00:11:55 I think that's probably something that he has to do or a self-defense mechanism in his mind that won't even allow him to consider it to be true. Because I, for one one do believe Alec is guilty. In some of the clips that were teased online Buster says that he is still scared for his life and believes that the person that killed his mom and a brother is still out there. He also says that the Stephen Smith rumors have ruined his life and until you know what it's like to be accused of murder that you didn't do, it's hard to understand the implications of such rumors. When asked about where he was the night

Starting point is 00:12:31 of Stephen Smith's death, Buster said that he was at his family's beach house with his mom, his brother, the two people who are tragically no longer here to corroborate that alibi. Is that a coincidence or could that be true? So since the docuseries was released today I'm sure way more things will come out and you know I will be back updating you on this because I'm definitely going to watch. This family really piques my curiosity. I think there's a lot of wealth. I think there's a lot of cover-up. I think there is a lot of privilege and entitlement. So I'll probably do a full update, but I also will link in the show notes my recap of the whole Alec Murdoch saga from my YouTube

Starting point is 00:13:10 page if you want to get fully caught up in that. And again, personally, I still do believe that his father is responsible for those murders. There's just way too many lies, way too many things that didn't add up in my opinion. so while we're on the topic of murderers who don't want to take accountability which I shouldn't I guess say it that way because innocent until proven guilty but let's just talk about Brian Koberger for a second and I have a lot of feelings on this case and on this guy all right guys you know that I've been pretty open with you guys about my sleeping patterns or lack thereof because I've never been a solid sleeper and I've tried everything from Ambien to Valerian root to melatonin. Nothing works for me and even when I'm able to fall asleep I can never seem to stay asleep

Starting point is 00:13:53 because if I toss once I'm up my mind is racing I'm not going back to sleep. But that all changed for me about seven months ago thanks to my husband and thanks to my husband for introducing me to Beam's Dream Powder. I was a personal consumer already for the last seven months so you know that when they asked me if I was interested in partnering with them it was a no-brainer because I can't say enough good things about it. It's a healthy hot cocoa for sleep with no added sugar and it tastes like hot chocolate so it's like a little treat right before bed plus the added bonus of helping you sleep. A recent clinical study revealed that Dream helped 93% of users wake up feeling more refreshed, and 93% reported that Dream helped them get a more restful night's sleep. Now for the magic sauce. Dream contains a powerful all-natural

Starting point is 00:14:36 blend of reishi, magnesium, L-theanine, melatonin, and nano-CBD to help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed. It's also now available in tons of delicious flavors like sea salt caramel, cinnamon cocoa, and chocolate peanut butter, even mint chip, which my personal favorite is the sea salt caramel because it literally tastes like hot chocolate. Better sleep has never tasted better, and I'm telling you, nothing else has worked for me, and this stuff does. I've been sharing it now with you guys for about a month because I don't gatekeep my secrets and I feel like everybody should have good sleep and know about this and literally over 150 of you have already emailed or DM'd me telling me you tried it and how much you love it. Also I wear an aura ring that tracks my sleep and on the nights

Starting point is 00:15:20 that I don't drink the tea my sleep scores are in like the 30s and 40s versus the nights when I do drink it and they're in the high 90s. So it's totally proven. Just drink it 30 minutes before you want to be asleep and it's lights out. And you don't wake up feeling foggy or groggy or with a headache. It is the best. Find out why Forbes and New York Times are all talking about Beam and why it's trusted by the world's top athletes and business professionals. If you want to try Beam's best-selling dream powder, subscribe and save 20% plus get an additional 20% off and a free frother with my code 10 to life when you go to shopbeam.com slash Annie Elise. That's shopbeam.com slash Annie Elise and use my code 10 to life for up to 40 off guys go snag this deal while you can

Starting point is 00:16:07 and email me with how it changed your sleep i will also include the direct link in the show notes below but trust me go try it you are going to be obsessed with it i have been drinking it religiously for like seven months and you will be obsessed i guarantee it so brian recently waved his right to a speedy trial, so the October trial date is now totally out the window, which we really expected wouldn't happen anyways. We kind of knew that this is what was going to happen. However, now we could be waiting years for a trial. We just don't know yet. Brian Koberger's attorney, Ann Taylor, has filed court documents requesting the removal of cameras from the courtroom for all future appearances, including pretrial hearings and the trial itself.

Starting point is 00:16:51 Brian's legal team argues that the pictures and videos being captured in the courtroom would hurt Brian's ability to receive a fair trial with an unbiased jury. jury. Ann Taylor included close-up photos of him in these documents, arguing that the media has violated the court's order to capture wide shots of the entire courtroom rather than just these close-ups of Brian. She stated that these images and videos gradually poison the potential jury pool prior to trial even occurring. Brian's defense claims that images and recordings taken of him interfere with his right to a fair trial, and that by using these videos and pictures, anyone can analyze his body language, which is prejudicial to the case. Since the media violated the court's terms, Bryan's legal team argues that cameras should be removed for the duration of any pretrial proceedings as well as the trial. They also cited quite a bit of case law in support of their request.

Starting point is 00:17:53 So if you followed the Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell trial, you know that cameras were removed in all court proceedings following a certain media outlet zooming in on Lori's face during a pre-trial hearing for more than 20 minutes. Her lawyers argued that this was disproportionate to the amount of time that the camera was pointed at anyone else, and that there was no reason for her to be zoomed in on in the first place because she wasn't speaking, and neither was her counsel. In Lori's case, Judge Boyce permanently banned cameras, but ended up changing his mind for the verdict and the sentencing only. Since this was also in Idaho, it's not hard to see how the judge in Brian's case could easily make the same decision to ban cameras, since he now has recent precedent to rely on the exact same state with another high-profile case.

Starting point is 00:18:47 So here's my thing. What is going on with those responsible for the cameras? Why are they violating the judge's instructions? Is it because they are uninformed? Or what's really going on here? You would think that since cameras were banned in Lori Vallow's trial, whichever company is operating these pool cameras would try not to make that the case once again here with Brian, especially since

Starting point is 00:19:11 I'm assuming they are employed by a company whose sole purpose is to document trials. It really is just unbelievable to me. I would not be surprised if cameras were banned in this case, since this is also a death penalty trial, and now the media has essentially given the court a reason to ban them because they can't follow simple instructions for whatever reason. No matter where you stand on Brian Koberger, he is innocent until proven guilty. There are a lot of feelings on both sides, me included, but there are a lot of people who question his involvement completely. No cameras allowed in court proceedings would seriously hinder transparency to the public, which isn't a surprise that this would lead to even more questions and more speculation on what's going on in that case.

Starting point is 00:19:59 Additionally, a second motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment against Brian Koberger was filed under seal. No surprise there either. Brian's defense team is alleging grand jury bias, inadmissible evidence, insufficient evidence, and prosecution misconduct, among other things. Defense attorneys also claim prosecutors are withholding exculpatory evidence. Since everything is under seal, we have no idea what exactly they are referring to though. Without knowing, on the surface it seems like Brian's defense team is throwing out some serious claims. They're saying that the grand jury was biased and that there's not good enough evidence even to bring him to trial. They are also accusing the prosecutors

Starting point is 00:20:40 of misconduct and of holding back evidence that could actually help clear Brian's name. So while Ann Taylor is fighting to get these cameras out of the courtroom, they're also busy arguing that the whole case against Brian has some big holes. They're basically saying, hey, you're not playing fair and you're making it impossible for Brian to get a fair trial. I also think it's important to note that Ann Taylor is just doing her job and this doesn't necessarily mean what she is saying is something that the court would actually end up ruling in her favor. So the hearing for the cameras is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, September 1st, and I genuinely hope I am wrong in my prediction, but we will see. What do

Starting point is 00:21:20 you guys think? Should cameras be allowed or is this really tainting the jury pool? So there were some other case updates this week such as some things going on such as a murder coming out of Bali. There was also another family annihilator in Ohio who murdered his entire family and then it took his own life, which I just did a longer video of that case on my YouTube 10 to Life. took his own life which I just did a longer video of that case on my youtube tend to life and there's just unfortunately no shortage of horrific crime going on I wanted to give you these big headline highlights because it's ones that I know so many of you have been following and asking about so stay tuned for all of the rest I will be back again of course with you next Thursday with headline highlights and this Monday I will be with you going over a full, full deep dive of the Mackenzie Shorilla case. So many of you guys have been

Starting point is 00:22:12 asking for coverage on that. So that is coming bright and early Monday morning. And guys, it is a lot. It is going to be a deep dive. And for those of you who aren't familiar with her case, she is the one who reportedly, you you know drove her car at 100 miles per hour to kill her boyfriend it's really sick and twisted so I'm breaking it all down for you all right guys all the things are linked in the description below don't forget the link to sign up for the merch drop so that you don't miss out on that the link to the longer videos that we talked about in this case some link to some other stuff social handles all of the things are linked so go check that out please take 30 seconds to give this podcast a quick rating and review over on apple

Starting point is 00:22:51 or spotify if that's where you're listening to it on and let me know what it is you guys want me to cover next let me know in the review that you leave and i because that's the best place for me to see what your requests are how you guys want me to really refine this podcast, what kind of content you want me to deliver. So make sure to leave that in your review as well. All right, guys. Thanks so much for tuning in with me today on this week's episode of Headline Highlights. I hope you all have a very safe and long holiday weekend, and I will see you bright and early Monday for Mackenzie Shirella.

Starting point is 00:23:21 All right, guys. I am signing off, and I will talk with you soon. Bye.

SERIALously - 54: Bryan Kohberger, Kouri Richins, & Buster Murdaugh

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