True Crime All The Time - Kimberly Hricko

Episode Date: August 12, 2024

Stephen Hricko was found dead in a resort cottage in Maryland on February 15th, 1999. Authorities initially believed he died in an accidental fire, but they soon became suspicious as the facts in the investigation pointed another way. They ultimately began looking at someone very close to Stephen as his killer.Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Kimberly Hricko. Kimberly wasn't happy in her marriage to Stephen and told many of her friends about it. Then her talks with friends started to become much darker. She began saying that everyone would be better off without Stephen in the picture. She thought she had the perfect plan but it didn't quite turn out that way.You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

everyone and welcome to episode 396 of the true crime all the time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and not with me as he normally is is my partner in true crime Mike Gibson. Unfortunately, Gibby had an unexpected death in the family. So, you know, my thoughts and prayers as well as my families are out with them. I hope yours are as well. Like I said, it was very sudden and obviously Gibby needed to be with his family. So I decided that I was going to do the episodes on my own this week. And I mean, I just think that was the right thing to do. Family comes first.

There is no doubt about it. And we're not even going to do Patreon shoutouts this week. Because I know a lot of people would be upset. If they don't get to hear, Gibby say their name. It's a big part of it. People seem to really like it. So I know he'll be back next week.

It's just a really tough week for him. So make sure you're thinking about him and sending him out those good vibes. We do have an episode out right now on true crime all the time unsolved where we're talking about Sarah Greenhall. Sarah was a 48 year old reporter in Virginia who was found dead in her burning home in 2012. So there's a lot to this one to undo. to unpack, so make sure you check that out. All right, it's time to get into this episode of true crime all the time.

On February 15th, 1999, Stephen Rico was found dead in a resort cottage. Now, authorities initially believed that he died in an accidental fire, but suspicion, as it often does, pretty quickly turned to someone much closer to home and will get in. and unpack all of those details. Stephen Rico was born on November 22nd, 1962 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Penn State in 1989 with a degree in turf grass management. I did not even know that that was a degree you could get. I'm assuming you would work at maybe one of those great big sod farms.

I really have no idea. I would, though, like to know how some of those really big operations were. Stephen and Kimberly got married on March 4th, 1989. They met while attending Penn State. Stephen Kim were friends with another married couple named Mike and Maureen Mill. Stephen Mike had known each other since the seventh grade. Mike met Maureen at Penn State in 1984. So, you know, it does sound like a pretty good couple.

They all went to Penn State. Steve and Mike had known each other for a very long time. Those are the types of couples that, you know, you get very close with. You go out to dinner a lot with, maybe on vacations. You just spend a lot of time with them. Maureen met Kim through her job as a waitress at a local steakhouse. Mike and Maureen then introduced Kim to Steve. They went on a double date.

Kim and Steve hit it off. Maureen would later testify that Steve fell in love with Kim immediately. And we hear that all the time. I mean, everybody's heard of that old saying, right? Love at first sight. But in these stories that we do, very often there's a third party who, you know, witnesses the relationship forming. And they say that, you know, this person fell in love with this other.

person like right away. And it does often happen. Kim and Steve's baby was born within a year of their marriage. Their daughter, Anna, was nine years old when her father was killed. Steve worked in golf course maintenance. For the last two years of his life, Steve was the golf superintendent at a country club in Laurel, Maryland. Kim became a certified surgical technologist. She worked in the operating rooms at the Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring from 1995 to December 1997. After that, she briefly worked at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. One of her jobs at Holy Cross was disposing of unused medication and drugs after operations. Now, we have done a number of TCAT episodes that have focused on either nurses or doctors

or someone in the medical profession who has, used their job to murder people. And now, you know, you hear this disposing of unused medication and drugs after operations. Yes, we're talking about the 90s. It doesn't sound like it was all that sophisticated. They didn't go into detail, but I'm getting that picture. I'm assuming today it is much more buttoned down. But Kim wasn't happy with her marriage, even though, according to,

to Rico versus State, her unhappiness was, quote, relatively low key until the fall of 1997. She spoke to several friends about her marriage problems. Kim's friend and former neighbor Teresa Armstrong once asked Kim to explain what was going on. Teresa didn't directly quote Kim, but she basically said that Kim told her there was a lot of verbal abuse. He didn't do anything. She did everything. She was just completely unhappy with him. She didn't want to be married to him. Kim's former co-worker Norma Waltz said that Kim told her she and Steve had been having problems for a long time. Norma told Kim that she suspected something wasn't right. And Kim said that she had been living a lot. She claimed she asked Steve to go to counseling in the late

summer of 1997. Kim told her former coworker and friend Jennifer Gowan. in November 1997 that she was considering divorce. She told another friend Rachel McCoy, the same thing in September or October of that year. According to Rachel's testimony, as quoted by Rico versus State, she felt that he wasn't very helpful around the house or he didn't like to go out and do stuff with her. She was much more outgoing than he was. And that really bothered her.

And it started to bother her more over the, years. And, you know, this is a subject that I want to talk about. You know, when you meet someone, and especially when you've been dating them for some time and you make the decision at some point that you're going to get married, how much about that person do you really know? Because I have a couple of theories on it. One is that people change over time. You know, once married, people don't all always act the same way that they do before marriage. And they might put their best foot forward, so to say, before the marriage occurs, and then let things slide afterwards.

And then there are some people who never change. But maybe one person is thinking that in this relationship, they'll be able to change them. And maybe so, maybe not. But I do think this is a pretty common thing. You differences form. And especially when one person is doing the bulk share of the work around the house, that can cause a lot of problems in any relationship. Kim's negative feelings towards her husband worsened between November and December 1997.

Jennifer Gowan was going to get married. On November 29th, Kim was her matron of honor. A week before the wedding, Kim hosted a bachelorette party. for Jennifer, the party started at Mike and Maureen Miller's home and ended at a restaurant or bar around 1.30 a.m. Several days later, Kim threw a shower for Jennifer at her home in Laurel the following day. The wedding party spent Thanksgiving Day at Kim's home. I know people get married throughout the year. Right around Thanksgiving seems like a strange time to me, but I don't want to offend anyone who got married at the end of November, who's listening right now,

Kim took notice of Jennifer's cousin, 23-year-old Brad Winkler, a Marine Corps sergeant assigned to the Pentagon. Brad attended every pre-wedding event that week. He and Kim were seen having private conversation. Kim told her friend Norma, waltz, about her conversation with Brad. Brad told Kim about his previous bad marriage. Kim said Brad was a nice guy. and the next girl he was in a relationship with would be lucky.

But Steve also noticed Brett because he was the only other male present at the wedding shower. According to normal Walt, Steve was ticked off and wondered what Brad was doing hanging out after the party was over. Kim said Steve was jealous because Brad was hitting it off so well with Anna. And, yay, if your marriage is not going well, you're probably going to, to pick up on something like that even quicker, I would think. In December, Brad volunteered to babysit and house sit for Jennifer Gowan and her husband while they went on their honeymoon. Kim went over daily to help Brad take care of Jennifer's one-year-old child.

Brad would later testify, I think it was that Friday night. I kissed her or she kissed to me. That weekend, I believe, is when it started. Kim and Brad had sex at Jennifer's home while they were on their honeymoon and later at his aunt's home where he was living at the time. So it sounds to me like this went pretty quickly because they meet at the wedding. They hit it off. They're talking. It sounds like, you know, there was a spark. They were attracted to each other. And by the time the honeymoon rolls around and they're hot and heavy. They're having sex. Kim called. Kim called.

Jennifer several times while she was still on her honeymoon and said she was about to have an affair with Brad. Well, that call must have happened before the sex actually occurred. When Jennifer returned in mid-December, Kim gave her details about the affair. She said she was becoming more dissatisfied with her marriage. Well, she was already dissatisfied. Does having a fling, you know, with this Marine Corps sergeant up the dissatisfaction level. And I would say, yeah, it probably does. Kim also had a phone conversation with her friend, Norma Waltz, who lived in Washington State.

Kim told her friend, she was having an affair with Brad and said he was very affectionate and she really loved him. And I think the other thing that jumps out at me is, why are you telling all these people? I get it. They're your really good friends and they're probably going to. to keep that secret, but I think for me it just shows the level of dissatisfaction, almost as if at this point she doesn't even care about the marriage. And I think that's kind of obvious. She's having the affair, but she's also pretty readily throwing around the details.

On December 31st, Kim told her former neighbor Teresa Armstrong that she was having an affair with her friend Jenny's cousin. His name is Brad. During her conversation with Teresa, Kim said she was very angry and upset with the relationship with Steve and she was going to ask for a divorce. She ended by saying that she had even been thinking of different ways to kill him. Teresa asked her, what would you get out of it? According to Teresa, Kim said that she would get insurance money. So her and Anna can live their life the way they wanted. Stephen had two lines. Stephen had two lines. insurance policies worth $450,000. Kim was the beneficiary.

Steve had a policy with protective life insurance company worth $250,000 that was taken out in November 1997. He had a $50,000 policy through his employee. And then in mid-December of 1997, Steve took out supplemental coverage worth $100,000 with an accidental death benefit of 50,000. You know, so for me, there's two things here. One is Kim telling everyone that she's unhappy. I understand that.

People get unhappy with a marriage. People talk about, think about, and then even go through divorces. But to transition from I'm unhappy, I'm thinking about getting a divorce to I've even been thinking about different ways to kill him. him. Okay. You are very trusting of these friends. These must be really good friends. And then I think the second thing is these insurance policies. I mean, if you look at the timing, basically before November of 1997, Steve had about $50,000 through his employer. But then very quickly, in November and then December.

He had an additional $400,000. It happened very quickly. Also in December 1997, Kim spoke to her coworker Kenneth Burgess about having her husband killed. Kenneth was standing in the hall outside the women's locker room. His back was initially turned to Kim.

Kim said, according to later court testimony, Ken, I want to talk to you. She then blurted out. that she wanted him to kill her husband. Kenneth turned around thinking that she was joking, but he saw that she was very serious. He said he was not going to get involved in anything like that and trying to tell her that she was overreacting

to her marital dissatisfaction. Okay. Yeah, I think overreacting is maybe a euphemism there at that point. But we have this come up from time to time. How do you start a conversation? with someone about wanting them to either help you kill or to outright kill someone for you. In this case, Kim asking Kenneth a coworker if he would murder her husband. How do you do that?

And how are you safe in the knowledge that this guy is not going to immediately go to police? I'm assuming this is not one of your best friends. This is not someone you've known since you were in grade school. It just seems very reckless to me. Aside from the criminality aspect of it, Kim then asked him if he knew someone that would kill her husband. She mentioned that whoever did it would get $50,000. When she could see that Kenneth wasn't going to get involved, she told him to forget about

it and asked him not to tell anyone about their conversation. Yeah, okay, you might as well end with that. But again, how would you not be worried about that? And even more so if your husband then later ends up dead. Do you not think that that's going to come up at some point in time? Kenneth apparently made a flippant remark. You work in the operating room. You could just put him to sleep.

In mid-January, 1998, Kim met with her friend Rachel McCoy and said that she was seeing someone. Kim told her, I'm not going to marry this guy. This is just about sex. Kim spoke to her friend Jennifer Gowen almost daily. In January and early February, she shared quite a lot of details

about her intimate contact with Brad and how happy she was about the affair. Kim told Jennifer that she and Steve had only had sex once since November, and it made her want to throw up. That is not a glowing endorsement of your significant other. Having sex with this person made me want to throw up. According to Jennifer, Kim's statements escalated from wanting a divorce to wanting to kill Steve.

The first time Kim discussed killing her husband, Kim said Steve would be better off dead. They had discussed divorce, but Kim said Steve would be nothing without her and Anna. And I honestly think that this is some of the logic that goes through some people's heads. I mean, it doesn't make sense to any of us. And I'm sure if you ask Steve, he would say, no, I would not be better off debt. Now, Kim also worried that if they divorced, Steve might get custody of Anna and may try to turn Anna against her. And I think that is probably more of a true statement that she worried about that than that she actually thought Steve would be better off dead, better off for her maybe.

In another conversation, Kim said it would not be wise for her to tell Steve about her affair with Brad because he may become depressed or angry enough to kill himself. And if he did that, she couldn't get a payment from his life. insurance policy. I mean, that's really cold. I get it. You don't like this guy anymore. You don't want to be with this person anymore. And no, it probably wouldn't be wise to tell him about the affair, but she wouldn't be sad if Steve killed himself. She's only worried that she wouldn't get a payment from his life insurance policy. And I think that right there shows you the heart of where her head is really at at this point in time.

Kim then went into details about how she would kill Steve. She brought up the drug, succincting, coline, a muscle relaxing anesthesia agent that is extremely difficult to trace in a patient's body. They even discussed a case where a woman injected children with the drug. Jennifer would later testify that this drug was regularly used by anesthesiolity. and she and Kim had access to it. Kim constantly sought Jennifer's reassurance about her plan. Jen said per core documents, Kim wanted me to support her.

She mentioned to me that her brother was someone who supported her and that he would support her even if she killed someone. And she was asking me for that type of support and use those words many, many times. Now, we all love our friends. We have great friends. that we would do almost anything for. But I think most people would draw the line at supporting your friend in a murder plot.

In January or February, 1998, Kim told Jennifer, if I could kill Steve and get away with it, I would do it tomorrow. Around 7.30 p.m. on January 30th, Kim spoke to her friend Rachel McCoy over the phone. Rachel went out for dinner and came home around 9.30.

Kim had left her five or six increasingly frantic messages. She asked Rachel to call her back as soon as she could because she needed to talk to her. When Rachel called back, Kim asked her to come to Laurel. Rachel had to drive there from Baltimore. She arrived at Kim's home between 11 and 11.30 p.m. Kim had been drinking and she was distraught. She talked about how it would be easier if Steve were dead and said she had a plan to avoid getting caught. Rachel testified, she told me that she could get a drug that would paralyze Steve,

that would stop his breathing, and then she would set the curtains on fire with a candle or a cigar, and that he would die of smoke inhalation and a fire, and no one would know. Rachel said that she tried to talk Kim out of it by poking holes in her story, but Kim apparently had answers for everything. For example, Rachel told Kim to consider divorce. But Kim seemed to think it would be easier to kill Steve. Rachel asked how it would affect Anna. But Kim said Anna would be better off without her death. And it seems to me that in her mind, Kim Rico, she's already made it up.

She's going to do this. It's really just a matter of when. Now, I can't believe how many of her friends she's sharing these very thought-out, details with and then also here again I think we see more of her mindset you know she can explain away any holes it would be easier to kill Steve than to get a divorce her daughter would be better off without her dad I mean you can just see how bad this train of thought is meanwhile Steve was planning a romantic weekend getaway for Valentine's Day his friend Mike or worked at the Harbortown Golf Resort in St. Michael's Maryland, Steve called Mike in January

1998 and told him he was looking to go somewhere with Kim for romantic evening to work on the marriage. Mike knew that resort was offering a Valentine's weekend package. He suggested this to Steve, who jumped on the idea. Mike helped make arrangements so Steve and Kim would have a cottage with a river view. Mike and Maureen also offered to babysit Anna, but they didn't end up doing so. So it sounds to me like, you know, Kim is planning Steve's death. Steve is planning a romantic weekend to try to, you know, get this relationship back on track. But the train is derailed at this point in Kim's mind. There is no writing it.

Steve and Kim were at the resort on Saturday, February 14th, The resort was hosting an audience participation murder mystery dinner theater. The play was titled The Bride Who Cried. During the show, the groom was poisoned. During the wedding banquet and the audience was asked to look at the clues and make a guess about the killer. The play ended around 10.30 p.m. And I've never been to one of these, but it sounds awesome. I would love to do it.

you know, it sounds like a live game of clue or, you know, something along those lines. It would be even better if Gibby did a lot of the different voices, kind of like Michael Scott in the audience. They had that one episode where they did like a murder mystery on tape and everybody was doing voices. Gibby would be awesome at that. So this play ends around 1030. Three hours later, around 1.30 a.m. Kim ran to the resort. or its front desk and asked someone to call 911 because there was a fire in her cottage. 35-year-old Steve Enrico was found dead in Cottage 506. Because their cottage was so well insulated, the fire had extinguished itself.

By the time, firefighters arrived. Steve's body was found on the floor next to the bed. He was burned from the torso up. The bed and part of the carpet was burned. the majority of the damage was caused by the intense heat of the fire. Owner Harold Klinger said the damage to the cottage, though, was less than $1,000. St. Michael's police chief Wade Rochay believed in accelerant may have been used, but the state fire marshal had not yet determined the cause of the fire.

Kim was questioned at the scene, and then again on February 16. According to the Baltimore Sun, Deputy State Fire Marshal, Marshall Farron Taylor said, we don't have a suspect. For that, we would have to say it was deliberately set. And we're not saying that. Until we received the medical examiner's report, results from the scene, and conclude our witness interviews, we won't have an exact cause. On February 19th, Deputy Fire Marshal Taylor could not say when his agency would conclude

their investigation. He said, they knew the origin of the fire. but not the cause. The state medical examiner's office was also waiting on toxicology reports. So he's not coming out and saying it, but, you know, I'm getting the vibe that they're thinking something's not right. But they don't want to come out and say that yet because they want a little more proof. They want, you know, some of the tests and they want to see what those show.

But in their minds, this is not looking good. On the night of February 23rd, an ambulance was dispatched to the home of Mike and Maureen Miller for a possible drug overdose. Unnamed sources said Kim RICO was the one in the ambulance. Officers from the Eastern Police Department who were dispatched to assist the ambulance said they found Maryland State police officers already on the scene, serving a warrant to an unidentified person. And it was the next day. February 24th that Kimberly Rico was arrested in connection with her husband's death. On the 25th, she was formally charged with first-degree murder and first-degree arson.

In the application for charges, the Maryland State Police revealed the following information. Steve was either not breathing or dead before the fire started. He didn't have carbon monoxide in his blood, and there was no evidence of, soot or burns in his trachea or injuries to his lung. A pack of cigars was found in the cottage. One cigar was missing and was not located during the search. And this evidence would be very damning for anyone who was trying to make it look as though someone died in a fire.

Hard to die, you know, of something like smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide when it's determined that the person is dead before the fire even started. Kim was the last known person to see Steve alive. She told investigators that Steve was drinking heavily earlier in the evening and that sometimes he smoked when he drank and not too hard to figure out what she's implying. He was drinking. He fired up a Stogey. Maybe he passed out. He set the cottage on fire and he died. The problem was Steve's blood alcohol content was zero percent. Several friends said they had never known him to smoke. And as I talked about earlier, the police learned that Kim told a friend.

She planned to inject Steve with the drug to stop his breathing and paralyze him. Then she was going to set a fire using a cigar or candle so that it would appear he died from the fire. And I think it's why I was making such a big deal about all these statements or these things that she was telling her friends, how do you not think that those are going to come back to bite you in the ass? Because they will. It was determined that Kim's line of work gave her access to drugs that could stop breathing and paralyze a person. Kim's friend told her that Steve's death would look suspicious because he didn't smoke cigars. Kim said she didn't think it would look suspicious because she took out a smoker's life insurance policy on Steve in November

1996. This policy was worth $200,000. Now, this is a full year before the November 1997 policy that we talked about. So it doesn't seem to me as if Steve even knew about this policy. And it also shows you how far in advance Kimberly Rico was thinking about doing it. Kim had discussed divorce with Steve and was having an affair. The man involved in the affair admitted to having a sexual relationship with Kim. So, you know, police are, they're getting to the bottom of all these details. Doesn't sound like it was all that hard. You know, you start talking to her friends.

Well, she had told them pretty much everything. So very quickly, they learn about the affair. They learn about the thoughts of, divorce and even the thoughts of her wanting him dead. And not only that, but exactly how she's going to do it. Oh, and by the way, it kind of did play out that way. Additionally, the state police arranged a monitored phone conversation between Kim and her old co-worker Kenneth Burgess, who contacted the police after learning about

Steve's death. During a February 22nd phone call, Kim acknowledged. Kim acknowledged that she previously spoke to Kenneth about having Steve killed for money. I am starting to believe that Kimberly Rico is not the sharpest tool in the shit. I mean, she is doing so many things that are ultimately going to point to her as murdering her husband. When Kim spoke to the police, she said Steve pressured her to have sex when they returned to their cottage from the murder mystery dinner, but they didn't, which resulted in an argument. She left the room around 11 p.m. and got lost trying to drive to a friend's home in Easter.

She returned around 1 a.m. and tried to enter through a sliding glass door, but the smoke prevented her from entering. She went to the lobby for help. Kim acknowledged that she was having marital problems and that she and Steve were seeing separate marriage counselors. She told a detective that Steve chewed tobacco and smoked on occasions when he drank. Kim was interviewed again on February 23rd, and she was told the results of the investigation. Detectives asked her to tell the truth. Kim asked if she would have to go to jail that night if she told them what really happened. The interview ended soon after.

What kind of question is that? If I tell you what really happened, I'm assuming that, yes, I killed my husband. am I going to go to jail? Yes, you're going to go to jail. No, you're not going to pass go and you're not going to collect $200. Later that evening, the state police served warrants at Kim's home in Laurel and on her vehicle in Easton where she was staying with friends. As police were searching her car, she overdosed on prescription medication and was taken to the hospital. And then like I said earlier, she was arrested the next day. A judge granted the defense motion to send Kim to a facility for psychiatric evaluation. The case was put on hold while state police investigators awaited autopsy results.

In late March, it was reported that state psychiatrists at the Clifton-Perkins Hospital Center declared Kim competent to stand trial. Her lawyer asked for the preliminary hearing to be postponed due to her fragile mental state. At this time, the FBI was also conducting toxicology tests. On June 4th, 1998, Kim was indicted for first-degree murder, first-degree arson, and attempted first-degree murder. She was indicted less than a week before she was scheduled for a preliminary hearing. The indictment allowed prosecutors to avoid the hearing where they would have had to present evidence. To convince a judge, there was probable cause for trial.

At that point, the autopsy report had still not been completed. And I was a little shocked by that because, you know, quite a bit of time has gone by. We're like three months past the time when Steve died. In late June, it was determined that Kim would remain at the psychiatric hospital until her condition stabilized. A psychiatrist said she was diagnosed with recurrent major depressive disorder. She had symptoms of depression dating back. back to her childhood with symptoms becoming more severe in the past six to seven years. Suicidal ideation was one of her frequent symptoms when Kim first arrived at the hospital.

She indicated that she was intent on ending her life, but she had since improved. In December 1998, a judge allowed Kim's statements to the police into evidence as well as a liquor store clerk's identification of Kim. St. Michael's police officer Steve Craig was the first officer to encounter Kim on the morning of February 15. He saw her running towards the building. Kim was hysterical and asked about her husband. Maryland State Police Chaplain Paul Jennings told Kim her husband was dead. Jennings introduced Kim to trooper first class Clay Hartness, who spoke to Kim for about 10 to 15 minutes and asked basic questions. Jennings asked one question while Kim was speaking to the state trooper. Kim mentioned that she had an argument with Steve.

Jennings asked if it was violent. Kim said, quote, not that way. The chaplain said that he and Trooper first class hardness later remarked that they thought this was a very strange way to answer the question. Jennings stayed with Kim for the next several hours. Numerous people were in and out of the room. Kim was sleeping most of the time. He laughed when detectives Karen Alt and Keith Elsie arrived at the resort.

Karen Alt spoke to Kim twice that morning. It was said that she was cooperative. On February 23rd, detectives Alt and Elsie spoke to Kim in a cottage at the Harbor Town Resort after a visit to the room where Steve died. They asked her about the affair and other information obtained during the investigation. So this is just about a week after Steve's death. They pretty much know everything already. According to Detective Elsie, Kim said she would tell them what happened.

If she could go home and see her daughter. He told her that he would make arrangements. Kim asked if she would be able to go home. If she told the truth about what happened, Elsie said he would do everything he could to help her. But as I said earlier, this is when the questioning ended. It was right when Kim said that she wanted to tell them what really happened that night. But then she said that she wanted to talk to a lawyer first. So Detective Elsie stopped questioning Kim, but Kim kept on talking and he read her Miranda rights. Kim then left Harbor Town and went to Mike

and Maureen Miller's home in Easton. She was followed by a state trooper. A search warrant for her car was served at the Miller House. A search warrant for Kim and her personal possessions was not served at that time due to her overdose. The defense argued that Kim's statements on February 15th were not voluntary because she was emotionally distraught and the presence of the priest was problematic because the Ricots were Roman Catholic and the February 23rd statements were inadmissible under the Miranda ruling. The prosecution argued that Kim, was a suspect on February 23rd, but was not in police custody. And the judge ultimately sided with them with the prosecution.

Additionally, a Laurel liquor store clerk identified Kim on March 24th. Sergeant Joseph Gamble was checking out stores near the couple's home to determine who purchased a pack of cigars found in the cottage. A detective found a liquor store three miles from the couple's home that sold that particular brand, he showed the clerk photos of Stephen Kim, and the clerk recognized the woman. She shopped there at least twice,

but she hadn't been there in five or six weeks. Before trial, the defense asked the judge to exclude evidence about a hypodermic needle and a hypodermic syringe. A hypodermic needle was found on April 22nd. Among items taken from the couple's home and laurel, prosecutors couldn't say, who had the needle,

or where it was between February and April. According to the defense, it was a large needle that would have left a mark. But Steve had no needle marks on his body and there was no evidence. A needle was connected to his death. On April 1st, a hypodermic syringe was found on a golf course over a mile from the cottage where Steve died. There was no evidence the syringe was contaminated with poison or that it was even connected to Steve or Kim. The defense also wanted to prevent the state medical examiner from offering any speculative testimony about Steve's cause of death. His death certificate listed probable poisoning toxic

agent unidentified as the cause of death. The manner of death, though, was listed as homicide. Jury selection started on January 11, 1999. Special assistant states attorney Robert Dean told the jury the evidence would show Steve was poisoned by a drug that paralyzed him and was burned beyond recognition, according to the Eastern Star Democrat. Dean said about the murder, to say it was cruel and sinister, would be kind. Defense attorney Harry Traynor argued that there was serious doubt about how Steve died and the circumstances surrounding his death. The judge ruled that the jury would not hear about the needle or the syringe. and granted a defense motion to exclude testimony about Kim's suicide attempt. The jury was not allowed to hear testimony from an arson investigator who determined that the fire was deliberately set.

The defense argued that Deputy State Fire Marshal Mike Mulligan had not ruled out all possible accidental causes of the fire. Mulligan testified that he ruled out natural causes and accidental causes as well as careless smoking. The jury was told to disregard his statement. I believe it was a set fire, according to the star Democrat. So, you know, the prosecution is taking some hits during the trial. They do have a lot of evidence, but how conclusive is it? Talbot County Senior Assistant State's attorney Henry Dubb testified that he was an actor. In the murder mystery play, the RICO sat at his table.

Steve didn't talk much, but Kim and another woman were interested in the play. Analysts from the Maryland State Police Crime Lab testified that no ignitable liquid was detected from burnt materials recovered from the cottage. The only fingerprint of comparative value was found on the cover of a Playboy magazine. But it did not match Kim or Steve. Liquid samples from two beer bottles and a drinking glass found in the room tested positive for, Ethel alcohol, which is normally found in beer. So can we talk about why there's a Playboy magazine found in the cottage? I mean, at first thought, you might think, well, you know, they're trying to spice things up.

You know, I don't know what people do behind closed doors. But then there's a fingerprint on there that doesn't belong to either one of them. Well, how good are we cleaning these cottages? If there's leftover Playboy magazines and what was that Playboy used for, I don't even want to know. his best friend Mike Miller testified that Steve didn't smoke, but he did chew tobacco off and on. Tobacco was found in the resort cottage. Kim's friend Jennifer Gowlin testified that Kim told her she wanted to kill Steve and discussed the drugs sodium pentothal and succinil colin. Gowan testified that succinylcholine is used in anesthesia and is easily available to surgical technicians.

Gallen also testified that she visited Kim in jail two weeks after she was arrested. She told Kim she had a lot of questions for her. They talked about the media coverage and Kim said, I don't care what anyone says. It wasn't for the money. Kim's friends, Rachel McCoy and Teresa Armstrong testified about similar conversations with Kim. And we talked about many of these conversations earlier in the episode. I think to have so many of her friends come forward and testify, you know, that she had talked about wanting Steve dead, that she had thoughts about killing Steve and then to kind of lay out how it would happen. That has to be pretty damning for a jury to hear.

Holy Cross Hospital anesthesiologist Dr. Timothy George Wex testified that. If given intravenously, saxonylcholine takes effect in less than a minute. Intramuscular injection would take effect in less than two minutes. A person injected with this drug cannot breathe on their own and must be artificially ventilated by an anesthesiologist. He testified that since it wasn't a controlled narcotic, hospitals didn't account for every vial every day. Again, I said it, right?

this is the 90s. I am hoping, and I'm sure it has changed. You know, now they have these little safes almost, and people have to put in a code and everything is logged. So I don't know if it's quite that easy today to get your hands on some of this stuff. Kenneth Burgess testified about his conversation with Kim, where she said she wanted her husband killed. Kim quit working at Holy Cross several days.

days after their conversation. Burgess told his supervisor and Dr. Wex about his conversation with Kim after he found out Steve died. And it was Dr. Wex who told him to call the police. Burgess denied telling his coworkers he would sell his story to the tabloids for money. Brad Winkler, the man who had an affair with Kim, testified that she never said anything to him about killing her husband. he might have been the only one she didn't say something to.

But that makes some sense. You know, this is a guy you're having an affair with. Maybe you're thinking that this is a relationship that could go further, could develop into something. Well, you're probably going to scare somebody off when you tell them about killing your husband. Kim's friend, Maureen Miller, testified that Kim didn't care about the specifics of Steve's funeral, but she was adamant that she wanted the body cremated. Now, I know a lot of people get cremated, but when you look at it in this light, obviously it sends up a lot of red flag.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler testified that he listed Steve's cause of death is probable poisoning, toxic agent unidentified, and the manner of death is homicide. Initially, the case didn't seem suspicious. He had Steve's blood tested for carbon monoxide, but none was found in his blood, which ruled out death by fire. Then there was no soot in his nose, mouth, tracheer, lungs. He had no abnormalities in his organs or brain.

This led him to wonder if there was a chemical reason for Steve's death. So it wasn't suspicious at first, but then I think once you know you start to, to learn all of those things, then the alarm bell start ringing a little bit. Steve had therapeutic amounts of an over-the-counter decongestine, an antihistamine in his system, and a therapeutic amount of an antidepressant. He had no alcohol in his blood. So, I mean, these are things that would be found in many, many people. Therapeutic amounts of different types of drugs. Dr. Fowler asked the lab to test two blood samples.

and a liver sample, all of the samples were tested twice. Fowler became suspicious when no alcohol was detected after additional testing. He considered pesticides and insecticides, but Steve's blood work did not support this theory. Fowler then considered drugs available in a hospital OR. Pain killers would have been revealed in the toxicology report, so he narrowed the possibility down to neuromuscular blocking agents, he testified that there are two families of these curare and succinal colin. Agents in the curare family were not present in Steve's blood.

But succulent coline is difficult to detect because it is naturally broken down by substances in the body. Fowler looked for a needlemark, but he couldn't find one on Steve's body. but he did say it is difficult to find puncture marks because needles are so small. The investigation was complicated by the fact that his body had been burned. Fowler was asked if Steve could have been killed in a flash fire, where his CO levels might have been normal. Fowler testified that even still, the victim would have injuries to the mouth or throat, and Steve had no such injuries.

Fowler was asked about Steve's EKG. which was taken in January 1997, he agreed that Steve should have been referred for a stress EKG as a result of the findings, but the EKG test did not alter his findings during the autopsy. He examined Steve's heart and saw no evidence of a heart attack or heart disease. So, I mean, obviously this guy was being very thorough. He's just not finding anything to explain how this man died. And I do think for some people sitting on a jury, that could be a sticking point. Okay, you are saying that this woman murdered her husband, but you're not scientifically proving it to us. But I think a lot of trials are like that. You know, there's not always,

you know, that smoking gun or some type of fantastic DNA that, you know, that, you know, that, you know, really narrows it down that nobody else could have done this or committed this crime. I think most trials by and large are built on a lot of circumstantial evidence. There's some physical evidence, but even the physical evidence doesn't always prove 100%. You just have to take it all together. And that's what the jury did. Kim Rico was found guilty of first-degree murder in arson on January 15th, 1999. On March 19th of that year, Kim was sentenced to life in prison for murder and 30 years for arson.

She told the judge she had no choice but to accept the verdict, adding per the star Democrat, I understand the impact Stephen's death has had on our daughter, Anna, that impact has been doubled because she has neither parent now. And I always think about some of these words that these people use in court after they're convicted. I have no choice put to accept a verdict. No, you don't. That's obvious. You don't even really need to say that.

But then, you know, to talk about the impact of Stephen's death on her daughter. That's one thing. Now it's doubled because she doesn't have either parent. Now, that is a true statement. But whose fault is that? You know, that's the part that always rubs me the wrong way. It's not that what some people are saying are not true. It's just how can you say that when you're the person who caused all of this in the first place?

Now, she's not going to say that. She's she doesn't want to admit to that. Kimberly's petition to the court of special appeals of Maryland was denied on September 27, 2000. Kim is still incarcerated in the, state of Maryland. Her writings about prison have been featured in the Washington Post and on the Marshall Project website. So as we wrap this one up, you know, I don't know how tough this one was for the jury. You had a lot of different people, some of them very, very close to Kim Rico, saying that she told them she wanted her husband dead, she had thought about killing him. And even

when as far as saying, you know, here's how I'm going to do it. I'll use a drug from work to knock him out. I'll use a cigar or a candle to start a fire. It will look like an accident. Well, when you make those statements in advance and then you carry it out and the scene pretty much mirrors what you had been telling people. Okay. That's going to be tough for a jury to ignore.

Like I said, though, I think the one. One tough part of it is is that the state couldn't prove what was used to actually kill Stephen Rika. But they obviously felt that the totality of the evidence was compelling enough to convict Kimberly RICO of murder. It's like she thought Kim did that she could get away with murder. But how many people did she discuss her plan with? numerous people. And she had to assume that these people would not talk to police, both before she decided to carry something out. And then afterwards, she must have been so confident that she could pull this off and police would never suspect her in a minute,

that they wouldn't even go talk to her friends or that if they did, her friends would have her back. But like I said, there is a line. Friends will do almost anything for you. But when you start talking about murder or the police are in your house asking you questions, okay, are you going to lie or are you going to tell the truth? And obviously, these people did not lie. And, you know, like so many murderers that we talk about, both men and women, Kim thought it was better to kill her spouse than divorce him. And we say it so often with men. I don't understand it. Obviously, I don't understand it here either. You know, she had mentioned to someone, a friend that she was worried that Stephen would fight her for custody of Anna or that Steve would get custody of Anna. And normally that does not happen.

Moms usually get custody unless there's something, you know, really going on in their life. To me, This is another murder that comes down to money. Yeah, she didn't want to be with Steve anymore. She didn't like him anymore. The thought of sex with him made her want to vomit. I get all of that. But the $4,000, $600,000 in life insurance, to me, played a big part in her decision-making process.

Now, she tried to say to one of her friends afterwards, this wasn't about the money. But I find that very hard to believe. Because if it wasn't, then what was the benefit? She could have left that marriage pretty easily, in my opinion. But that's not what she chose to do. And so many people don't. And I still don't understand.

But that's it for our episode on Kimberly Rico. We got some voicemails. Let's check those out. What's up, Mike and Gibby? My name is Jacob. I'm from here in Las Vegas. Vegas, Nevada. I just started watching a podcast probably about two, three months ago. I just made my way through up until episode 100. And I'm having the laugh listening to you guys talk about the new chairs and everything. Love the show. Guys, keep up the good work. Oh, by the way, it'd be awesome if you could play it on the solved episodes because I'm trying to make my way through those right now. Have a good one. All right, Jacob. Appreciate the voicemail. I did play it on solved for you. You got a ways.

before you're going to hear it. Now, it depends on how quick you binge, right? I say that all the time. Some people can binge very, very quickly, but you got almost 300 episodes to go. Hey, Mike. How you give you? This is Darren calling from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Just listen to the Alejandro Rojas case. And one thing, I don't know if you guys mentioned it, but I don't think it's height and weight nor hers. And the only reason why I asked that was because I know in the report, it was mentioned that she had defensive wounds on her. So he did try to fight back. Unfortunately, it didn't help her out. But just wanted to know if you guys had anything on that just to see, you know, the difference between their heightened weight.

And he just overpowered her, of course, with the tequila bottle. Or could he have killed her without having to use the tequila bottle? Anyway, keep your head on the swivel. Keep your own time ticking. Thanks, guys. Bye. All right, Darren, appreciate the, the voicemail. And it's a great point. I do not remember in the reporting that we used all the different things that we looked at, heights, weights,

for either one of them. I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I just don't remember seeing it. But, you know, it is something to take into account, no doubt. All right. So that is it for another episode of true crime all the time. So for Mike and for Gibby, who will be back with us next week, I'm sure. Stay safe and keep your own time ticking.