Kouri Richins set for bail hearing over murder charges involving husband Eric in Utah

The Utah mum who has been dubbed the ‘Moscow mule killer’ will appear at a bail hearing this morning to determine whether or not she should be freed from jail pending trial for the death in March 2022 from her husband, Eric.

Kouri Richins, 33, is charged with murder and drug possession. The mum-of-three then self-published an illustrated book about an angelic father watching over his sons.

Prosecutors say in court papers she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail of Moscow mules she made for her husband, Eric Richins, amid marital disputes and fights over a mansion of several million dollars which she eventually bought as an investment.

“The state has provided no evidence that there was fentanyl in the house. Nor have they provided evidence that Kouri gave the fentanyl at issue,’ Richins’ attorney Skye Lazaro said. The author will appear in Park City Court at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

It later emerged that Richins had Googled ‘luxury prisons for the wealthy in America’ and ‘is naxolone similar to heroin’, reports ABC 4.

Richins’ attorney Skye Lazaro, pictured here, said the state had not provided any evidence there was fentanyl in the house’

The case became a true crime fixation when charges were filed last month, prompting people to look at the children’s book and examine the remarks she made while promoting it as a tool to help children to mourn the loss of a loved one.

Lazaro called Eric Richins a “party animal” who used “alcohol and THC”. “Law enforcement never investigated an alternative theory that Eric’s alcohol and drug use may have escalated,” she added.

It has now been revealed that Richins has also researched whether police can see deleted texts, whether cops can force you to take a lie detector test and how long life insurance payments take.

Bizarrely, Richins also wondered how to commission someone to write a book, suggesting that his now infamous tome Are You With Me? may have been written by a ghost.

According to ABC 4, Kouri allegedly used his personal devices to access an article titled “Signs of Being Under Federal Investigation.”

Another post with the title, “Delay in payment of death certificate request with pending cause of death,” was in the woman’s browser history.

This latest article connects to other previously released financial documents, such as his request to claim at least $2 million after his death.

Other less sinister search queries included “how to undo microblading,” “what kind of doctor was dr. pepper,” and “Lil Nas X married.

The mother also reportedly Googled “how to hire someone to write a book for you”.

Criminal defense attorney Clayton Simms said she may be trying to figure out the process and how long it might take to investigate her death.

After Eric’s death, Kouri wrote a book called “Are You With Me?” – a picture book that aspires to help children cope after the death of a loved one.

At some point after Eric’s death, she appeared on a local TV show to promote the book and said she wrote it alongside her three children after their father died.

Her search history also revealed that the woman had Googled multiple times whether her family had donated money to the Summit County Police Department.

A lawyer who spoke with ABC 4 said he doesn’t believe the research definitively points to guilt on his behalf.

Criminal defense attorney Clayton Simms said she may be trying to figure out the process and how long it might take to investigate her death.

Simms, however, said he did not believe the searches were “meaningless”.

“I think her state of mind, what she’s looking at, what she’s looking for, could be important, but certainly I think there’s nothing there that indicates guilt,” he said. he declares.

Eric’s family told investigators shortly after his death that they suspected Richins of killing the father of three. Pictured: Kouri and Eric Richens with their three children

After Eric’s death, Kouri wrote “Are you with me?” – a picture book she wrote to help children cope after the death of a loved one

Just last week, DailyMail.com reported that Kouri spoke to documentary makers behind bars as she awaits trial.

The Summit County District Attorney’s Office has asked a judge for a gag order in the Kouri case to bar those involved from speaking to the media.

Prosecutors claim at least four documentary teams in North America and Europe that have expressed interest in making a documentary about the case.

On Friday, Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik refused the request.

Whether the case goes to trial could largely hinge on an unidentified informant who prosecutors say sold Richins the drugs that medical examiners later found in her husband’s system.

The charging documents and warrants detail interviews in which the informant said she sold hydrocodone and fentanyl from Richins in the weeks and months before her husband’s death.

Prosecutors say the drug-buying timeline matches the death of Eric Richins and their allegation that his wife laced the sandwich weeks prior.

After her husband survived the first alleged poisoning, Kouri Richins asked for stronger drugs, “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” the dealer told investigators, according to prosecutors.

When the pop star died of cardiac arrest in 2009, medical examiners found prescription drugs and strong anesthetics in her system, not fentanyl.

Prosecutors profiled an accomplice woman who tried to kill her husband weeks earlier by lacing a Valentine’s Day sandwich with hydrocodone and repeatedly denied involvement on the day of his death in March 2022, even telling the police: “My husband is active”. He doesn’t just die in his sleep. This is insane.’

In a motion seeking her release filed Friday, Richins’ attorneys argued the evidence against her was circumstantial because police never seized fentanyl from the family home.

They also questioned the credibility of key witnesses believed to support prosecutors’ request to keep her in custody.

Lawyers say prosecutors ‘simply accepted’ Eric Richins’ family’s account that his wife poisoned him ‘and worked back and forth in an effort to support him’ by spending around 14 months investigating and finding no evidence to support their theory.

The case also shone a spotlight on Kamas, Utah, a farming town in the back of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains near Park City, one of the top destinations in the American West for the skiing, hiking and outdoor recreation.

Richins and her husband had argued over her plan to buy and flip a $2million 10-acre home, pictured here, in the days before her death.

Prosecutors say Eric discovered his wife had taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it in the months before his death.

The couple and their three sons lived in a new development in the town of Francis, about 80 km east of Salt Lake City.

Charging documents suggest the case will likely revolve around financial and marital disputes as possible grounds. The couple had argued over whether to buy an unfinished 20,000 square foot mansion nearby and discussed divorce before his death, according to court documents.

Prosecutors also claim that Kouri Richins made major changes to the family’s estate plans before her husband’s death, taking out life insurance policies on him.

with profits totaling nearly $2 million.

They also allege that Richins purchased and spent a $250,000 home equity line of credit, withdrew $100,000 from her husband’s bank accounts, spent over $30,000 on his credit cards and stole approximately 134 $000 for corporate taxes.

Some of the allegations match civil court filings

submitted in different cases after the death of Eric Richins in which his blood relatives and his widowed wife filed competing claims over how to split a masonry business with his former partner and whether Kouri Richins can benefit from a reserved trust to his closest relatives.

Greg Skordas, a lawyer and victims’ advocate working with relatives of Eric Richins, said Richins’ three children are staying with a relative while their mother awaits trial. Katie Richins-Benson, who is Eric Richins’ sister and his estate trustee, filed for conservatorship.