Current:Home > NewsChildren's Author Kouri Richins Breaks Silence One Year After Arrest Over Husband's Fatal Poisoning -TradeStation
Children's Author Kouri Richins Breaks Silence One Year After Arrest Over Husband's Fatal Poisoning
View
Date:2025-04-16 01:53:06
Children's author Kouri Richins is speaking out for the first time since being arrested in connection with the death of her husband last year.
The 34-year-old, who is accused of attempting to kill Eric Richins with a poisoned sandwich on Valentine's Day 2022 before allegedly murdering him with a fentanyl-spiked drink one month later, vehemently maintained her innocence in a series of recorded audio statements.
"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," she said in one of a series of audio statements obtained by NBC's Dateline: True Crime Daily podcast with Andrea Canning and published May 23. "And it's time to start speaking up."
Expressing how "you took an innocent mom away from her babies," the mother of three added, "and this means war."
In another recorded statement, which a spokesperson for Kouri provided to Dateline, Kouri shared she was looking forward to her day in court. "I'm anxious to prove my innocence," she noted. "I'm anxious to get to trial."
E! News has reached out to Kouri's legal team for comment and has not heard back.
Kouri, who was arrested in March 2023, has not entered a plea in her case.
The author, who wrote about grieving a loved one in her children's book Are You With Me? after her husband, 39, died, is charged with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, mortgage fraud, insurance fraud and forgery, with prosecutors alleging in a previous filing that she fraudulently claimed insurance benefits after Eric's death.
The statements came after a judge granted a request from Kouri's lawyers to withdraw from her defense, according to a May 17 filing obtained by Dateline, which noted that one of the attorneys had attributed the reason to an "irreconcilable and nonwaivable situation."
In another audio statement her spokesperson provided to Dateline, Kouri said, "This withdrawal was not my choice. And it was not a personal choice of any counsel on my defense team."
The same day the lawyers filed the withdrawal request, they asked a judge in another filing, also obtained by Dateline, to disqualify prosecutors they said had listened to calls between Kouri and her attorneys that authorities allegedly recorded without their consent.
Additionally, the filing, per the outlet, showed that in an email exchange between one of the defense lawyers and prosecutors, lead prosecutor Brad Bloodworth wrote that one of Kouri's lawyers refused to use a phone app that shields attorney-client calls. He also denied that the prosecutors had listened to the recordings and added that prosecutors had provided the recorded calls to the lawyers through discovery.
The office of Summit County, Utah's top elected prosecutor Margaret Olson said in a statement to Dateline that her office planned to file a response to the allegations by May 31.
(E! and NBC's Dateline are both part of the NBCUniversal Family.)
veryGood! (8)
Related
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Hearts, brains and bones: Stolen body parts scandal stretches from Harvard to Kentucky
- 'Alarming': NBPA distances Orlando Magic players from donation to Ron DeSantis' PAC
- LA's plan to solve homelessness has moved thousands off the streets. But is it working?
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- U.S. orders departure of non-emergency government personnel from Niger
- ‘The Goon Squad': How rogue Mississippi officers tried to cover up their torture of 2 Black men
- DeMarcus Ware dedicates national anthem performance to late teammate Demaryius Thomas
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- A new U.S. agency is a response to the fact that nobody was ready for the pandemic
Ranking
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Céline Dion's Sister Shares Update on Singer's Health Amid Battle With Stiff Person Syndrome
- This week on Sunday Morning (August 6)
- Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger reveals alibi claim in new court filing
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Pediatricians’ group reaffirms support for gender-affirming care amid growing state restrictions
- 'Cash over country': Navy sailors arrested, accused of passing US military info to China
- Many women experience pain with sex. Is pelvic floor therapy the answer not enough people are talking about?
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Tom Brady Makes a Surprise Soccer Announcement on His 46th Birthday
Millions of older workers are nearing retirement with nothing saved
U.K. leader Rishi Sunak's house turned black by Greenpeace activists protesting oil drilling frenzy
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
This Eye-Catching Dress Will Be Your Summer Go-To and Amazon Has 33 Colors To Choose From
The life and death spirals of social networks
Ciara Teams up With Gap and LoveShackFancy on a Limited-Edition Collection for Every Generation