A Utah mom accused of fatally poisoning her husband earlier than penning a youngsters’s ebook on grief is now accused of witness tampering after a handwritten letter addressed to her mom was present in her jail cell, in response to state prosecutors.
The six-page letter allegedly written by Kouri Richins lays out a plan to have her brother falsely declare that her late husband, Eric Richins, was a daily drug person who obtained the fentanyl that killed him whereas in Mexico, in response to a replica of the letter filed in a Summit County courtroom and obtained by CNN and Fox Information.
“The connection must be made with Mexico and medicines. … Upon info and perception LOL,” says the letter addressed to Richins’ mom, Lisa Darden.
Rick Bowmer/Pool through Related Press
The letter, which was reportedly recovered in Park Metropolis’s Summit County Jail on Thursday, states that Eric Richins acquiring the medicine himself is essentially the most believable rationalization, at the very least in response to her legal professional.
“She desires to hyperlink Eric getting medicine and tablets from Mexico so we’d like some type of connection,” the letter states.
Her legal professional, Skye Lazaro, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
To drag this off, the letter asks that Kouri Richins’ brother, Ronald Darden, be instructed to inform Lazaro {that a} yr earlier than her husband’s dying that they had a dialog during which he stated he was shopping for ache tablets and fentanyl from Mexico.
“Inform Ronney don’t overanalyze it. It was a fast 2 min. dialog LOL Inform him I want him to do that. Deliver me dwelling after which we are going to get these rattling bitches!” the letter states.
Rick Bowmer/Pool through Related Press
Precisely who she was referring to on the finish will not be instantly clear, although Kouri Richins has had an acrimonious relationship together with her late husband’s household. Her sister-in-law known as her “determined, grasping and intensely manipulative” throughout a bail listening to in June.
The letter additionally asks Lisa Darden to contact somebody named Lotto and inform him to not textual content her something about them “doing issues collectively ever.”
“Like church, snowboarding, journeys! Nothing that places us collectively. It doesn’t look good,” the letter says.
State prosecutors, of their courtroom submitting Friday, requested that Richins don’t have any additional contact together with her mom or her brother as a result of letter, which they stated constitutes witness tampering.
Prosecutors stated it’s not clear whether or not the letter or its contents have been shared with Lisa Darden or anybody else. They famous that on Wednesday, at some point earlier than the letter was allegedly discovered inside a ebook, Kouri Richins was seen holding up a special letter for her mom to learn throughout a video convention name. That letter was by no means discovered and is believed to have been destroyed.
Richins’ legal professional responded to those allegations by accusing the state, in a separate movement, of violating a gag order by submitting the letter in courtroom. The letter’s submitting, her legal professional argued, taints the potential jury pool and prevents her from receiving a good trial, Fox 13 Now reported. The following listening to within the case is scheduled for Nov. 3. A trial date has not been set.
Kouri Richins has been behind bars since Might, when she was arrested on suspicion of aggravated homicide and three counts of possession of a managed substance with intent to distribute. Her arrest got here simply over a yr after she reported discovering her husband mendacity unresponsive of their dwelling after consuming a cocktail that she made him.
An post-mortem decided that he died of orally consuming about 5 occasions the deadly dosage of fentanyl. An acquaintance of Kouri Richins, who had prior drug fees, advised detectives that they offered her prescription ache remedy a number of occasions within the weeks earlier than his dying and that she had particularly requested fentanyl and “a few of the Michael Jackson stuff,” in response to courtroom paperwork.
Shortly earlier than her arrest, Kouri Richins made TV appearances to advertise her illustrated youngsters’s ebook, “Are You With Me?” which includes a cartoon character that seems to be based mostly on her late husband as an angel within the clouds. Richins stated she wrote the ebook to consolation her three youngsters throughout their time of grief.
“It’s simply comforting to them to know that they’re not dwelling this life alone,” she stated throughout a promotional interview. “Dad continues to be right here. It’s simply another way.”
Prosecutors have alleged that Kouri Richins poisoned her husband amid marital disputes and fights over their bills, together with a multimillion-dollar mansion that she in the end bought instantly after his dying. Shortly earlier than his dying, Kouri Richins additionally took out main life insurance coverage insurance policies on him, with advantages totaling practically $2 million.