Jordan MillerJurors in the Kouri Richins trial have a choice to make.
They can decide that four years ago, a 35-year-old mother of three came upon her husband’s body and the 911 call she made recorded the sounds of a “wife becoming a widow,” as defense attorneys have asserted.
Or they can agree with the prosecution’s allegations that Richins poisoned her husband with drugs, and the 911 call captured “the wife becoming a black widow.”
Or they may be left with significant questions. In that case, defense attorney Wendy Lewis urged them Monday, they must acquit Richins.
“Are there other reasonable explanations?” Lewis said. “If so, this is reasonable doubt, and you have to find Kouri not guilty.”
Eric Richins, 39, died of a fentanyl overdose on March 4, 2022. Richins, now 35, was charged with the murder of her husband in May 2023, a few months after she would published a children’s book about grief.
The prosecution called over 40 witnesses since the trial began on Feb. 23, while the defense announced it would rest its case on the same day the prosecution finished with its final witness. Richins did not testify in her own defense.
Here is what to know about each side’s closing arguments.
State emphasizes motive, intent
Although Richins didn’t testify, Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth pointed toward what he described as her “flat” demeanor during the testimony of many witnesses.
Robert Josh Grossman broke down on the stand when he was questioned about their extramarital relationship. He loved her, he said during his testimony, and he believed she loved him. Meanwhile, Richins had a blank expression, Bloodworth said.
When the 911 call was played in court, Richins’ demeanor was also “flat,” Bloodworth added. But when a forensic accountant testified that Richins’ real estate business was in “financial distress” around the time of Eric Richins’ death, Richins became agitated, Bloodworth alleged.
“That testimony pierced her facade,” Bloodworth said. “It pierced her facade of being a successful, privileged and affluent person. It was a narcissistic injury. She was bothered because the world saw that she is indeed ... not a success, and not affluent.”
On the day Eric Richins died, Richins owed over $4.5 million to over 20 different lenders — and she didn’t have the ability to service that debt because her bank accounts were exhausted, Bloodworth said during his opening statement. She was also having an affair with Grossman and the pair were set to go on a Caribbean vacation in April, prosecutors said.
This gives Richins motive, prosecutors alleged. Her connection with Carmen Lauber, a housekeeper who testified that she provided Richins with drugs, gave her the means, they continued.
Eric Richins also had many future plans, no history of mental illness, and three big reasons to live: his three sons, Bloodworth said. Toxicology results showed he had five times the lethal amount of fentanyl in his system, Bloodworth added — which he alleged was proof his wife wanted him “good and dead.”
The amount of fentanyl found in Eric Richins’ body proves opportunity, Bloodworth alleged.
The only rational explanation for the evidence shown in the trial, Bloodworth said, is that Richins murdered her husband.
“Despite all the evidence, Kouri Richins clings to the facade that has enabled her to get away with so much for so long,” Bloodworth told the jury. “And despite all the evidence, Kouri Richins doubles down and blames Eric. She is intensely ambitious — see through her facade, check her ambition, do not let her get away with murder.”
Defense points to other reasonable explanations
Wendy Lewis, one of Richins’ defense attorneys, began her closing argument by explaining the concept of reasonable doubt — the legal standard juries must use to determine if a defendant is guilty.
“I’ve told juries for a long time, that one way to understand reasonable doubt is, are there other reasonable explanations as to what happened?” Lewis said. “As you look at the evidence, if there are other reasonable explanations, this is reasonable doubt. And you have to find Kouri not guilty.”
Lewis argued that every fact put forth by the prosecution has a reasonable explanation — and that during the investigation, police and prosecutors worked backwards to find evidence that fit their conclusion. On the morning of Eric Richins’ death, she said, his sisters warned the responding detective “before she’s even entered the home” that they believed Richins was involved in Eric’s death.
“Immediately, this influenced this investigation,” Lewis said. “But what happened that first day? They found nothing to support foul play.”
Investigators never found fentanyl at the Richins home despite serving 10 search warrants at the house, Lewis added. One of those searches was conducted just weeks before trial, she noted.
“Four years of investigation,” Lewis said, “and they are still trying to find evidence to make their case, because they know they don’t have enough. They’re still trying to prove Kouri Richins is guilty.”
The only proof that investigators have that Richins obtained fentanyl relies on the testimony of Lauber, who “will say whatever she needs to” to stay out of prison — and as part of her deal to testify, got a pass to get out of drug court and is no longer drug tested, Lewis said.
“Carmen Lauber held all the cards,” Lewis said. “Their entire house of cards is being held up by her.”
Detectives didn’t follow up on other opportunities to explain Eric Richins’ death, like his trips to Mexico — where Lewis alleged he could have obtained the drugs himself. And investigators didn’t test his hair for past drug use, Lewis said, because police never requested it.
Instead, police accepted evidence from the Richins family’s hired private investigator — someone who is not bound by the constitutional guardrails that guide police work, Lewis said.
“The state has not proven their case,” Lewis said. “They don’t have the evidence that Kouri Richins killed her husband. So instead, they have tried to show you as much evidence as they possibly can to convince you that she’s the sort of person who would.”
What’s next?
The jury is deciding whether to find Richins guilty of five felonies: one count of aggravated murder in Eric Richins’ death, one count of attempted aggravated murder related to his illness after he ate a sandwich on Feb. 14, 2022, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery.
But there are at least two more trials awaiting Richins after this one concludes.
In a separate case, Richins faces 26 criminal charges alleging financial crimes: five counts of mortgage fraud, four counts of forgery, seven counts of issuing a bad check or draft, seven counts of money laundering, one count of communications fraud and one count of “a pattern of unlawful activity.” All of these crimes allegedly occurred before her husband’s death, according to court documents.
A civil trial over her husband’s estate is currently on hold, court documents show, pending the outcome of the murder trial.
