Park City • Kouri Richins already knew she was going to prison for murder.

The question she awaited a judge’s answer on Wednesday: Would she spend the rest of her life there without a chance to get out?

Richins and her husband, Eric Richins, were raising three children together before Eric Richins died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 at their Summit County home.

In March, after a 13-day trial that included witness testimony from more than 40 people, Richins was convicted of poisoning her husband.

Jurors found Richins guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery. She did not testify in her own defense.

On Wednesday, she learned she would spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[Read more: Ahead of sentencing, Kouri Richins’ three sons say they fear her ever getting out of prison.]

The sentencing fell on what would’ve been Eric Richins’ 44th birthday. The Salt Lake Tribune had a reporter in the courtroom for the hearing. Here is everything that happened:

2:21 p.m.: Motion for a new trial is coming

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester says she anticipates filing a motion for a new trial and appealing the conviction and sentence. She intends to ask everything be stayed pending a new trial.

Nester adds that her legal team needs extra time to prepare because they’ve asked the county to retain an expert, which will require them to go before an extra panel because Richins is considered indigent and the county is paying for public defender fees.

2:19 p.m.: Judge hands down sentence

Mrazik sentences Richins to life in prison, deeming her “too dangerous to ever be free.” She will not be eligible for parole.

[Read more: Judge sentences Kouri Richins to life in prison for husband’s murder.]

Richins is also sentenced to a 5-year-to-life prison sentence for attempted murder, two sentences of one-to-15 years for two counts of insurance fraud and up to 5 years in prison for forgery. Mrazik orders the sentences to run consecutively, or back to back.

2:10 p.m.: ‘This will come to an end’

“At the end of this war, it will be so worth it,” Richins says. “... This will come to an end. I just need you to hang in there. Listen to your little hearts, listen to your little bellies for the truth — before you were told who to be, who to believe... remember our family.”

Richins adds that she will continue to call her children every day, even if her calls are blocked, because she will “always be here” for them.

Richins ended her statement with “I love you forever. Mom.”

2:05 p.m.: Kouri Richins vows to appeal conviction

Richins says she can beat herself up “all day” over how she could’ve been a better person, and she can understand her boys being upset about those things. “But murder? No... I will not accept that,” she says, since it’s something she did not do.

She will seek all avenues of appeal, she says, because Richins wants her sons to know the truth. She knows her kids may not believe her today, but that she’s coming home, and the justice system will get this right, “although this courtroom can’t seem to.”

Richins says the entire situation “isn’t fair to anyone,” but it’s especially unfair to her three children.

She says she’s “beyond proud” of them, and wants to tell her boys how much she and their dad love them. She wants to count the freckles on their cheeks. She wants to read them books before bed.

But for now, Richins said, “that’s just not the way it is,” and they have to be strong.

2:02 p.m.: Kouri Richins proclaims innocence

“I’m broken, broken without your dad, broken without you boys,” Richins says. “God did not put me in this world to take a life. God put me in this world to give life, your lives.”

As much as they’ve been told Richins murdered their dad, Richins says it is completely untrue. Their dad was in pain, she says, and just because people “didn’t know” or didn’t see certain things, he would have never left them intentionally — and she would’ve never taken him away from their children.

Their father is supposed to be here to do and teach them things that Richins can’t, and that only a dad can, she says.

“I would have never taken that from you boys,” Richins says. “I know how much you need him, how much you love him, how much you aspire to be just like him.”

1:58 p.m.: Kouri Richins says she’s in ‘disbelief’ that she was convicted

Four years later, and it’s still hard for her to say the words “murder and attempted murder” out loud, Richins says.

The words get caught in her throat, she says, and turn her stomach. “Still in shock, and still in disbelief,” Richins says.

“Accused, now convicted of such a heinous crime —potentially costing me to never see you boys again ... There’s no textbook answer on what we’re supposed to do, and I’m so sorry you boys are being pulled through the middle of this.”

Richins acknowledges both her family and Eric’s family love the boys and that Eric’s trust and money don’t matter — only they matter.

“I will and have always prioritized your safety,” she says. “I am your mother, and that is my job — and to anyone to scare you otherwise, that is just cruel and heartless.”

She tells her children that she’s sorry that eight strangers who served as jurors had a “right to determine our future” — and did so in delivering their verdict in less than three hours.

“In a perfect world, there might be justice,” Richins says. “But in a perfect world, nothing ever goes wrong.”

1:48 p.m.: Kouri tells kids to be like their dad

She tells her sons that their brothers are their best friends — and that she and Eric raised their kids to care about each other, even if they don’t care about anything else in the world.

“You protect them, you take care of each other,” Richins says, crying. “You be loyal to one another, and you keep each other safe, and healthy, and happy. And you stay together — no matter what.”

She encourages her boys to never settle for “just good,” but to “go for great” in their goals, in school and in relationships.

She wants her boys to be like their dad, she says, “be generous, be charitable, stay humble, give when you have too much, give more than you take.”

Richins says as parents, she and Eric wanted to give their sons every opportunity they didn’t have. Even when they didn’t have the right answers or words, they would give them “everything we had.”

But the one thing she can’t give her boys, she says, is the answers to the questions they want the most — because they’re answers she doesn’t know.

1:45 p.m.: Kouri Richins says ‘never apologize for something you didn’t do’

Richins tells her sons that sometimes people will want them to believe that life is simply black and white, but its not. She encourages them to always be the person that walks into someone’s life when someone else walks out due to pressure or other circumstances.

“True strength comes when everyone is expecting you to fall apart,” Richins says, “but you hold it together.”

Richins adds that people will always want to tear them down, judge them, take their words out of context — that they’re too angry, too sad, or ambitious. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, Richins says, but that doesn’t make it true. “Ignore the noise,” Richins says. “Ignore their egos... and their biased judgment.”

She encourages her boys to be themselves without fear of judgment, because “those who truly know you, who truly love you, are all you need.”

She adds that you can’t change the past, but you can own up when you make a mistake — no matter how big. “But never apologize for something you didn’t do... And never beg for mercy for something you didn’t do,” Richins says.

1:39 p.m.: Kouri Richins speaks about her marriage and an affair

“Secrets diminish self respect,” Richins says. “I fell in love with someone who wasn’t your dad. Your dad fell in love with someone who wasn’t me.”

She tells her sons to not keep secrets and “always put your spouse first.” She adds that both she and Eric made mistakes they would both regret, but that love can be “all you need to ignore the noise.”

Sometimes Kouri or Eric would want to separate, but they would always start again and come back to each other, “because our love never failed,” Richins says.

Despite the challenges of their marriage, Richins says she and her husband always laughed more than they cried.

She tells her kids that one day they will meet someone and understand what this kind of love is, and what it means for love to overcome bad choices and mistakes.

“Don’t worry about what others think about your relationship,” Richins says. “You just love, and you love big and you love deep and you protect your love. Your dad and I didn’t have it all together — together, we really did have it all, because we had you three.”

1:33 p.m.: Kouri Richins says she didn’t ‘abandon’ kids

“The one thing I need you boys to know is that I did not abandon you,” Richins says, breaking down. “Regardless of what anyone tells you, I would never ever leave you boys. And I am so sorry that even for one second you think that I did.”

Richins tells her children that they are her reason for living. She understands her kids are in a difficult situation mentally, emotionally and physically. She apologizes that her kids have gone through this, and says they are allowed to feel angry and confused.

“Your feelings are completely valid,” Richins says. “And one day, when this is all over, we can sit down and talk about this... But I promise you one day it will be over.”

Richins acknowledges she has made mistakes and said things she didn’t mean — but everyone has, and she knows her sons will too someday. “That’s life,” Richins says. “And we’re all human.”

1:29 p.m.: Kouri Richins begins statement

Court is back in session. Kouri Richins begins her statement.

Richins starts her testimony by addressing her “sweet baby boys,” saying she will be waiting for them and loving them. She has been “desperately” trying to contact her sons, but all of her communications have been cut off since early 2024, Richins says.

Richins doesn’t know the next opportunity she’ll have to speak with her sons, and she says this is her way of consolidating everything she’s wanted to say to them.

12:57 p.m.: Kouri Richins will speak after break

Lewis says she does not ask the judge to give Kouri a second chance, but asks that he leaves the decision on parole up to the board of pardons 25 years in the future, because a sentence with a possibility of parole does not guarantee Kouri will ever leave prison. And if in 30 years, the Richins’ boys feel differently than their statements cited in the prosecution’s filing, it will give them a chance to say so, Lewis adds.

Mrazik said he is denying the defense’s request to strike portions of the state’s sentencing memo. Now the court will be in recess until 1:25 p.m., when Richins will address the court.

12:47 p.m.: Defense says Kouri is innocent

“She cannot show remorse over something she did not do,” Lewis says. “Sentence her on what she was convicted on — not what the prosecution says about her character... They do not know Kouri Richins.”

Lewis adds that she disagrees with the verdict but respects it. She adds, however, that this is the first time in her years of practice that she’s had a client convicted that she believes to be innocent.

12:39 p.m.: Defense calls sentencing memo ‘character assassination’

Lewis now reads her own comments. She says if people treated dogs the way that prisons do inmates sentenced to life without parole, the dogs would be taken away.

She adds this is not the type of crime that typically gets life without parole — and that 72 people in Utah are currently serving life without parole. The others include a serial killer and murderers of children. Five inmates in Utah who are serving life killed their spouse, Lewis said.

Lewis said the state’s arguments for life without parole, which were filed Monday, were a “character assassination” including information not presented at trial, which did not allow the defense time to prepare rebuttal witnesses. Lewis says the memo should be stricken entirely from the judge’s consideration, and many of the allegations are “outright false.”

Lewis said that although one of Kouri’s sons said in the filing that he was not with his mother on the night of his father’s death, he told police the night of his father’s death that he was with his mother that night.

Lewis added that the life insurance policies Kouri placed on her sons were taken out by both her and her husband years earlier, and Kouri did not know they remained active until the state’s motion was filed, and are now being canceled.

12:35 p.m. Hearts can change, one crime victim says

Lewis introduces Emery Blanchard. When Blanchard was a child, her father killed her mother while Blanchard was in the next room, Lewis says. Her father was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

At the time of his conviction, she said she never wanted to see her father again and refused phone calls from the prison. When she turned 18, she decided she wanted to visit her dad.

“The moment I saw him for the first time for over four years, he simply hung his head and said ‘I’m sorry,’” Blanchard said. The pair burst into tears and hugged, knowing despite the fact he’d killed her mother, her father was still her father.

Blanchard’s father served 25 years before his first parole hearing, and he was denied at the first hearing. He died in prison.

“No amount of time served ever made this situation right,” Blanchard says. “I wanted my mom, but I did still have a living parent — and I needed him.”

Blanchard adds that hearts and feelings can change, and as an adult now, she teaches compassion for victims of crimes. “No amount of prison time made me feel better, and in the later years my father’s incarceration wore on me severely,” Blanchard says.

12:24 p.m.: Defense takes unusual step

In an unusual move, Nester reads a letter from a mother whose son was murdered, and her name will only be shared with the judge and prosecutor. The woman did not know Kouri or Eric.

Her son was 18 when he was killed, and his killer was only a few months older, the woman wrote.

“I grieve with the family of Eric Richins,” the woman wrote. “Sending someone to prison without the possibility of parole is to decide they are irredeemable... it is a fate so bleak I am not sure how anyone survives it.”

The woman said that her son’s killer became a better person while in prison, and while the criminal justice system has become better at punishment, mercy has almost been extinguished.

“I wanted the man who killed my son to die,” the woman wrote, and she also wanted him in prison forever. But her son’s murderer became one of the best people she knows, the woman wrote in the letter. “My personal hope for Kouri is she does what that individual did — that she becomes a better person no matter what.”

Nester reads another letter, and the name of the author will remain private. The person who wrote the letter was in charge of prosecuting a man who killed two people, who became a “model inmate” and “turned his life around.”

After 20 years in prison, the man was a prime example of rehabilitation and reform.

“Prison sentences without the possibility of parole... should be reserved for the most violent and dangerous individuals.”

12:20 p.m.: Attorney references Pope Francis

One of Kouri’s other attorneys, Alex Ramos, says he does not agree with the jury’s verdict but he respects it.

As a Catholic, God’s authority is higher than anyone else’s, he says. Life without parole as a sentence risks showing individuals that redemption no longer matters, Ramos says, and he references Pope Francis, who said that life without parole is just the death penalty in disguise.

“Refusing to impose a sentence of life without parole does mean that we do not close the door completely,” Ramos says. “...It means we do not extinguish hope entirely.”

12:16 p.m.: Kouri’s brother says Kouri did not kill Eric

Ronney Darden, Kouri’s brother, starts his statement by saying he loves and misses his sister. His voice breaks as he talks, and says he misses the holidays they spent together, Eric’s “stupid finger dance” and Kouri sending the boys to wake him up on Christmas morning. “I miss your family. I miss our family,” Ronney says, crying. “I miss the life that was stolen from us.”

Ronney adds that they don’t know why Eric died, but they do know with 100% certainty that Kouri didn’t do it.

“Really bad things happen to really good people and you were too good of a person, I guess,” Ronney says. “Your innocence will shine too brightly to be contained once you’ve actaully had a shot to defend yourself,” Ronney continues. “Unil then, little sister, just know that I’m right by your side.”

12:12 p.m.: Kouri encourages church attendance in jail, volunteer says

Eric Aber and Katie Fisk, two volunteers with the Summit County jail, said in a letter that Kouri has attended church services since May 2023. She encourages service attendance among the other inmates, Aber wrote in a letter.

Craig Moleen, a pastor who leads church services at the jail, wrote in a letter that he has seen her be a help to other inmates, and that Kouri will be a positive influence to those around her.

Another volunteer, Heidi Tunney, said she has worked with Kouri for over two years and found her to be “very easy to work with and very enjoyable to be around.” Tunney noted that Kouri was a leader and a peacemaker who is respected by other inmates and who helped pioneer a yoga program for the inmates.

12:06 p.m.: Investors ask for possibility of parole

The next two letters read by Nester were from investors in Kouri’s business, who are technically victims in the pending case regarding charges of financial crimes against Kouri, Nester says. Both requested Kouri’s sentence include the possibility of parole.

11:55 a.m.: Kouri’s letters to sons are returned ‘unopened’

Greg Hall, who has known Kouri for over seven years personally and professionally, reads a statement to the court. He first expresses his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families involved in the case, but adds he has kept in touch with Kouri throughout her entire incarceration.

Hall’s voice breaks as he notes the good works Kouri has performed for her community over the years, like helping neighbors when they fell on hard times.

“The goodness and kindness toward other people that defined Kouri before her arrest has not gone [away] since her arrest,” Hall says.

He says that Kouri often helps new inmates when they arrive to jail, and has comforted women while incarcerated while also educating herself.

She also writes to her sons repeatedly, although her letters are “returned to her unopened,” Hall adds.

Hall also said he’s not in the court to argue with the verdict, but to ensure the judge considers that Kouri can still be of service and deliver acts of kindness.

11:52 a.m.: Babysitter says Kouri ‘not a threat to society’

Nester is now reading a letter from a “close friend of the family,” a babysitter who will not be identified to the public. The person asks that Kouri receive 25 years to life instead of life without parole, and says that Kouri provided a wonderful, stable home for the kids where the family “clearly loved one another.”

“I do not wish to minimize the tragedy of this case,” the babysitter wrote. “I believe Kouri deeply cares for her children, and I have to believe they love her as well... Kouri is not a threat to society.”

11:51 a.m.: Kouri’s aunt’s statement

Nester reads a statement from Kouri’s aunt, Doreen.

Doreen says that Eric and her boys were Kouri’s life, and that she worked to build a meaningful future in her career and as a mother.

“I know there are people who may only see the charge or the verdict,” Doreen says, but she asks the court consider more than the worst moment of a person’s life.

Doreen believes there is still good in Kouri, and that her children still need her.

“I only ask that when sentencing is considered, the court remembers the whole person standing for you today,” including the years Kouri spent as a loving, dedicated mother.

11:46 a.m.: Kouri’s sister-in-law says case’s conclusion ‘seems inevitable’

Nester reads a letter from Bree Darden, Kouri’s sister-in-law who worked with her in her real estate business. Darden has a newborn at home so she is unable to read the statement herself in court.

“Kouri and Eric did everything for the boys... and they do not deserve to be alienated from one side of their family,” Bree wrote. She adds that both Kouri and Eric made mistakes in their marriage, but that people have had a “distaste for Kouri for personal reasons rather than factual reasons.”

Bree added that she was not speaking out to challenge the verdict, but that the conclusion of the case “seems inevitable.”

11:42 a.m.: Kouri’s sister reads statement

Renee Odom, Kouri Richins’ sister, begins her statement.

“For more than three years now, [the three boys] have been unable to see or speak to their mother,” Odom says. Kouri reaches out on every birthday and every holiday to remind the children they are loved, Odom says.

Odom says she is not here to challenge the jury’s verdict.

Odom says Kouri planned every family gathering and vacation, and that she is the smartest person Odom knows. She calls Kouri “the glue that held our family together.”

“I only ask that the court see the full human picture,” Odom says. “Please leave room for hope of a life with her boys... I love you Kouri, and I will always stand by you.”

11:40 a.m.: Kouri’s mother does not believe her daughter committed murder

The circumstances surrounding Kouri’s separation from her boys has limited the communication they can have, so Kouri cannot comfort her children or fully support them as she once did, Darden wrote. “She is grieving the absence of the man she loved and built a life with,” while also trying to support her three boys amid intense public scrutiny, Darden wrote.

Like any marriage, Kouri and Eric experienced challenges, Darden wrote. But counseling strengthened their relationship, and the couple had a “renewed commitment,” she wrote.

“I do not believe Kouri did this, and I cannot believe Kouri could be capable of this crime,” Darden wrote.

She asks for mercy, and that she be allowed parole so she would not be permanently separated from her children.

“I ask from a mother’s heart that Kouri be given a sentence that allows a possibility of a future,” Darden wrote. “I firmly believe the jury came to an incorrect conclusion.”

11:23 a.m. Kouri Richins’ mother’s statement

Lewis reads a statement from Kouri’s mother, Lisa Darden, who is in the courtroom but was concerned she could not get through reading her statement.

“I speak today as a mother and as a grandmother. The children are my greatest concerns,” Darden wrote in her statement. “They lost their father, then their mother... their world has changed again and again, through no fault of their own.”

“Before these events, [the boys] lived in a loving home... deeply connected to both their mother and father,” Lisa wrote. “That sense of security was taken from them in stages.”

The boys’ mother helped them navigate grief for a year, and found creative ways for them to help cope emotionally, Darden wrote. And when she was arrested, the boys communicated with her mother through visits and letter, Darden said. Now, her grandsons have been separated from their maternal family, Darden says. She asks the court to consider the “cumulative impact” on the children when deciding Kouri’s sentence.

Kouri’s 2023 children’s book was not meant for money or fame — it was meant to help her kids get through the grieving process, Darden adds.

“Kouri takes pride in maintaining a close-knit family,” Darden wrote. “... She has worked intentionally to keep her family united.”

11:22 a.m.: Kouri Richins to give 30-minute statement

“You will hear how she’s helped others even when facing unbearable situations in her own life,” Nester says, showing that Kouri can still contribute to society instead of spending her life in prison. People who are sentenced to life are “locked in their cells for 23 hours a day,” and cannot participate in programs, Nester says. “For all intents and purposes, they are treated as death row inmates,” Nester says. “Out of the thousands and thousands of cases that go through our criminal justice system, less than 100 cases have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.”

Others who will speak do not know Kouri Richins, Nester says, such as a mother of a murder victim, who Nester adds came to regret advocating for life without parole for her child’s killer. “The precious gift of life takes many forms, and can change over time,” Nester says. “They remind us that the decisions of this court today can inspire us to believe in humanity.”

Nester says Richins’ allocution is unusually long, and will take about 30 minutes. She will speak about her love for her boys, Nester says, because it is “all she has left.” It’s Kouri’s hope, Nester says, that her statement will show the court that she is “worthy of mercy.”

11:15 a.m.: Kouri Richins will speak

Court is now back in session, and prosecutors says they have wrapped up their portion of the sentencing hearing.

Nester says she will make opening remarks, and that individual statements will be read by the attorneys without names. The names will only be given to Mrazik and the prosecutor, because they did not want to be on camera due to all of the publicity.

Richins will speak at the very end, Nester says, to tell the court that she did not do what she’s been convicted of doing.

“We believe in her innocence completely,” Nester says, and she and the other defense attorneys will stand behind her as Kouri pursues an appeal.

10:55 a.m.: 15-minute break

Now, the court will break for about 15 minutes to determine if two state exhibits will remain private or posted to the public docket.

10:46 a.m. Richins’ boys’ impact statements

Jessica Black, one of the boys’ therapists, now begins to read the one of the boys’ victim impact statement. The boys chose this manner for their statements to be read, she says.

“I feel a lot better about myself now than I did with Kouri,” one boy said in his statement. He worries if she was freed, she would take him away from Katie Richins-Benson and Clint Benson, who are now raising the boys.

Another therapist reads a statement from another one of the boys. In the statement, the boy says he was forced to be a parent to one of the other boys.

“I will not feel safe if you are out,” the boy says in the statement, and that Kouri has “never apologized” for what she did to them.

A third therapist reads the third son’s statement. In the statement, the boy said he wants his mother to serve a life sentence, because “what she did was very sick.”

“I feel mad that I have to feel sad,” the boy wrote. The boy said Kouri would lock him in his room when he called out her drunkenness after his father’s death, and one of his brothers would have to bring him food. “Kouri is always drunk,” the boy wrote in his statement. “I miss my dad, but I do not miss how my life used to be. I do not miss Kouri, I will tell you that.”

10:40 a.m.: Amy Richins ‘begged’ Eric to leave Kouri

Amy adds that during the proceedings, she was “kept in the dark,” so she couldn’t see exhibits or evidence. She was told to watch from home on a livestream so she could see, which she felt was a “profound violation,” and to this day, she has been unable to watch the trial and see all the evidence that was presented due to the trauma of the proceedings.

She adds that one day, Eric’s sons will be old enough to see these proceedings. She wants truth to be the only thing they find, instead of the “secondary violence” of lies and characterizations from the defense. And today, Amy learned that both she and her sister wanted Eric to leave Kouri.

“I begged Eric to leave too,” Amy says. “I begged Eric to divorce her. But Eric was determined to protect his boys.”

Amy says she didn’t just lose her brother, but also her sister-in-law.

“I lost someone I considered my friend,” she says. “We had good times together... it forces you to grieve someone who is still alive, while facing the horror of what they have done.”

In 2023, Amy says, she told the court that she didn’t know evil like this existed. And she continues to feel that way, she says.

“A parole-eligible sentence is not a conclusion,” Amy says. “It is an ongoing nightmare.”

Eric died as his children’s shield, Amy says, and she asks that the court continue to protect the children by sentencing Kouri to life without parole.

10:32 a.m.: Amy Richins reads statement

Eric’s other sister, Amy Richins, now begins her impact statement. She addressed the court in 2023, when she was in a state of “visceral shock.” She acknowledges that today would’ve been Eric’s 44th birthday, and that today should’ve been a celebration of life — but instead it’s a reminder of another day Eric will never see.

Amy recalls her 16th birthday, when Eric surprised her during a class with flowers and a “mischievous grin” to take Amy off-roading in the mountains for the first time. “That is the brother I lost, and that is the father his boys lost,” Amy says.

Amy still wonders when her brother realized he was in “mortal danger,” and she’s haunted by the thought that her nephews may have heard their father’s final struggle.

At the age the boys are now, Amy says, is when they would learn to how to be a man from their father.

10:29 a.m.: Clint Benson reads statement

Katie Richins-Benson’s husband, Clint Benson, now begins to read his own impact statement. He says what makes the crime more painful is its “calculated nature,” where Kouri Richins either “watched or sat by” as Eric succumbed to fentanyl poisoning. And Kouri has shown zero remorse, Benson adds, and she continues to use the legal system for her “schemes” by filing multiple lawsuits and delays in court.

“Please let Eric’s children have a chance to choose lifelong peace, comfort, success and happiness,” Benson says in his request for Richins to be sentenced to life without parole.

10:25 a.m.: Richins-Benson asks for life without parole

“This is not a situation where the idea of rehabilitation should be entertained,” Katie Richins-Benson says. “Eric’s death has caused immeasurable pain to so many. Obviously, there’s nothing the court can do about that... but what you can do is give Kouri’s victims at least some measure of closure... Please do not let my brother’s life to be worth nothing more than a 25-year punishment.”

10:17 a.m.: Katie Richins-Benson speaks

Katie Richins-Benson, Eric’s sister who is raising the couple’s three boys, takes the stand at 10:09 a.m. She begins by thanking the efforts of investigators and the community that has “stood behind us” during the trial. Her voice breaks as she acknowledges the date of today’s sentencing — what would’ve been her brother’s 44th birthday.

“It’s impossible to fully describe how devastating Eric’s death and Kouri’s crimes have been to our family,” Richins-Benson says. She notes she and her brother were extremely close, so close that her brother’s nickname in school was “Richie,” while hers was “Little Richie.”

”I got something with Eric that his sons never did: time," Richins-Benson says. She adds that one of Eric’s sons told her shortly after their father’s death that none of them even got to spend 10 years with their father.

In the time after Eric’s death, Kouri has continued to harm the boys, Richins-Benson says. She cut the boys off from Eric’s family, and threatened to not let Gene Richins see his grandsons unless Richins-Benson capitulated to Kouri’s wishes regarding the Eric’s estate. She also told the boys many lies about her family, Richins-Benson said, and led the boys to believe that Richins-Benson hated them and intended for them to be left “homeless and starving,” so the boys were afraid of being placed with her after Kouri was arrested.

Richins-Benson says her family was not able to see the three boys for 15 months after Eric’s death, and that Kouri drained the “personal bank accounts” Eric set up which were intended to be college savings for the kids.

10:03 a.m.: Eric’s father, Gene Richins

Eric also ensured his family’s needs were met, treating his wife with love every day, Gene says. But despite everything he gave, his life was taken from him by a “person he should’ve been able to trust the very most in his life.” His murder was motivated by Kouri’s greed, control and desire for a life with someone else, Gene continues.

“Because of the calculated and intentional nature of this crime, I respectfully ask the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment without a possibility of parole,” Gene says. This is crucial to ensure Kouri Richins cannot harm the family, or anyone else, ever again, he continues.

9:59 a.m.: Victim impact statements begin

Gene Richins, Eric’s father, will present his victim impact statement first, Bloodworth said. Then Eric’s sister, her husband, and Eric’s other sister will present their victim impact statements, Bloodworth said. Counselors for each of the three boys will then present the boys’ impact statements, Bloodworth continued.

“No parent should ever have to bury their child,” Gene Richins says. “It’s a loss that changes you forever. Eric was taken from us way too soon, and his loss has left a permanent hole in our family that will never be filled. Ever.”

Gene says Eric cared deeply not only about his sons, but every child his sons interacted with, specifically the kids on his sons’ sports teams. For the team Eric coached, even four years after his death, they still break a huddle with “1-2-3 Eric!” during games.

9:55 a.m.: Prosecutors argue for life without parole

Now, the court moves on to the state’s argument for Richins to be sentenced to life without parole. He begins reading from the memo filed on Monday.

9:53 a.m.: Judge rules on protective order

Mrazik says he doesn’t like the result, but under the court’s reading of Utah law, he determines that he can’t issue a continuous protective order in this case because the victim of domestic violence charges for the case “cannot possibly” have a reasonable fear of future harm or abuse.

He says he encourages the Legislature to take a hard look at a portion of Utah law to fill the gap of a situation where a victim has died. He hopes the Legislature will make a change to provide protections for the members of a family of a decedent in an aggravated murder case like this, but the Legislature has not done so yet — so he can’t issue a protective order in this case.

9:49 a.m.: Discussing protective order

On the state’s request for a continuous protective order for Eric Richins’ family members, Mrazik says he has considered the state’s argument and has determined that in this situation, where the domestic violence case does not have a survivor, there are “other remedies available” to the family members of the decedent — such as stalking injunctions.

“I’m not sure that I have the authority to enter a continuous protective order in this case,” Mrazik says.

Bloodworth argues that state statute does not say the protection of members of the victims’ family is not contingent on protection of the victim, who in this case is dead. Nester says they believe the request for the order is outside the court’s authority, and would violate Richins’ First Amendment rights.

Mrazik pauses and says to take the couple’s sons out of the consideration, since Richins’ parental rights have not been terminated.

Nester adds that Richins has no intention of communicating with Eric’s family outside of specific information regarding the children.

9:39 a.m.: Restitution hearing set

Bloodworth says the restitution amounts the state is seeking are well known in the record, so they can proceed in “short order.” Nester replies that they need an opportunity to brief the issues and do research, and they said they were “surprised” by some of the issues that arose in the state’s argument, specifically regarding recoupment of costs for Summit County related to a conflict over whether or not Richins is considered indigent. They’ve scheduled the restitution hearing for July 31 at 1:30 p.m.

9:34 a.m.: Judge enters

3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik just entered the courtroom and has started the hearing. Brad Bloodworth, Lindsay Chervenak and Byron Burmester are here for the state.

The judge said today’s schedule is as follows: First, the court will schedule a restitution hearing, then the state and anyone who has a victim impact statement will speak, then defense will call whomever they wish and Richins will have an opportunity to speak herself.

9:31 a.m.: Kouri Richins in courtroom

Richins is wearing neon-green jail clothes with her hair down, sitting next to her lawyers Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis at the defense table.

9:28 a.m.: Family enters courtroom

About 20 members of Eric Richins’ family just filed in. Probably 10-12 members of Kouri’s family are in the last two rows.