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PARK CITY — Prosecutors are defending their decision to file a letter in court that was written by Kouri Richins, a Kamas woman accused of murdering her husband.
In a motion filed Tuesday, the state said even if the judge believes Richins' statement claiming the letter contains a fictional story from a book she is writing, they still have the responsibility to file it with the court.
The "Walk the dog!!" letter by Richins came to light Friday in a motion filed by prosecutors. They say the letter, found in Richin's Summit County Jail cell, asks Richins' mother to instruct her brother to provide false testimony in her murder case.
Defense attorney Skye Lazaro argued in a motion filed shortly thereafter that prosecutors should be held in contempt of court for filing the letter in court. She said the letter was in an envelope that was marked as communication with her attorney, so it could have been found through an illegal search of the cell.
Lazaro also requested video from the jail, which was provided to the court on Tuesday. She claimed filing the letter in court violated a gag order issued by the judge.
Deputy Summit County attorney Patricia Cassel called the motion filed by Richins' attorney asking to hold prosecutors in contempt a "'fire, aim, ready' reaction to (Richins') misconduct in the jail."
She argued in Tuesday's objection that the state has an obligation to prevent witness tampering.
The objection said Richins talked to her mother in a phone call from the jail on Saturday and described the letter as "an excerpt of a fictional book" she is writing about her stay in a Mexican prison. The objection quotes the call from jail where Richins explains to her mom that in her mystery book, she goes to Mexico to find drugs with her dad.
"Those papers were not a letter to you guys; they were part of my freaking book," Richins said on the call, according to the state's objection. "You can very much tell that the whole thing is very much a story."
Prosecutors say the letter expresses a desire to link Eric Richins getting drugs from Mexico to the fentanyl that caused his death. In the letter, Kouri Richins allegedly wants her brother to say Eric Richins told him he got pain pills and fentanyl from Mexico through workers at a ranch.
The letter says the testimony of Richins' brother, Ronald Darden (Ronney), could make the connection. The letter presents a story or scenario of an apparent testimony that starts with: "Upon information and belief: (Just like they say).
"A year prior to Eric's death, Ronney was over watching football one Sunday and Eric and Ronney were chatting about Eric's Mexico trips. Eric told Ronney he gets pain pills and fentanyl from Mexico from the workers at the ranch," the letter states. "Not to tell me because I would get mad because I always said he just gets high every night and won't help take care of the kids."
Tuesday's objection argues that the letter was an exhibit to their motion filed on Friday to restrict Richins' communication with her mother and brother and is important to the effort to restrict witness tampering.
"This court has been very clear that all issues in this proceeding will and shall be conducted transparently and with an associated public record," the state's response says.
The objection filed by Cassel argues that a judicial filing is an orderly way to produce documents and is in line with the court's gag order.
The state's response also addresses the claim that the letter was recovered from an envelope marked as privileged legal information. Prosecutors filed reports from two officers who helped with the jail search and they said the letter was found inside an LSAT prep book, not a marked envelope.
The officers both said they searched the jail cell about 1:07 p.m. on Thursday and found the six-page letter written to Richins' mother. Both said the letter "appeared to be strategically written to coordinate a defense" and gave instructions for her mother to get contraband into the jail.
Even if it were in an envelope labeled privileged, the state says the letter is "evidence of a crime," so it is contraband that could be taken from a marked envelope.
Concerning the letter, the state's response said "its audience, content and purpose are readily apparent — (Richins) is asking her mother to facilitate witness tampering involving her brother."
Richins is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, in the March 2022 death of her husband. After his death and before she was charged, she wrote a children's book about grief.
In June, a judge ordered her to remain in custody while her case is moving forward. Her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 3.
