- Kouri Richins' defense requests her trial be moved to Salt Lake County.
- 85.3% of jurors recognize the case 60% followed it closely, defense claims.
- The judge previously denied a venue change; the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal.
PARK CITY — Attorneys for Kouri Richins — the Kamas mother accused of fatally poisoning her husband and later writing a children's book about coping with grief — are again requesting her trial be moved to Salt Lake County after they received jury questionnaires. The request comes just 10 days before the trial is scheduled to begin.
"Now that the court has the responses to the jury questionnaire it is obvious that Ms. Richins does not have a reasonable likelihood of a fair trial in Summit County," the defense's motion filed Friday states.
Attorneys wrote that, based on a survey they conducted last year, they found that 79% of Summit County residents recognized the case and 49% had been following it "either very or somewhat closely."
"The actual numbers that are now before the court are higher. Of the 1,723 questionnaires that were returned, 1,472, or approximately 85.3% recognized the case. Of those that recognized the case, 884, or approximately 60% followed the case either somewhat or very closely," the motion states.
That leaves 251 potential jurors who haven't heard of the case, according to Richins' attorneys.
"However, most of these jurors answered other questions in a way that would immediately strike them for cause. When those jurors are removed, we are left with approximately 72 potential jurors," they wrote.
The motion does not provide examples of answers given in the questionnaires.
The attorneys called it "nearly impossible" to receive a fair trial with those numbers. They said that based on expert testimony they provided at a previous hearing in the case, some potential jurors will realize they actually are familiar with the case when presented with more facts.
"Although there is no magic number as to how small a potential jury pool can be under Utah law, the jury pool must represent a fair cross-section of the community," Richins' attorneys stated.
The attorneys have previously attempted to move the case to Salt Lake County. Third District Judge Richard Mrazik previously denied the request to move the trial, determining Richins could have a fair trial in Summit County. Her attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined to take up the case.
Richins is charged with murder in the March 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who was 39. She was later charged with attempting to murder him weeks earlier on Valentine's Day.
Richins was ordered to stand trial on the charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
Richins will face a separate trial for two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two additional counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
The jury trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Feb. 10.
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Ashley Imlay
