Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Eric Richins' business partner, Cody Wright, testified about his character and a call on Valentine's Day in 2022 where he sounded urgent.
- Kouri Richins is accused of poisoning Eric Richins with fentanyl in March 2022 and is facing a jury trial.
- Prosecutors have one final witness to call in their case on Tuesday.
PARK CITY — Cody Wright, Eric Richins' business partner, described his friend was feisty, hard working and "the life of the party."
He said Richins was hired to work in Wright's family's business before they started their own company together in 2010. That company, C&E Masonry, employed 90 people when Richins died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022.
Wright said he had never seen his business partner use drugs, either over-the-counter, prescription or illicit. He said Richins would avoid lifting heavy things when he had back pain. Answering questions from defense attorneys, he said people had told him Richins used THC edibles and "popped pills" in high school.
Richins' wife, Kouri Richins, is accused of fatally poisoning him and is charged with murder. On Monday, the third week of her trial began, and prosecutors said they were presenting their final witnesses.
Kouri Richins is also accused of attempting to kill her husband weeks earlier on Valentine's Day. Wright said on that day, he got a call from Eric Richins, who had fear in his voice and a sense of urgency. He said he had only heard his friend sound like that when his mom died and when he had been in a serious accident.
Defense attorney Kathy Nestor claimed Wright had changed his testimony about his business partner's drug use and asked to be allowed to impeach him using previous testimony, or to have his testimony be stricken. She argued whether Eric Richins had a drug problem is a key question in the case, saying if he did, Kouri Richins is innocent.
Third District Judge Richard Mrazik ruled nothing Wright testified contradicted what he had said previously and denied her requests.
Investigation
George Throckmorton, a crime scene technician and handwriting expert, testified about reviewing a signature on an application for term life insurance for Eric Richins from early 2022. He said there was no evidence Richins was the one who signed the document and that he "probably did not."
"It appeared to be a simulated forgery written by somebody who had access to his writing in an attempt to copy, draw or duplicate his signature and try to pass it off as a genuine signature," he said.
Todd Gabler, a private investigator hired by Eric Richins' family, testified about his findings from about 50 interviews, cellphone records and billing records. He said he has spent 936.3 hours on the case and made over $100,000.
He said when he initially met with the family, he told them he was there to find the truth, and they would need to accept that whatever it was. Gabler said he first searched the home on May 8, 2023, immediately after it was released by the sheriff's office, and documented everything.
He said there were hundreds of texts between Kouri Richins and Carmen Lauber, who testified about purchasing drugs for Kouri Richins. Gabler said Kouri Richins only communicated more with her mom and her husband.
"I was very concerned about the high number of contacts and the criminal history for Carmen, and I alerted the sheriff's office about that," he said.
Initial response
Jurors also heard the 911 call Kouri Richins made to report her husband was cold.
"I don't know. I was sleeping in with my kids, and I just came in our bed and he's cold. He's just cold," she said.
The dispatcher asks her to use a sheet to move him to the floor so she can do CPR; she tells them he is "dead weight" and asks them to send someone to help. At one point, Richins tells her kids to get out of the room.
Summit County sheriff's detective Jayme Woody, the initial lead detective over Eric Richins' death investigation, testified about responding. She said Eric Richins' sister Amy told her something that suggested Kouri Richins may have been involved in her husband's death.
She said they only searched the immediate area and asked for permission to search the kitchen trash can but did not find any evidence of illicit drugs.
After toxicology results showed he died from fentanyl intoxication, Woody said she got a warrant to search the home and Kouri Richins' car but did not find any evidence of fentanyl. At that point, she said police seized the phones of both Kouri and Eric Richins.
Later, Woody moved to a K-9 unit, and detective Jeff O'Driscoll took over as the lead detective. Deputy Summit County attorney Brad Bloodworth said O'Driscoll will be prosecutors' final witness, and they plan to call him next.
The defense team has said it plans to call some witnesses back to the stand during the last two weeks of the trial.
Kouri Richins, 35, is charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, first-degree felonies, two counts of insurance fraud, a second-degree felony, and forgery, a third-degree felony. She also has a separate case with additional financial charges, which will not be considered by this jury.
Watch the trial here:
Contributing: Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com
