Day 5: Witnesses testify about obtaining drugs for Kouri Richins

PARK CITY, Utah (KSL) — Multiple people testified Friday about how Kouri Richins could have obtained drugs.

The Kamas mom and real estate agent is on trial for aggravated murder and is accused of poisoning her husband Eric Richins on March 4, 2022. She is also accused of slipping drugs into his food, making him sick, on Valentine’s Day in 2022.

Carmen Lauber, a woman who testified about providing fentanyl to Kouri Richins, returned to the witness stand Friday. She testified Thursday about each of the four times she provided drugs to Richins, who asked for “something stronger” after the first time, leading her to go pick up fentanyl once in early February of 2022, once in late February of 2022 and another time after Eric Richins’ death.

While reviewing transcripts of Lauber’s interviews with police, defense attorney Wendy Lewis questioned Lauber’s memory. Several times, Lauber responded, “It’s a lot to take in.”

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Lauber told Lewis that although officers were explaining to her what happened in those interviews instead of the other way around, their explanations were based on data obtained from her phone.

Lauber confirmed that during a 2023 interview with police, she had said, “I just know totally there were only three total purchases,” but now she is saying there were four purchases. She said some details have become clearer over time as she has reviewed records, but she still mixes up some details.

Deputy Summit County attorney Brad Bloodworth asked the judge to put 932 pages of transcripts of Lauber’s police interviews into evidence for the jury but the judge declined because some of it could be considered hearsay.

Robert Crozier, who like Lauber is receiving immunity in exchange for testifying truthfully and fully in the case, said he lived with Nicole Cummings for a few months at the end of 2021. Near the beginning of 2022, he said Cummings asked him to talk to her friend Lauber and help Lauber obtain oxycodone.

He testified that he got oxycodone for Lauber, saying at that time he did not have a fentanyl dealer. He said he met Lauber one or two times at the Maverick in Draper, but did not meet her three times as she testified.

Crozier said he knew the drugs weren’t fentanyl because “everybody was scared of fentanyl” at the time, it was hard to get and people were dying. He said such drugs were made to look like oxycodone and people would overdose,

Anna Isbell testified about overhearing a phone conversation between Kouri Richins and Hayden Jeffs, where Richins was asking for something from a client. She said she overheard Richins ask for the “Michael Jackson drug,” which Isbell said she thought was a muscle relaxer. She said she did not hear Richins ask about fentanyl.

Isbell is one of the witnesses who Richins’ attorneys claimed prosecutors were threatening shortly before the trial. Isbell testified she was “livid” when a detective told her she would need to appear every day of the trial after she declined to be prepped for her testimony.

“I was very upset. I thought it was rude, inconsiderate and not how you should treat somebody that did nothing wrong,” she said.

Kouri Richins 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 that this jury will not consider.