LIVE UPDATES | Day 10 of Kouri Richins murder trial

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three boys, is accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in 2022. She is on trial in Summit County, Utah, on charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery.

Today is the tenth day of the trial. It is scheduled to begin today at 8:30 a.m. East Idaho News will be posting live written updates all day. Please excuse typos. You can watch the livestream here. The most recent updates are at the top of this page.

11:10 a.m. Next witness is George Matthew Throckmorton. He has been with Salt Lake City Police for 27 years and is a crime scene technician. He is a handwriting expert and has been evaluating documents forensically for 30 years. Prosecutor Fred Burmester is questioning Throckmorton.

11:07 a.m. Jury is back in courtroom and Cody Wright is back on the stand. Nester asks Cody how often Eric used THC gummies. He has no idea. She asks where Eric got his gummies. Cody has zero idea. “So that’s a part of his life he didn’t share with you,” Nester asks. Cody says that’s correct. She has nothing further. Prosecution has nothing further. He is released from subpoena.

11:03 a.m. Prosecution is back. Bloodworth says the state is comfortable with the court’s ruling. Judge says the ruling will stand and Nester has not provided a basis to strike Cody’s statement that he’s never been told Eric Richins used illicit street drugs. Jury will now come back into courtroom.

11 a.m. Judge asks Bloodworth if, for the sake of appeal, he wants to get on the record the drug question. Bloodworth says he needs to confer with his team and they leave the courtroom. Court is now off the record until prosecution returns.

10:58 a.m. Nester argues with the judge and says they have an expert who will testify about red devils. Nester says there is a key question of whether Eric Richins had a drug problem and if he did, “Ms. Richins is innocent.” Nester says the witness has changed his story and said in the prelim that Eric used drugs but now says he did. Nester says this is a huge impediment to the fairness of the trial.

10:53 a.m. Judge says the case has to be charged based on admissible evidence. He says he’s required to apply the rules of evidence. Judge says nothing in Cody’s preliminary hearing testimony or what he said outside of the presence of the jury contradicts what he said on the stand in front of the jury. Judge says Cody did not change his testimony. Nester adamantly disagrees and says the defense should be able to impeach Cody. She moves to strike all of his testimony. Judge cuts her off, “Wait a minute, whoa!”

10:51 a.m. Cody is excused from the courtroom. Nester says this whole case is about a pill addiction and whether Eric voluntarily ingested a pill or was given it by his wife. Nester says this is a critical part of the case and wants to impeach Cody based on what he said in the preliminary hearing versus what he just said on the stand. Bloodworth says the state disagrees with everything Nester says, and any relevance to what happened in high school doesn’t play into the case. It was 20 years ago.

10:46 a.m. Cody says what he’s been told about Eric is throughout his life. He doesn’t know the specific timeline and was told that Eric used them in high school. Nester asks again if Eric used illicit street drugs. Cody says he does not know what illicit street drugs entail. He knows Eric had used drugs at some point. Nester has nothing further. Bloodworth asks if he has heard of Eric using other drugs in high school other than red devils. That’s it. Cody says he heard Eric had popped pills. Nester asks if there were drugs after high school. Cody says he doesn’t know exact times and days. Eric popped pills in high school is what I have been told, Cody says. He does not have any knowledge that he popped pills after high school. Cody has knowledge that Eric took THC gummies after high school.

10:40 a.m. Back from recess. Judge says best course of action is to voir dire Cody and ask him the questions. Cody is invited back in. Jury still out of the courtroom. Nester asks Cody if anyone had ever told him that Eric used illicit street drugs and his understanding of the question. Cody says he’s not in the drug world and doesn’t know what most drugs are categorized as. Nester asks if Cody spoke with anyone outside in the hall while he was waiting. Cody says he did not. Nester asks if Cody was aware of Eric using pain pills in high school. Cody was told Eric did, but he has no idea where Eric got the drugs. Nester asks if it was Cody’s understanding that Eric was using the pain pills in high school illicitly, without a prescription. Cody says he learned about this later on in life and he learned he had taken pain pills in high school. Nester asks Cody if he knew what red devils were. Cody says he learned later and believes they were Sudafed. “I’m not a drug person, I’m sorry.”

10:27 a.m. Defense is getting a transcript. Court is in recess for five minutes.

10:24 a.m. There is a debate over illicit street drugs versus pain pills. Nester interrupts and judge says, “Please don’t speak over me so we have a clean record.” Nester apologizes. Back and forth over “red devils” and illicit street drugs and use in high school.

10:18 a.m. There is a discussion between defense and prosecution about drugs. Nester believes she can impeach Cody because he did not tell the truth about Eric’s drug use. Judge says if he in fact said something impeachable, she can – but he isn’t sure that Cody has said anything impeachable. Nester is referring to a transcript from what Cody said in the preliminary hearing and something about “red devils.”

10:16 a.m. Court is taking a recess. Some tech issues are being sorted out. Judge asks Wright to step outside as there will be a discussion he can’t hear about.

10:15 a.m. Bloodworth asks Cody why he sat with the Richins family in court hearings. Cody says he loves the Richins and Eric was one of his best friends and he wants to be a support where he can. Nester asks for a sidebar.

10:11 a.m. Nester asks questions about Eric hunting in Mexico. No further questions. Bloodworth follows up. Asks Cody if people told him Eric used THC edibles. Cody says yes. Bloodworth asks if anyone ever told him that Eric used illicit street drugs. No. Bloodworth asks about Eric being investigated for a wildlife incident. Cody was brought in for questioning. The incident involved not having an elk tag. Bloodworth asks why Cody provided incriminating evidence instead of covering for his friend. He says Eric knew what he did was wrong and Cody wanted to do the right thing.

10:07 a.m. Nester asks about Cody being close with Eric’s family since Eric died. He has become close with them and gone to court and sat with them during hearings. Nester asks Cody if he was aware that Eric and Kouri had personal life insurance policies with New York Life. He was not aware of that. Nester asks Cody if C&E was paying for a personal life insurance policy for Eric through AutoOwners or Integrated Insurance Solutions. He is not awrae of that. Nester asks about Cody hunting in Mexico because Eric couldn’t hunt for a while in the U.S. Eric went to Mexico in February 2022 and went hunting.

10:03 a.m. Nester asks if anyone asked Cody about searching the truck before he picked it up. Cody says no. He still has the brown pickup truck. Nester asks about Eric’s personal red truck. C&E owned the truck. After Eric died, there was an instruction that the truck should not be driven. He got a call from the Ford dealership saying it was ready to be picked up. Cody had the truck picked up from the dealership. “It is a C&E-owned vehicle. There are ramifications for an accident for someone not working for C&E so it would be proper to make sure the truck isn’t being driven.” Nester asks where the truck is. Cody says the truck is at Katie Richins.

10 a.m. Nester asks about other doctor visits on Valentine’s Day. Cody isn’t aware. Nester asks about March 3, 2022, the day before Eric died. Eric and Cody went to lunch at the Mirror Lake Cafe. Nester asks about Cody sending Becky Lloyd to pick up Eric’s C&E computer within a few days after his death. Cody says he did. Nester asks about a private investigator going to talk with Cody about the computer. Cody authorized the computer to go to the private investigator, before law enforcement went through the computer. Nester asks about Cody sending someone to pick up Eric’s work truth – a brown Ford pickup.

9:56 a.m. Nester asks if Eric worked on Valentine’s Day. Cody says they are always getting calls and “working.” Nester admits a photo of a home that is apparently Eric’s. The next photo is of another house. Cody doesn’t recognize it. Another photo is shown to Cody. He doesn’t recognize this one either. Nester asks about Eric going to the doctor on Valentine’s Day. Eric told Cody he had gone with his son to get an allergy shot.

9:54 a.m. Nester asks about Cody and Eric hunting together. She asks about the hunting violations Eric had committed while hunting. Cody was brought in and asked questions about the violations. Eric ended up going to jail. Nester asks if Eric and Cody had a falling out because of the hunting issue. Cody asks for clarification. Nester says they stopped going on family vacations and if the relationship became more tense. Cody says Eric didn’t like it, it was upset with Cody.

9:50 a.m. Nester asks about Eric having back pain and if he would still work. Cody says he would drive around his truck, but wouldn’t be lifting heavy things. Nester asks about Eric having knee pain and having surgery. Cody doesn’t remember that. She asks about Lyme’s disease. Nester asks if Cody subscribes to the faith of the Church of the Latter-day Saints. Cody says he is LDS. Nester says as part of the faith, it’s not proper to drink or take drugs. Cody says if you are an active member and believe that, you can follow that. Nester asks about Eric drinking or using marijuana gummies. Cody says Eric never offered him a drink and he never saw Eric take gummies. “Eric would be ok telling me some of those things. He would tell me but in the light that I am his good friend, he would tell me things but not be proud of that.” Nester responds, “So he did share with you that he used drugs?” Bloodworth objects.

9:49 a.m. Cody says the policy said if Eric was to die, he was to pay Eric’s family the life insurance money. When Eric died, Cody paid the money to the family trust, which was what the court told him to do. Nester stresses that Kouri didn’t get the money. Cody says he doesn’t know where the money went.

9:46 a.m. Nester asks about Cody and Eric’s buy-sell agreement. She inquires about the beneficiary change on the life insurance policy made on Jan. 1, 2022. Nester says the change was made on Cody’s policy, not Eric’s. Cody doesn’t recall the exact wording used. Nester says, “Well, think about it. You remember everything else, not this?” Cody says the wording was tricky. “What I was told is that there was a change made to the beneficiary; somebody had gone in and changed it. I do not recall whose name it was or anything like that.”

9:44 a.m. Nester asks if Cody engaged in house flipping through C&E or any other business. Bloodworth objects. Judge sustains. Nester asks about the $200,000 loan C&E made to Richins for a property for her to rehab. Cody says they got all the money back plus interest. Nester asks how much. Cody doesn’t recall. Nester asks about the buy-sell agreement, where partners in the business buy a life insurance policy on each other.

9:43 a.m. Judge sustains the objection. Nester asks if the company had planned for growth and if they would have been financially stable for the future. Cody says yes. Nester asks about Kouri being on the payroll and how much she made every month. Cody doesn’t recall. Nester asks if when Eric passed away, Kouri asked to be removed from the payroll. Cody doesn’t believe she asked to be removed. They continued to pay her for some time after Eric passed. Cody says they continued to pay her for a couple of months.

9:40 a.m. Sidebar is over. Nester asks Cody what he personally made in 2021. Cody doesn’t have the numbers in front of him and doesn’t recall. Nester asks if it was more than $500,000. Cody says no. Nester asks about tax returns that indicate Eric declared $700,000-$900,000 that year and if that number would be off. Bloodworth objects. Judge calls for sidebar.

9:36 a.m. Nester asks about C&E and how things were split 50/50. Nester asks how much money Cody made in 2022. Bloodworth objects based on relevance. Judge asks attorneys to approach the bench for sidebar.

9:35 a.m. Cody received a call from Eric on Valentine’s Day. He says there was fear in his voice and a sense of urgency. The only other time Cody has heard Eric like that is when Eric’s mom died in the hospital and when Eric had been rear-ended in a serious accident. Bloodworth has nothing further for Cody. Kathryn Nester will now ask questions on behalf of the defense.

9:32 a.m. Bloodworth brings up the photo shown the other day of a group of adults at the Celebration of Life held the night Eric died. Bloodworth asks if Cody’s wife, Alley Wright, is in the photo. She is not. Bloodworth asks if he has ever seen Eric sick or injured. Cody has seen him when Eric had COVID, Lyme Disease, a cold, back injuries and other sicknesses. “He’s a cowboy. He’s a go-get-em, he’s not going to sit at home because he’s sick, he’s not going to not show up because he’s feeling under the weather, he’s very tough-spirited, rough-hearted as far as not being a wimp goes.” Cody has never seen Eric use over-the-counter or prescription drugs. He has never seen Eric use illicit drugs.

9:28 a.m. Cody collected documents containing signatures from a company called Integrated Solutions. He also requested documents from Big D Construction containing Eric’s signature. The signatures were then given to Katie Richins, Eric’s sister.

9:26 a.m. Bloodworth asks Cody about a series of beneficiary changes made to the New York Life Insurance policy in January 2022 that was for Cody and Eric. Cody did not make the changes and did not make any changes to Eric’s policy. Bloodworth gives Cody some handwriting samples to review.

9:21 a.m. C&E had an American First Credit Union account. Eric and Cody shared a company email address. Cody recalls a time when Eric said K. Richins Realty needed a loan from C&E to pay for projects. Cody says it was a loan, not an investment. This was in October 2020. C&E agreed to provide K. Richins a $200,000 loan.

9:18 a.m. Eric and Cody’s business relationship was a 50-50 split. In early 2022, C&E employed around 90 people. When Eric passed, Cody remembered counting 47 projects they were currently working on. They had a great business outlook in early 2022. The company was growing. Eric wanted to keep growing the company, but Cody was more conservative and comfortable with where the company was at. Eric was motivated to grow bigger and better. C&E both had home offices. Eric used a C&E computer he kept at his home office.

9:16 a.m. Eric came from a background of hard work and was serious when it came to business. He wanted to make sure things were done right and wanted to grow his business. Cody helped teach Eric’s son how to pitch baseball. Eric was dedicated and competitive as a father, Cody says. Eric wanted his kids to be the best on the team.

9:14 a.m. C&E Masonry stands for Cody and Eric. They ate lunch together a few times a week. In the fall, they saw each other a lot in the mountains or hunting or spending time together. They spoke nearly every day on the phone. They would travel together to hunt. “Eric’s fiesty. Eric’s working. Eric’s the life of the party. Eric’s funny. He can be very fun to be around. Very comforting at times, and also he can tell you what you’ve done wrong and make sure you know it was wrong.”

9:12 a.m. Cody says Eric was a good friend of his and his business partner. They both loved hard work and hunted together. They spent a lifelong of events together. Shortly after they met, Eric came to work in his family business. They both went on LDS missions, came home, and worked together through the family business. In 2010, they decided to start their own masonry company together.

9:10 a.m. The video was actually admitted during Allie Staking’s testimony. We now see the video. It’s a few adults drinking, laughing, etc. Cody Wright is now called as a witness. He is sworn in.

9:08 a.m. Jurors are back in the courtroom. Bloodworth talks about Chelsea Barney’s testimony and her referencing video of a celebration of life. The state was blurring children’s faces from the exhibit and is now ready to admit it as evidence.

8:43 a.m. Cody Wright will be the first witness on the stand. One juror has not yet arrived so we are in recess for five minutes.

8:40 a.m. Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth says Jeff O’Driscoll will likely be the state’s last witness. He is the lead investigator on the case. Defense has filed a motion for a mistrial. Mrazik says the state needs to respond and asks when they can have it ready. Bloodworth says prosecution can respond right now orally. Mrazik wants it in writing. Bloodworth says he can have a written motion by tomorrow morning.

8:38 a.m. Court is in session. Jury is not in the room. Prosecution says there are a handful of witnesses who will still be called. Judge Richard Mrazik says a discussion needs to be held about the jail calls prosecutors want to admit. Defense has objected to the calls.

8:24 a.m. Week three of Kouri Richins’ murder trial begins today and Eric Richins’ business partner, Cody Wright, is expected to take the stand. Prosecutors have said they intend to rest on Monday or Tuesday. The defense will then present Richins’ defense.