LIVE UPDATES | Day 12 of Kouri Richins murder trial
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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 12th 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.
9:23 a.m. State has two witnesses left: Carmen Lauber and Det. Jeff O’Driscoll. That will take today and part of tomorrow. Defense then has witnesses they will call tomorrow. Kathryn Nester says once the state rests, they will need around 30 minutes to talk with Kouri. Court is in recess until 12:45 p.m.
9:18 a.m. Discussion over Carmen Lauber violating drug court because she was observed holding an alcoholic drink. Lewis says she drank it. Judge says that information comes from an unsigned affidavit. Judge says Lewis can ask Carmen about it when she’s on the stand. Lewis says she also has screenshots of text messages between Carmen and a detective that she wants to ask Carmen about.
9:13 a.m. Prosecutors will play video of the jailhouse interviews with text on the screen so jurors can follow along. Judge has denied Richins’ request for a mistrial. Bloodworth says Carmen Lauber will be at the courthouse at 1 p.m. today to testify.
9:04 a.m. Lewis and Bloodworth discuss other parts of the jail interviews. Judge rules what can be admitted. They are going through the transcript and discussing different portions.
8:56 a.m. There is some confusion over page numbers in the transcript of the interviews and what exactly the prosecution wants admitted.
8:49 a.m. Regarding the first interview exhibit Bloodworth wants to admit, defense attorney Wendy Lewis objects to having all of it admitted. She goes through portions she opposes.
8:43 a.m. Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth is seeking to admit some jailhouse interviews with Carmen. Judge wants to review each interview one at a time. FYI: My EastIdahoNews.com colleague Jordon Ormond is in the courtroom today.
8:30 a.m. This morning prosecutors and defense team will discuss interviews Carmen Lauber did with detectives while she was in jail. Jailhouse phone calls involving Richins are also expected to be discussed today during Detective Jeff O’Driscoll’s testimony. He is on tap to testify this afternoon. Jurors will not arrive until 1 p.m.