LIVE UPDATES | Day 8 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 seventh day of the trial. It is scheduled to begin today at 9:30 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.

10:48 a.m. Nester says she has received reports from people that the prosecution is making faces at the jury while the defense is questioning witnesses. Judge says he has a better view than the cameras and he hasn’t seen any faces. Nester says she is going to check timestamps on the livestream.

10:45 a.m. We are back in the courtroom. Jury is not. Wendy Lewis says this morning, Nester received a text message from the state that Carmen Lauber violated drug court. The defense did not know about this. Lewis asks for a mistrial. Bloodworth says he’s not aware of a text message sent this morning. Bloodworth says about ten days ago, the defense submitted a GRAMA request to the sheriff’s office asking for information about Carmen Lauber. Judge says he needs a written motion and the state can respond. Trial will proceed.

10:33 a.m. Bloodworth asks for a morning recess because he needs to use the restroom. We are in recess until 10:45 a.m.

10:28 a.m. Ramos asks Freckleton about obtaining information from New York Life about changes made on the account. No further questions from Ramos. Burmester has one clarifying follow-up question. Witness is released, but he may be recalled as a witness by the defense.

10:25 a.m. Freckleton says Kouri’s email address was the email associated with Eric’s life insurance account. Ramos asks Freckleton if he is familiar with Cody or Eric’s client ID numbers. Freckleton says he knows they have them, but he has no idea what they are.

10:21 a.m. Cody and Eric called him back. Freckleton contacted New York Life in June and spoke with Rodgers. No further questions from the state. Ramos will now ask some questions. He asks Freckleton when he set up Eric’s life insurance policy. A $500,000 term life insurance policy was set up on Eric in 2007.

10:16 a.m. Some jurors are taking notes. Kouri is chatting with Ramos. Freckleton set up some other life insurance policies with Eric. Freckleton says there is a portal system with New York Life that alerts him if changes are made to his client’s policies. On Jan. 1, 2022, Freckleton received an alert. “It was an alert that the policies on Eric and Cody – the beneficiary had been attempted to be changed,” he says. Freckleton says the beneficiary had been changed from Eric to Kouri Richins on Cody’s policy. Freckleton called Cody and Eric. Both of the calls went to voicemail.

10:12 a.m. Freckleton is familiar with C&E Masonry, Eric’s business. He also knows Kouri. Burmester asks about a buy-sell agreement that involved Cody Wright and Eric Richins. They felt the company was worth $4 million at the time, so they put $2 million in life insurance on each of them. Eric would own the policy on Cody and Cody would earn the policy on Eric. In the event of one of their deaths, the owner of the contract would also be the beneficiary, and that money could go to Cody if Eric died. The money would be tax-free, and then Cody would be obligated to buy the stock in the company. He has to come in with the $2 million and buy the stock from Eric’s trust.

10:09 a.m. Between each witness, the deputies in the courtroom fill up a fresh cup of water and put it on the witness stand. Next witness is Brian Freckleton. He owns a firm called Freckleton Financial Group and is involved in finances and life insurance. Burmester asks Freckleton how he knows Cody Wright and Eric Richins. Eric’s family members were early clients of Freckleton and after Eric got married to Kouri, Eric reached out to Freckleton and bought insurance for himself and Kouri.

10:04 a.m. Ramos shows Rodgers a document that she does not recognize. Ramos asks if there is any information that confirms Kouri was the person behind the screen who logged into the life insurance account. Rodgers says the email address used to log in was Kouri’s. Ramos has nothing further. Neither does prosecution. Witness is dismissed.

10:01 a.m. Rodgers explains the login process – you put in an email address and then have to get the email verified. Customers cannot log in with any other credentials than what the life insurance company has on record. Ramos shows Rodgers a document. It has Kouri’s Hotmail email address that is associated with both Eric and Kouri’s life insurance policy login information.

9:58 a.m. Ramos moves to admit an exhibit showing insurance policy information of Cody Wright and Eric Richins. He is comparing the client ID numbers between Cody and Eric. Ramos asks if the client ID was used to change the beneficiary information. Rodgers says the client ID was not used to login when the changes were made.

9:50 a.m. Alex Ramos will now cross-examine Rodgers. Ramos asks about the client ID on the exhibit. It’s Eric’s. Ramos hands Rodgers some papers and asks about the client ID. There are two different policies being discussed – one for Cody Wright and one for Eric Richins.

9:46 a.m. Burmester admits an exhibit showing an email chain showing messages between Brian Freckleton and Rodgers. Rodgers found out that on Jan. 1, 2022, the beneficiary was changed from Kouri to Eric back to Kouri and then Eric again within a few minutes of each other. They were all from Eric Richins’ login and all from the same IP address. On June 9, Rodgers followed up with another email to Freckleton. Upon further investigation, they learned all interaction on the account was coming from Kouri Richins’ email address.

9:42 a.m. Beneficiary changes can be made online or by calling an agent, Rodgers says. Another agent named Brian Freckleton called Rodgers to ask about the changes to Wright’s policy. The beneficiary on Wright’s account changed from Eric Richins to Kouri Richins. The owner and anyone with the owner’s information can log online and change beneficiary information, Rodgers explains.

9:34 a.m. First witness today is Lashawna Rodgers. She works for New York Life Insurance. Burmester is questioning her. Rodgers recalls receiving a call from another agent asking about beneficiary changes made to a life insurance policy. Burmester displays a document on the screen that shows changes were made to Cody Wright’s life insurance policy on Jan. 2, 2022.

9:27 a.m. Public seats are full in the courtroom. Judge Richard Mrazik is on the bench. Kouri Richins is at the defense table with Kathryn Nester, Wendy Lewis and Alex Ramos, her attorney. Brad Bloodworth, Lindsay Chervenak and Fred Burmester are at the prosecution table.

9:15 a.m. It’s day 8 of the Kouri Richins trial. Eric Richins died four years ago today. He died in the early morning hours of March 4, 2022.

From his obituary:

– He lived to the fullest and with few regrets
– He loved his family, hunting, the family cattle ranch, and his insane drive as a successful entrepreneur
– He spent countless hours helping his dad work the ranch, hauling hay, feeding the animals, and mending fences
– He was an attentive and loving father to his three sons
– He loved all sports
– Eric was an avid outdoorsman and dedicated hunter
– There was never a dull moment when you were around Eric
– Eric loved to have fun and was always the life of the party
– He served a two-year mission in Mexico City where he learned to speak Spanish fluently.
– Eric loved fully, laughed loudly, and lived life with reckless abandon.