Inside the Kouri Richins Trial | "48 Hours" Podcast | Forensic Files

The evidence will prove that Corey Richens murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life.
>> They're going to spend weeks in this trial trying to convince you that Cy had
reasons to kill her husband because they can't show you that she did kill her husband.
Welcome to this special episode of the 48 Hours podcast inside the Corey Richens trial. I'm 48 Hours
correspondent Natalie Morales and you just heard from both the prosecution and the defense in this case. Well, today we
are talking about Corey Richen. She's a Utah mother who wrote a book on grief to
help her children cope with the death of their father Eric after an apparent fentinel overdose back in March of 2022.
So, what happened today? >> He was just fine. We were fine. When we When you say we were fine, what
what what time did you see him when he was alert? >> We had a drink together at 9 to
celebrate something at work tomorrow. >> Okay. >> We went to bed. I went to bed with my
kids. he would defend our bed. >> And that was Corey captured on the sheriff's deputy body camera footage.
We'll talk about that in just a moment. But things did take a turn a year later when Corey was arrested and charged with
poisoning Eric to death with that celebratory drink along with a multitude of other charges. She has pleaded not
guilty to all the charges. Now, I covered this case for 48 hours. And now, years after delays, the Richens trial is
finally underway in Summit County in Utah. And here to talk about it all is CBS News chief correspondent Matt
Gutman, who has been closely watching all of the developments in court. Hello, Matt. Good to have you with us.
>> Hey Natalie, it's good to be with you. Um, so, you know, obviously this has been years in the making. Um, and at
this point, Cory is facing over 30 total counts, but really at this trial, first-degree murder, attempted murder.
There's insurance fraud related to the murder and a forgery charge as well. If she is convicted, she would face the
rest of her life behind bars. So, obviously, the the stakes are extremely high here.
>> Extremely high. And I know there is so much media interest in this trial. You've been keeping track of what's been
going on in court. What was the mood like as it got underway? First, I mean there is so much interest
that there is an overflow room for journalists and for others who have to watch it on a feed. Not everybody who
was interested in watching, including accredited press, can fit in the courtroom itself. Um, so you can see
everybody densely packed in this courtroom. There's there's a theatrical production element here. Um, and
obviously at the center of this production is Corey Richens. And so far she's looked very composed. There were a
couple of moments when you saw an arched eyebrow here and there, but generally um
she sort of kept it very very even killed along with her attorneys. >> And I'm sure her attorneys are
instructing her to keep that, you know, that keep that very serious face in the courtroom. Um you did talk about all of
the scrutiny. You know, the defense in fact even had tried to have this trial moved from Summit County given that
scrutiny. Now that didn't happen. But what is it about this case that has captured the nation's attention?
>> So on the one hand, there was a book that Cory Richens wrote, uh, a children's book after Eric's death. Um,
and that really catapulted this into the national spotlight. But, you know, the basic story is here you have this
attractive couple. Corey Richards is 31. Her husband Eric is 39. and they have these really three cute boys uh an
idllic lifestyle. He's big into hunting and he's got a successful business. She in her own rights is a successful
businesswoman. Um looks like they've got it made. Uh but obviously looks can be deceiving and and that's the way it is
everywhere. >> And this was a couple that even, you know, Cory's defense attorney said that
they were a flawed couple that they had even contemplated divorce at one point. But, you know, the families have said,
you know, they were trying to patch things up. So, there's going to be two sides to this very intriguing story.
But, I want to talk about a little about that children's book. I actually have a
copy of it in front of me. Are you with me? Um, and Corey actually dedicates this book to Eric, to his memory. And
you see in this picture, he's sort of the angel at the center right here. and she dedicates it to my amazing husband
and a wonderful father. So she was arrested a month after this book was published.
>> This book really, I think, served to sort of turn things into a boiling point
in this case, right? Uh there was already no love lost between Corey Richen's side of the family,
specifically Corey and her uh siblings and her mother and um the actual family of Eric Richens, his sisters and his
father especially. >> There are also allegations of you know money being the motive here. Corey was
in a house flipping real estate business which as you said on the surface she appeared to be successful. In fact, that
celebratory drink that, you know, the reason they were having that was she had just closed on a huge property that she
bought not far from Park City and Eric knew about this and signed off on this according to to Corey's family. And uh
but that added to her debt. She was in over her head by over $4 million, which also coincidentally was about the amount
that Eric's estate is worth. Right. So, that's what the prosecution says. Now, the defense will say, "Hey, listen.
Corey knew from the get-go that Eric's money was tied up in a trust. She did not have access to that trust. Why would
she kill the father of her children knowing that she couldn't access that money?" Um, that is what they one of the
things that their case is going to hinge on, that Eric Richens was worth much more to Corey Richens, alive rather than
dead. But she took out an insurance policy in Eric's name without him knowing about it. According to the
prosecution, they say that she forged his signature on that insurance policy. Um, there is going to be a lot in this
case that we're going to get involved with here, but day one, the jury heard opening statements. Here is prosecutor
Brad Bledworth. It is the evening of March the 3, 2022. The defendant, Corey Richens,
her husband Eric Richens, and their three children, 9-year-old Carter, 7-year-old Ashton, and 5-year-old
Weston, are at their home in Camas. Eric Richens live for his three boys. At 7:22 PM,
Corey Richen's boyfriend, Robert Josh Grossman, texts Corey Richens an image of two
people romantically kissing. The image is captioned, "Love you." At 8:36, Corey Richens replies,
"Love you." The boys go to bed. Corey Richens makes Eric a drink and takes it to him in their bedroom. He
drinks on the bed. She departs the bedroom. Corey Richens returns to the bedroom at
about 3:00 a.m. She feels that Eric is cold. She nudges him. He does not respond.
She sees that he is stiff and pale. His mouth is wide open. At 3:06 a.m., Corey Richens unlocks her
cell phone. She takes she travels 243 feet beginning at 3:08 a.m. She unlocks her cell phone again at
3:10, 3:15, and twice at 3:19. At 3:21, Corey Richens unlocks her cell phone and calls 911.
Paramedics respond, but they are unable to revive Eric. He has no pulse. He is cold.
They pronounce him dead at 3:58 a.m. on March the 4th, but they think he has been dead a while.
Natalie, we saw this really dramatic body camera video and like we haven't seen any of that yet. And you can see
Cory coming out um in pajamas talking to the deputies. >> I just I when I sleep in my clothes, I
wake up and I go back in my own bed and I just crawled over on his side and >> Oh no.
>> And he was laying in bed. >> Okay. What? >> He was on his back on the bed and I
>> Okay. And he was on You said he was on his back. >> Okay. Where Where are your children now?
>> He's asleep in that room. Two are awake with their ear to the door. >> Please don't come out. So, this is the
first time that Matt that I'm hearing or seeing an emotional Corey Richens, you know, from that body cam footage.
However, the prosecution isn't buying it. You know, Corey's behavior that night, they make the case as well as her
digital footprint and the timing to when she made the 911 call. They're saying all of that doesn't really add up. And
what's interesting, Matt, is according to the prosecution, that was not even, you know, the first time they alleged
that Corey possibly tried to poison Eric with fentinel on an occasion before on around Valentine's Day, right, of 2022.
>> He tried to that she tried to poison him possibly with fentinyl uh in a sandwich.
Uh he got sick from the sandwich, survived. Uh apparently the defense said it was an allergic reaction. It could
have just been a bad sandwich or it could have been something else. But again, there's no direct evidence
showing what that might have been. At this point, that's just an allegation. >> But at that time, Eric was apparently
already telling friends that he believed that Cory had poisoned him. So, you know, that's a pretty strong allegation
to make and he had to have reason to think that his life was at risk. So on the other side of this, how is the
defense now explaining Eric's death? >> So the defense maintains that Eric likely overdosed from taking uh at least
one or more marijuana gummies that he did not know were laced with fentinel. Um and actually we heard Corey on that
uh body camera footage when um first responders arrived saying that yeah, sometimes Eric would take marijuana
gummies to deal with pain. He was also diagnosed with limes disease um and worked as a stonemason and was pretty
well known to have suffered from very serious knee pain and back pain as well. >> Well, let's play a little bit of defense
attorney Kathy Neestor making that case. >> He ingested a fatal dose of fentinel.
What you will never hear after 4 years of investigation where as recently as two weeks ago they were back searching
that house after four years of investigation and five weeks of this trial. You know what you're never going
to hear is how that fendel got inside of him because there is zero evidence of that.
>> But you know the prosecution does have a witness who has come forward. She said
she sold Corey Fentinel. Her name is Carmen Lober. What do we know about her connection to Corey?
>> Carmen Lobber is probably the most important witness. Um, she had been employed by Corey as a house cleaner in
her real estate business and she has a history. She has a history of drug charges, criminal history. Um, and she
eventually in a subsequent iteration of her testimony to investigators told them
that she sold Corey Fentinel on a couple of separate occasions. But what we heard
today, what we heard the other day actually in court is Kathy Netor saying, "Well,
Carmen Lober actually changed her testimony." You're going to hear Carmen testify now
that Corey asked her for fentinel. But what you're going to hear is that that was not Carmen's original story. That
when Carmen was originally interviewed, she said no mention of fentinil. It was all about Oxy. There was no fentinel.
Carmen talks like she doesn't even know what fentinel is. Right? >> Guess when she changes her testimony.
She changes her testimony when the police say, "Hey, you know what? We caught you. We caught you with drugs. We
caught you with guns. And if you don't say what we want you to say, you're going to jail for a really, really long
time. Federal and state. But we're going to give you a ticket. We're going to give you a free ticket to get out of all
the trouble you're in. But you got to say Corey said federal and she changes her story. You're going to get to
evaluate her credibility and what you think of her. >> Yeah. So Carmen Loberers's credibility
is clearly going to come into question, but also that whole timeline of what happened. So there's going to be
questions as to what was done by the responding officers. And did they really secure the scene enough or get what they
needed? For example, where's the glassear? Perhaps from the Moscow mule that Cory said she made. Did they even
test it? Apparently not, according to the defense. >> And we saw some of that Tuesday in
court. Um, one of the investigators on the scene right away uh was asked by the defense, "Well, you know, Corey told you
that that Eric had taken these pot gummies. Did Did you ask to see the bags of the gummies? Did you ask to secure
any of that?" And he said, "No." But the defense is going to say, "Hey, listen. This is basic police work. A young man
who is 39 tragically dies in his bed. There's a bottle was beside Eric's bed for
prescription drugs from 2016. His wife tells you that he's been taking THC gummies. You can connect the dots there
and start to do even a slightly more thorough investigation. And so this is one of the reasons that the defense and
Corey Richens and her people all along and family have said that law enforcement failed her.
Moving back now to the family. What did they have to say? >> You know, it's very emotional. This is
the worst day in this family's lives. And I think that the prosecution very capably presented that and it brought
back the fact that Eric is a victim here. Eric died somehow in a way that he should not have died, right? A
39year-old man shouldn't drop dead like that for no reason. So something went wrong. Um Eric's father on the stand,
you know, this is quite obviously something that will mar him forever. Eric's sister Katie also on the stand
still tearing up frequently. >> On the morning that Eric died, did Corey Richens say anything about the house
that they were living in? >> Yes, she told me. sold the house, the 282 Willow Court that they were living
in um with their kids. Um she told me she was going to sell it. >> Did anything about that strike you as
odd? >> Yes. I honestly could not function. I couldn't even figure out like what was
for dinner that night. I had just lost one of the most important people in my whole entire life.
and she was planning on selling the house that he had just been wheeled out of, closing on a multi-million dollar
mansion. I could not wrap my head around it. >> So, in her testimony, Natalie, um Katie
described seeing Corey come out of the room. She seemed to indicate that that she was emotionless, almost wooden,
incredibly businesslike. Um, but that was pretty quickly shot out of the air by the defense team, which then played
that body camera video of Corey and seemed to really catch Eric's sister, Katie, in a pretty big
mischaracterization. It's unclear at this point if Cory knew whether she had access to the trust
because she didn't. And the surviving trustee was Katie, Eric's sister. So only she could be able to sell the
house. >> You know, beyond all of that was going on financially as far as a motive, there
is the allegation as well from both sides. Both families saying they had both had affairs. According to Corey's
family, Eric had had an affair in the past. But now we're learning, and I'm hearing this, you know, for the first
time during this trial, that Corey was also having an affair. At the time, she was even exchanging text messages just
shortly before Eric's death with her lover, who was named Robert Josh Grossman. And we're seeing that in
court. We're seeing those exchanges >> three weeks before Eric's death, 15 days before Eric's death, one day before the
charge, attempted murder. Corey Richens text messaged Josh Gman, "If I was divorced right now and asked you to
marry me tomorrow, you would? I just want to lay on the couch and cuddle you. watch a murder
documentary and snuggle. 5 days after the charged attempted murder and 11 days before the charged
murder, Corey Richens text messaged Josh Gman, "Babe, I miss you. I want you today, every day. Not just sexually, but
physically, mentally. Every day when I wake up, I do want a future together. I do want you figure life out together.
If he could just go away and you could just be here. Life would be so perfect. I love you. I don't know what my deal is
today. I'm sorry. But wait, there's actually more here. The prosecution presented evidence that three months
before Eric's death, Cory had booked a Caribbean vacation for herself and Grossman. Just over two weeks after Eric
Richen's death, Corey Richens text messaged her boyfriend a link to the secret St. Martins's Resort and
Spa in the Caribbean and asked, "Are we there yet? One month and five days after Eric
Richen's death, Corey Richens texted, "I think I want you to be my husband one day."
So, I mentioned this is the first time that I'm hearing about Corey having an affair because when I talked with her
family two years ago, her mother, Lisa Darden, said that Eric was the one who had been having an affair, that he had
even, you know, they they they had talked about getting a divorce. They had gone through couples counseling. And
actually, friends and and some of the other family members say this was the best they'd ever seen Corey and Eric at
the time. So, you know, clearly there are two sides. We don't really know what was going on in this couple's life. But
what is clear is that they had an imperfect marriage as even the defense attorney Netor admitted that they had an
imperfect marriage. But does that make the case for murder? I >> I mean, I think that's the precise
question that this entire trial hinges on, Natalie. Um, there's a lot of smoke, right? There's infidelity. There's debt.
Um, obviously no love lost between both sides of the family. Some really troubled and and and and choppy waters
between this couple. And it's very much he said, she said at this point. Um, and
I think because the prosecution doesn't have that smoking gun, there is no piece of
evidence that directly links Cory to delivering fentinel to Eric that killed him. they are building this
circumstantial case, all of this other stuff around her life that pointed to her wanting to get rid of her husband.
Um, and so how fully can they flesh that picture out? That is what we're going to
see in this fiveweek long trial. They're going to go at it again and again. And what the defense is saying is that, hey,
they're going to say that she was flawed. And you know what? We admit it. They hired this private investigator who
found out all these terrible things and then delivered them to police investigators. And you know what? It's
true. She is imperfect. She is flawed. But the defense is saying she is not a murderer. The prosecution will come back
with, "Well, jury, you believe what you see. All of the stuff we believe points to one thing, and that is Corey Richend
Richens willfully tried to murder her husband somehow. We don't exactly know how, but with fentinel at some point
that night. >> I think Matt, what's what's really going to be interesting in this case is to see
whether or not the defense is willing to put Corey Richens on the stand. And, you
know, that would be very compelling testimony. I imagine the jury would want to hear that, but that would be a huge
risk for the defense to take, right? >> Yeah. It's a Hail Mary. And typically the defense team will do it when a they
believe that their client is so good and so smooth and so reliable that they are
not going to trip up on direct or on cross-examination because you can imagine what that
prosecution team is going to do if they get Corey Richens on the stand. They're going to go after her. um we don't know
if it's going to happen. Maybe she is so compelling that they think yes, she can
be a very strong asset for us. But in these trials, you never know and 5 weeks is a long time. So, you know, we could
see you can also tell Natalie that they are already trying to build the case for
appeal. Even if they don't, even if Cy is found guilty, they are trying to build the case for appeal that she can't
get a fair trial in Summit County because Eric Richen's family is so powerful, is so successful, is so
connected to people in that county that she deserves another shot at this. So, you know, all of these are
possibilities. >> We're definitely going to be watching this one. It is a fascinating trial. you
know, 5 weeks as you said, but it will go quickly because every day there are fascinating new details coming forward.
And Matt, you are the guy who's going to be watching it for us. So, we appreciate
that. Thank you so much. >> Yeah, it's been riveting so far. >> And a reminder to all of you who are
listening or watching that you can find our showcast, classics, and special episodes of the 48 hours podcast
wherever you get your podcast.

Grief children's book author Kouri Richins is on trial in Utah, accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule in 2022. Prosecutors say she killed him for financial gain, while also engaging in an extramarital affair. The defense argues his death was an accidental overdose. In a special episode, "48 Hours" correspondent Natalie Morales speaks with CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman about the key evidence, the prosecution's motive theory, and what to watch as the Utah murder trial unfolds.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Corey Richens is on trial for allegedly murdering her husband Eric for financial gain amid claims of poisoning and infidelity.

Key points

Corey Richens Trial Begins. The trial of Corey Richens, accused of murdering her husband Eric, is underway in Utah.
Allegations of Infidelity. Both Corey and Eric had affairs, complicating the narrative around their marriage.
The Children's Book Controversy. Corey Richens wrote a children's book on grief after her husband's death, raising eyebrows.
The 911 Call Timeline. Corey's actions leading up to the 911 call raise suspicions about her involvement.
Carmen Lober's Testimony. A key witness claims to have sold fentanyl to Corey, but her credibility is questioned.
Corey Richens on the Stand. The defense may risk putting Corey Richens on the stand, a potentially compelling but dangerous move.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Looks can be deceiving.

4:20WatchFeb 25, 2026

Tension

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