Kouri Richins: Behind the Facade | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

My sweet baby boys. I know that today you don't want to speak to me, have a relationship with
me, or you may think you hate me, and that's okay. I will never be angry at you for your
feelings. >> That was Kouri Richins addressing her children on May 13th at a sentencing
hearing. It was the first time any of us heard from Richins since the Utah mother
of three was found guilty of aggravated murder in her husband Eric Richins' 2022
fentanyl overdose death. She was also found guilty of four other charges including attempted aggravated murder,
two counts of insurance fraud, and forgery. >> And now I will use any opportunity I can
to get a message to you. Even if that means sharing it publicly to the world, fully restrained in my
jail clothes, in one of the most horrible situations possible. >> She was sentenced to life in prison
without parole. Welcome to the season finale of Post Mortem. I'm your host 48 Hours
correspondent Anne-Marie Green, and joining me today is 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales to discuss
the dramatic conclusion of a case that has certainly gripped the nation. Natalie, welcome.
>> Thank you, Anne-Marie, for having me again, and boy, is this explosive, this sentencing hearing. Um, we not only
heard statements from Kouri for the first time, but also from Eric's sisters, also from Eric and Kouri's
children in a statement, which you'll hear as read by their counselors. Now, this is a case, as you know, it's been
getting a lot of media attention. We've reported on it extensively as well. We're going to break it all down for you
today. >> All right, so we are going to get into this, but first, a reminder, as usual,
everyone, if you haven't watched or listened to this episode, it is called Cory Richens behind the facade. Go check
it out now and then come on back for this conversation. And so, as you sort of point out, Natalie, a lot of people
had been following this case, but it has gone on for quite a while. So, why don't you give us a bit of a
recap? >> Well, let's go back to March of 2022 and, you know, Cory Richens at the time
was 31 years old, Eric 39 years old. They seemed to have it all by outward appearances. They seemed to be in a good
marriage. They had three young sons, but it was in the early morning hours of March 4th, 2022 that Cory called 911 and
she called and told the first responders that she had fallen asleep with one of the kids when she put him to bed. And
then when she woke up, she went back to her bedroom and she found Eric cold to the touch and not breathing. So, when
the first responders arrived, they tried to save Eric, but it was already too late. Now, initially authorities thought
that Eric may have died from an accidental drug overdose, but as investigators dug deeper, they suspected
that Cory poisoned Eric for financial gain. >> So, I think part of the reason why this
case caught so many people's attention is because Richens notoriously published a children's book about grief. This is
following her husband's death before being charged with murder along with the insurance fraud charges and the forgery
charges. But then in February of 2026, nearly 4 years after Eric's death, the trial
finally begins in Utah in a courthouse there. What was the prosecution's case? >> The prosecution alleged that Cory
poisoned Eric with fentanyl that was served to him either in a Moscow mule cocktail or a lemon drop shot after
apparently previously attempting to poison him via a breakfast sandwich. This was on Valentine's Day, which was 2
weeks earlier. The prosecution painted Kouri as a killer who was set on taking her husband's money because she was
deeply in debt with her house flipping business. And they pointed to the evidence that she was also the
beneficiary of multiple life insurance policies on her husband and forged a policy as well. Now, the prosecution
said that Eric Richens was considering divorcing his wife when he was killed and that they had argued over this
purchase of this multi-million dollar mansion that she was trying to flip for her real estate business. The
prosecution also said that Kouri was having an affair and her former paramour, Robert Joshy, I think he goes
by Josh more commonly, Grossman, he actually testified to their relationship and the affair that they had during the
trial. And the prosecution presented evidence that about 3 months before Eric's death, Kouri had even gone so far
as to book a Caribbean vacation for herself and for Grossman. Although, it turns out they never ended up going on
the trip cuz they broke up apparently after Eric died. >> Huh. Okay, so then a lot of motive there.
What about the defense? What did the defense argue? >> So, the defense said Eric was dependent
on drugs to deal with his chronic pain and he had back issues apparently. And they maintained that he most likely died
from an accidental overdose. Now, Kouri's attorney said that Eric might have actually gotten the fentanyl
himself when he had traveled to Mexico just a few weeks before he died. The defense also implied that he might have
taken a marijuana gummy that he didn't know was laced with fentanyl. And it was really interesting and I think kind of
shocking to the jurors and you're going to hear from them in just a little bit. The defense made the decision not to
call any witnesses and Corey did not testify during the trial. Why did the defense think that this was the best
approach? Many defense attorneys would advise their clients against testifying on their own behalf because it just
opens themselves up to then being cross-examined and harshly generally cross-examined by the prosecution. And
you know, in fact, I asked Sky Lazarro, who was Corey's original defense attorney, about that. She made the point
that if the defense also had called witnesses, the state then would have the opportunity to rebut the witnesses and
it's not the defense that has the burden of proof here. It is the prosecution. And Sky pointed out that the defense
likely thought they were in a strong position. In fact, um Greg Hall, who is Corey's really good
friend and has been her supporter through all of this. He was there during a lot of the trial. Greg said that when
the case wrapped, that the defense felt and Corey in particular felt really strong about their position. They felt
like they were winning. >> Well, I mean, their their senses were off because the jury deliberated for
about 3 hours before returning the verdict, right? They found her guilty on all five counts including aggravated
murder, attempted murder and two counts of insurance fraud and forgery. One of the things that is new in this episode
is 48 Hours actually interviewed two of the jurors from the trial, Laura and Eric and they requested that we only use
their first names. But they gave us some insight into, you know, what the jury was considering, how they deliberated.
What did they have to say? >> They both said, um Eric and Laura, that the minute the trial ended and they
walked back into the deliberation room, they felt completely convinced of Kouri's guilt, but they didn't know how
the others felt yet, and Laura was the foreperson on the case. Um, but she said she could just see that everybody was
bursting at the seams to talk. They shared what they thought about the witnesses, the strengths, the
weaknesses. Um, but when they did take that vote, Laura said it was quick. I mean,
deliberating for just 3 hours, it was pretty short, especially when you consider this is a murder charge and all
these other charges as well. Um, what evidence was the most convincing for them? So, the juror Eric felt there were
some inconsistencies with Kouri's story and with what was actually presented as evidence. They pointed to her behavior
right in the aftermath after discovering her husband was cold to the touch. They
first talk about that 911 call, as well as the video that came from the responding officer's body cam, and they
said it didn't seem like Kouri was trying very hard to resuscitate him. Now, you can contrast that with these
text messages that Kouri exchanged with a friend, where Kouri said that she was screaming, she was beating on Eric's
chest, trying to get him to come back to life. They were also looking on the body
cam footage of the responding officers to see how Kouri was acting in those moments, and Kouri
is hiding her face a couple of times behind her hands. Like, you don't see tears.
Laura, the juror, said, "It's difficult to judge how someone grieves or how somebody acts in a traumatic situation."
But, again, what was most impactful to Laura was the time that it took for Kouri, apparently, to start the CPR. So,
the prosecution in its closing arguments actually had a stopwatch to show that it
was approximately 6 minutes between when the 911 operator told Kouri to start and
when it appears that Kouri on the other side of that call actually says she started.
>> Wow. >> And the most convincing piece of that evidence came from the digital download
expert who was able to analyze the phone data and determined that Kouri did not put her phone on speakerphone, that she
was still holding it up to her ear when she said she was doing CPR, which again should be done with both hands,
suggesting she wasn't actually doing it or she was doing it one-handed, so not really giving it the full effort. Then
beyond that, you know, Kouri's money trouble really was the biggest motivating factor that they saw. That
was the main motive that that convinced [music] them that Kouri was responsible for Eric's murder.
>> So then, 2 months after her conviction on what would have been Eric's 44th birthday, Kouri Richins is back in court
for sentencing. She's now convicted, she's in shackles, she's wearing a prison uniform.
This sentencing hearing lasts nearly 5 hours. The judge allowed a lot of statements into the record, including
Kouri's three children, who are still quite young, 9, 11, and 13. They have prepared written statements that are
read by counselors. >> Right. And again, this is the first time that we're hearing from these three
boys. Um, the first time that they're expressing their feelings publicly. Uh, I want to play a few portions from that
court hearing. Now, the first statement was written by the youngest of the boys,
Weston. His counselor read his statement. >> I feel a lot better about myself now
than I did [clears throat] with Kouri. I can't ever see my dad again. I want her to go to prison forever.
If she got out, I would be so scared, really mad, and I wouldn't want to go with her anywhere.
>> I mean, it is heartbreaking. All of the three boys expressed feeling safer with
Kouri being locked up. The oldest explicitly asked the judge to give her that life sentence.
>> So, it gives you a a sense of you know, what what has been lost in this relationship with her children.
>> So, Ashton is Kouri Richins' middle child who accused Kouri of not caring for him or his brothers, but he also
accuses Kouri of harming the pets. He referred to his brothers in the statement just by their initials. Let's
listen to some portions of his statement read out loud by his counselor. >> You took away my dad for no reason other
than greed, and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends. You were not caring and watching over me
and my brothers. I had to be a parent to W. C and I would walk him to the bus stop,
feed him, and watch him. You wouldn't let our dog outside, and then the dog would pee inside. You created this
problem, then you would smack my dog on the head as hard as you could. You wouldn't let
me put my kitten in the garage for safety at night, and we found it eaten by raccoons the next day. You
wouldn't let us turn on and use the heater lamp for the chickens and bunnies, and they froze to
death. >> This is kind of all new information, right? This wasn't Was this sort of
stuff brought up at the trial? >> Nothing Nothing of this was brought up at the trial. What came into question
was how she was as a wife. >> Mhm. >> Not as how she was as a mother. >> These two children would have been quite
young at the time when they were living with her. Um Carter is the eldest son. And Carter
says that Kouri was often drunk, that uh that she would lock him in his room. Um
here's another counselor reading his statement. >> I felt like I had to take care of my
siblings. Ash mostly took care of me though because I was locked in my room. Ash would bring me food. Kouri would
lock me up if I told her she was drunk. This happened pretty much daily. I feel angry that she locked me in my room.
>> We should point out that about these statements, yeah, they're not calling her mom. They're
calling her Kouri. But we don't know if prompts were given to the children to get those kinds of statements or what
kinds of questions they were even asked by their counselors. >> Um the court also heard from Katie, that
is Eric's sister. Want to play some of that sound. >> There is no question that this case is
famous and that Kouri is now famous. But what Kouri never mentions in talking about her fame and notoriety are the
reasons why this case is now famous. >> [snorts] >> It is famous for how appalling and
sickening it is. It is famous because a mother meticulously planned to kill her husband, killed him while their children
were sleeping in the next room, and then had the audacity to hold herself out as
the author of a children's book about grief and loss. It is famous because she spent time
Googling luxury prisons for the rich in America. It is famous because from her jail cell, she scripted a bunch of phony
testimony so that her brother could perpetrate a fraud on the court. >> No love lost there.
>> Absolutely not. I I she's not just angry about the loss of her brother, but she clearly is disgusted by
Kouri Richins like that and her character, the type of character she thinks she is.
Eric has another sister, her name is Amy. She also spoke. >> I didn't just lose my brother.
I lost my sister-in-law. I lost someone I considered my friend. We had good times together.
That loss is so complicated now, your honor. Because it forces you to grieve someone
who is still alive while facing the horror of what they have done. It is grief that doesn't resolve.
It just sits there heavy every day. >> [snorts] >> This crime has fractured our family in
ways outsiders cannot understand. Kouri did not just kill Eric. She attempted to kill the spirit of everyone
who loved him. She lied to his children. She lied to the world and has shown no remorse while dancing on his grave for
profit. >> Mhm. >> Amy, I think is a little more retrospective and looking back on
the relationship that she had with Kouri and talking about that loss. Interesting
to hear her say, "I didn't just lose my brother, I lost my sister-in-law. I lost
someone I considered my friend." Um there were other people who spoke though on behalf of Kouri, like her friend Greg
who described her as a loving mother who always went out of her way to help other
people who were in need. And then her brother Ronnie said this and as Ronnie was speaking, Kouri was crying.
>> We don't with 100% certainty know what happened to Eric. No one does, but we do know with 100%
certainty >> [snorts] >> that it wasn't caused by you. We know that. The police know it, the
prosecution knows it, and everyone watching this trial knows it. >> [snorts] >> They cannot prove their theory, just the
opposite, and yet here we are. For some reason, unbeknownst to us, really bad things happen to really good
people. Kouri, you were just really too good of a person, I guess. >> Very stark contrast to the other
statements that we heard. >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean, one side paints her as just so heartless and so evil and so
greedy, and here you have, you know, the other side is like, "No, she was an incredible mother and an incredible
friend and an incredible sibling." >> Right, the too good of a person. Um you know, we did speak with Ronnie when we
first reported on this case on 48 Hours, and he clearly believes in her innocence, and the same goes for
Greg Hall, who I interviewed once again for this most recent hour. And they they all feel that the jury
missed the opportunity to get to know her. And you know, I mentioned that Kouri had been crying when she was
listening to her one brother there, but she had a lot of facial expressions during the sentencing hearing. She
looked surprised, she looked incredulous. She wasn't stone-faced, let's put it that way.
>> No, certainly not. I mean, the one thing that you you could say about Kouri, she was very expressive.
She at one point appeared to be smirking, she rolled her eyes, it seemed, when Katie was speaking, Eric's
sister. People look at that, and and they will make judgments based on that. Of course, she's already been judged by
the jury, they've already found her guilty, but now it's her sentencing hearing.
>> And then, of course, we heard from Kouri Richins herself, and she spoke for about
30 minutes in a statement that was sort of a letter for her sons. She expressed,
you know, regret for some of her behavior, but notably, she maintained her innocence, even apologizing to her
sons for how the case unfolded. I'm going to play a clip of that. >> I'm sorry. >> [snorts]
>> The eight people from a jury who have never met you or me or our family had the right to determine our future.
And they did that in less than 3 hours. >> [snorts] >> In a perfect world, there might be
justice. But in a perfect world, nothing ever goes wrong. Tragedies don't happen.
>> [snorts] >> Some think the verdict or the sentencing will be the answer that they seek or
that they need, but it won't. It will only give them something else to think about for a while.
It may help to disperse some of their hurt or their resentment, >> [snorts] >> but it won't relieve it.
This grief will outlive us all. >> And what's so interesting of you know, what she said there in my
opinion is she says, "I'm so sorry for the jury's decision. I'm so sorry the jury found me
guilty." She said that her sons have the right to be angry, of course, sad and confused
and that quote, "One day when this is all over, we can sit down and talk about all of this and sort it out." And she
ended by saying she will continue to call her boys every day even if her calls are blocked and that she loves
them forever because you know, Kouri has not had any real contact with the boys in all of these years since she was you
know, awaiting trial. So, the judge is taking all of this in. And the judge sort of openly debates whether or not to
sentence Kouri Richins to 25 years to life or life without parole. Uh he weighs the impact of the sentence
on her three sons and really expresses a desire that everyone impacted by Eric's
death find their way to a state of peace. Ultimately, the judge sentences Kouri Richins to life without the possibility
of parole. Natalie, is this the last we will hear from Kouri Richins? >> Probably not. Um according to her team,
Kouri plans to appeal the verdict, so this is going to keep going. Um you know, but
for the boys, I think, and for Eric's family, they feel that it's over. >> Mhm. >> And they want it to be done with.
>> Mhm. And and I mean, do we have any idea how her sons are doing today? >> Well, we know that they're living with
with Katie, that's Eric's sister, and her husband, Clint. They've really tried to keep them
away from all of this attention. You know, now they've lost both parents um and extended family as well. So, um the
ripple effects of something like this will continue. And and [music] unfortunately,
you know, it's the children who really pay the greatest price. >> Absolutely. Um well, Natalie, thank you so much for
joining me today for Postmortem. >> Good to talk about this with you again, Anne Marie.
>> If you liked this episode, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

"48 Hours" correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Natalie Morales discuss the case of Kouri Richins, a Utah mom who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering her husband, on Post Mortem after two trial jurors break down their take on the evidence.

True crime. Social 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

Kouri Richins is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband, with emotional testimonies from her children and Eric's family.

Key points

Kouri Richins Sentenced to Life. Kouri Richins was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of her husband.
The Prosecution's Case. The prosecution alleged that Kouri poisoned her husband for financial gain.
Children's Heartbreaking Statements. Kouri's children expressed their feelings about their mother during the sentencing hearing.
Kouri's Appeal Plans. Kouri plans to appeal her verdict, indicating the legal battle isn't over yet.
The Ripple Effects. The tragic consequences of the case extend beyond the courtroom, affecting the children deeply.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I will never be angry at you for your feelings.

Kouri Richins addressing her children during sentencing.

0:15WatchMay 30, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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