Kouri Richins faces nine felonies in connection with her husband Eric Richins’ 2022 overdose death including aggravated murder, attempted murder and financial crimes.
Prosecutors claim she poisoned him with fentanyl before writing a children’s book about grieving his death. Richins has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will stand trial in April.
The Summit County Attorney’s Office alleges Richins’ motive was partly financial, saying she incurred debts in her real estate business. In May, her original attorneys withdrew from the case, and the court appointed Richins public defenders.
Defendants qualify for public defense if they can’t afford an attorney.
Summit County Chief Financial Officer Matt Leavitt said Richins’ defense cost taxpayers an extra $250,000 that wasn’t in the budget this year.
The attorney’s office had requested $404,000 for public defense in 2024 before Richins’ legal team dropped out.
But the council won’t have to approve the use of more taxpayer dollars; the county will draw from funds it saved in other areas.
“We've found some savings within some departments so that we can reallocate,” Leavitt explained to the council. “There's no anticipated increase to the overall general fund budget.”
The extra cash is from facility maintenance savings, employee turnover and performing some financial and IT services in-house.
The Summit County Council approved the accounting changes to the 2024 budget at its meeting Dec. 11, the same day it adopted next year’s budget.
