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Prosecutors concede investigators seized notebook from Kouri Richins’ home without warrant

Kouri Richins, the Kamas mother and former real estate agent accused of fatally poisoning her husband, reviews materials with defense attorney Wendy Lewis at an evidentiary hearing Jan. 23, 2025, at the Silver Summit Justice Center near Park City.
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Kouri Richins, the Kamas mother and former real estate agent accused of fatally poisoning her husband, reviews materials with defense attorney Wendy Lewis at an evidentiary hearing Jan. 23, 2025, at the Silver Summit Justice Center near Park City.

Both sides are arguing over which evidence a jury will hear in the highly-anticipated murder trial.

The day Summit County sheriff’s deputies arrested the Kamas mother of three in connection with her husband Eric Richins’ 2022 death, they also seized an orange notebook during a search of the couple’s home.

Now, prosecutors concede investigators didn’t initially have a warrant to take the notebook they found May 8, 2023.

The issue was one of many evidentiary concerns discussed in 3rd District Court during a day-long hearing near Park City Jan. 23.

Defense attorney Kathy Nester (left) looks on as Summit County Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth (right) speaks with a 3rd District judge during an evidentiary hearing in the Kouri Richins murder case Jan. 23, 2025.
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Defense attorney Kathy Nester (left) looks on as Summit County Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth (right) speaks with a 3rd District judge during an evidentiary hearing in the Kouri Richins murder case Jan. 23, 2025.

The former real estate agent will stand trial for murder, attempted murder and financial crimes in April. But first, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik must decide which evidence can be presented in court.

The contents of Kouri Richins’ notebook have not been disclosed, and it’s not clear whether the information it holds is relevant to the case or furthered the murder investigation.

“The officers opened the notebook, read its contents, and then sought an amended warrant with authority to seize the notebook,” defense attorneys said in court documents. They claim the contents are protected by physician-patient privilege because they were for Richins’ therapist.

Regardless, defense attorneys want Mrazik to toss it out as evidence. They contend that by taking it, investigators gleaned information they might not have otherwise known. If Mrazik agrees, that could open the door to disqualifying other evidence.

Mrazik didn’t make a ruling Jan. 23, and prosecutors are expected to argue in the coming weeks that deputies would have inevitably found the notebook, or other evidence that it pointed them toward, lawfully. That could get potentially tainted evidence back on the record.

The defense team also wants the judge to toss out statements Richins made to authorities before her arrest, as well as evidence seized from her home, her person, her cellphones and her Apple account.

The defense is also asking that the so-called Walk the Dog letter be suppressed. Richins wrote it while in custody in 2023, and Summit County seized it, alleging she was asking her family to lie for her on the stand.

Several Summit County Sheriff’s Office employees and Clint Benson, Eric Richins’ brother-in-law, took the stand Jan. 23.

Attorneys will use the witness testimony in written arguments they’ll submit to Mrazik ahead of a second hearing that could decide what evidence jurors will see.

Separately, the Utah Supreme Court has taken up the question of whether to expand the jury pool to Salt Lake County.

The Richins murder case has garnered local, national and international media attention, so both sides are worried about finding impartial jurors.

The next hearing is Feb. 3, when attorneys will present a draft jury selection questionnaire to Mrazik.

Richins has been held in the Summit County Jail for nearly two years awaiting trial and has twice been denied bail.

Updated: January 27, 2025 at 10:33 AM MST
"Illegally" was changed to "without warrant" in the headline because there is not a criminal statute under which Utah prosecutors can charge law enforcement officers who exceed the scope of a warrant or seize evidence without a warrant.
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