Kouri Richins has awaited trial for close to three years in Summit County. Her day in court begins Monday, Feb. 23.
The Kamas-area mother and former real estate agent is accused of fatally poisoning her husband Eric Richins in March 2022. She has pleaded not guilty.
Richins wrote a children’s book about grief before being arrested the following year and has been held in the Summit County jail ever since.
Her defense attorneys said a few days before trial that the prosecution’s story “has dominated headlines” but “bears little resemblance to the truth.”
“We welcome the courtroom, where evidence is bound by rules, not sensational coverage,” they said. “Kouri is a mother who wants to go home to her children. We are confident this jury will make that possible.”
The jury consists of eight Summit County residents and four alternates.
Summit County prosecutors, the defense team and 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik met Feb. 19 to draft the instructions the jurors will receive ahead of trial.
The jury hasn’t been sequestered but its members have been ordered not to follow the case in the news. Many who closely followed the case were disqualified during the jury selection process.
In the years and weeks leading to the trial, news outlets have reported on developments the jury won’t be allowed to factor into its verdict.
Mrazik ruled Feb. 18 on what evidence attorneys will be permitted to include during the trial.
One of the things the jury won’t be allowed to consider in its decision is Richins’ assault of her sister-in-law after Eric Richins’ death.
Prosecutors will be allowed to present a few redacted pages of a letter Richins wrote in jail. Corrections officers seized the “Walk the Dog” letter they say they found in an LSAT book in her cell.
That set off a lengthy debate over whether the writings were protected by attorney-client privilege.
Various notes investigators found while searching the Richins family home in Francis, Utah, are allowed as well. That includes an orange notebook Mrazik’s ruling says contains apparent journal entries from the day before and day of Eric Richins’ death.
The ruling also states the jury may see body camera footage as first responders arrived to the Richins’ home back in 2022.
Kouri Richins’ trial is scheduled at the Summit County Justice Center from Feb. 23 to March 27.
