a day ago
New jury trial set for Kamas mother charged with killing her husband
A request for an appeal in Kouri Richins' case has caused a 10-month delay in her case.
New jury trial dates were scheduled in a virtual hearing on Friday, with jury selection beginning on Feb. 10, 2026, and the trial beginning two weeks later on Feb. 23.
Her April trial was delayed when her attorneys said they wished to appeal a decision to only allow jurors from Summit County, as the court declined Richins' request to also have jurors from Salt Lake County.
Richins is a mother and real estate agent who is charged with murdering her husband and attempting to murder him a month earlier. She was charged over a year after his death.
With the new trial, her attorneys asked for more time to select a jury — since now it will come from only residents of Summit County — and for the trial itself to be one week longer than initially planned because of the length of the witness list. Kathy Nester said Richins may testify, and if she does, it would be 'very lengthy.' Other witnesses will also need a lot of time, in addition to video and audio tapes, Nester said.
In Friday's hearing, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik also set dates for additional hearings before the trial and asked attorneys to work together to decide when certain documents will be filed in order to have everything ready for the trial. There are currently four motions ready for oral argument and a decision, including requests to exclude the defense's expert witnesses, a motion from Richins' attorneys to not allow the 'Walk the Dog!!' letter into trial and prosecutor's request to bring evidence," Mrazik said.
Kouri Richins' attorneys said they still wish to file at least one motion to ask for additional evidence to not be allowed in trial.
Mrazik said the court will send jury questionnaires to 2,000 people, which is more than were sent for the previously scheduled trial. The court planned for six days to question jurors, with 40 potential jurors coming in each day.
On March 4, 2022, Richins called dispatch to report her husband, Eric Richins, 39, was unresponsive in the early morning hours. She is accused of administering a fatal dose of fentanyl that night and has also been charged with giving a lethal dose of drugs to her husband on Valentine's Day, less than three weeks before.
She was ordered to stand trial for aggravated murder and attempted murder, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
Richins will face a separate trial for two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two additional counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.
Her attorneys said in a statement after the hearing that they are relieved she has a trial date and are confident 'once the facts are heard it will be clear to all that Kouri is innocent.'
'She is ready for the truth to come out — and of the false narratives that have defined this case to be confronted in a court of law,' they said.
Richins' next hearing will be on Aug. 1.
