Kouri Richins, the Utah grief writer who faces charges for allegedly killing her husband with a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule, has been accused of witness tampering after officers found a handwritten note in her jail cell that gave instructions on where her family should say her partner got the drugs that killed her, said the prosecutor.
The writer — who is accused of killing Eric Richins, 39, last year — ordered his mother, Lisa Darden, to get Ronald Darden, Kouri’s brother, to testify falsely that Eric received drugs and pills from Mexico, Fox 13 Now reported.
Deputies found the letter in Richins’ cell, where he is being held on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to the outlet.
The search was conducted after the 33-year-old woman suffered a seizure when she was given the wrong medication at the Summit County Jail, the Daily Mail reported.
Sources told the outlet that it was the sixth time Richins had been given the wrong medication.
In a six-page, handwritten letter, he told his mother to instruct his brother to repeat,” Eric told [redacted name] that he got Pain Pills and fentanyl from Mexico from workers on the farm.
Richins allegedly engaged in witness tampering from behind bars in a letter to his mother.AP
“[Redacted name] can say again [the narrative] however he has to do it, but it’s not too short,” he reportedly added.
Richins warned his mother to only talk to Ronald about it in private because he believed Lisa’s house and phone had been hacked.
He also instructs Lisa to get someone named “Lotto” to contact him.
“Tell him not to text me about us doing something together! Like church, skiing, travel! Nothing brings us together, it doesn’t look good,” Richins wrote, according to the Daily Mail.
Richins and her husband, Eric Richins, in an undated photo.Kouri Richins/Facebook
“We are almost at the end, let’s continue. Talk to Ronney before he meets Skye,” he wrote, referring to Skye’s lawyer Lozaro.
“Then tell him to tell Skye at the meeting about the conversation. Hang in there, we’re almost there. Love you to the moon,” he reportedly added.
Prosecutors have alleged that in a video conference Richins held with his mother last week, he held a letter for Lisa to read silently, Fox 13 reported.
“It is significant” that Richins had no contact with his mother or brother because of the newly discovered letter, which constituted witness tampering, prosecutors said in a motion filed Friday.
But Richins’ attorney filed a motion accusing the state of violating his subpoena by filing the letter, which allegedly tainted the jury pool, Fox 13 added.
Richins wrote a tear-jerking book about grief, “Are You With Me?” a year after he allegedly killed Eric with a drink containing vodka and ginger beer — and, in this case, fentanyl.
Her husband had suspected that she was having an extramarital affair, family attorney Greg Skordas said.
Eric previously told friends he believed his wife tried to poison him after she fell ill after a Valentine’s Day dinner a month before her death.
A copy of Richins’ six-page letter written by his mother. The Third Judicial District – Utah
He died a day before Kouri closed a $2 million deal to buy the 22,000-square-foot home – a deal he allegedly refused to pay.
Kouri is suing Eric’s estate, claiming she is entitled to the money and physical assets outlined in their prenuptial agreement.
He is seeking half of the equity in the couple’s home, which is estimated to be worth “at least $1.9 million,” according to the civil suit filed June 9.
The legal title to the home — which the couple bought for $400,000 in 2012 — is in Eric’s name, but the mortgage payments are made out of their joint accounts, according to the lawsuit.
Summit County prosecutors recently said in a recent filing that they would not seek the death penalty in the case. They said they reached the decision in “careful consultation” with Eric’s sister and father.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
