A judge denied bail for Kouri Richins on Tuesday, she ordered the Utah mother to remain in jail until she stands trial for her husband’s alleged fatal poisoning in 2022.
Richins is accused of it killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. She’s been under arrest since May 2023. Richins wrote a children’s book about grief called “Are You With Me?” after her husband’s death, and appeared on television to discuss her family’s pain.
Defense attorneys recently filed a series of motions in the case. In addition to denying bail, the judge also rejected the request to suspend the charges of attempted murder and aggravated murder, and to expand the number of jurors from 8 to 12.
The judge allowed the defense to expand the geographic area from which the jury could be selected, and also dropped two drug charges. The judge also agreed to separate a real estate case against Richins from her murder trial, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.
Skye Lazaro
“With two charges dismissed and four others dropped, the defense feels more confident. The case against our client is rapidly shrinking, exposing deeper weaknesses at every turn,” said Kathy Nester, Richins’ attorney.
The judge denied bail for the second time for Richins, a mother of three boys. The judge said during the hearing that he denied the bail request in part because of the seriousness of the charges, plus the loss of her business and fraught relationship with her children that could give her reason to flee, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.
“Structurally, she just doesn’t have the same connections to the community that she did back then,” the judge said.
contributed to this report.
