Accused Utah widow, Kouri Richins, facing charges of murder and drug allegations linked to her spouse’s fentanyl overdose, is now under scrutiny for witness tampering, following revelations from court documents. The suspected poisoning incident centers on Eric Richins, her late husband, who was reportedly administered an overdose of fentanyl in a beverage on the night of his death. As of now, Kouri Richins has abstained from entering a plea and is in custody.
In pursuit of evidence, on September 14, enforcement authorities executed a search in her jail cell and uncovered a six-page handwritten letter. Addressed to her mother, Lisa Darden, it contained manipulative directives for her sibling to deliver false testimonies. The recently filed motion for no contact order in a Utah court reveals this.
Elaborating on the letter’s content, it allegedly prompts Lisa Darden to manipulate her son, Ronald Darden, Kouri’s brother, to perjure himself in the matter. It also implies that the defense counsel seeks to establish a connection between Eric Richins procuring drugs from Mexico and the fatal consumption of fentanyl.
Creating a storyline for her brother Ronald Darden, Richins falsely represents that Eric had sourced Pain Pills and fentanyl from Mexico through acquaintances at the ranch. The motion unequivocally terms this an act of witness tampering, a third-degree felony in Utah law.
As per the law, “A person is guilty of witness tampering if they try to influence another individual to testify or provide false information during an ongoing investigation or trial,” the motion quotes. The ongoing inquiry remains inconclusive on whether the provocative letter was passed on to her mother or any other party.
In addition to this, the motion, informs of a separate incident involving a video conference call. On the morning of September 13, Kouri Richins supposedly presented another written message for her mother to silently read. This note was not found in her jail cell, leading to the assumption that it may have been destroyed or disposed of.
Despite these allegations, Richins’ defense argues the state’s public discloser of the suspected handwritten letter is unlawful and infringes upon the gag order in this case. The defense insists that the contents of the letter have been misconstrued by the state, and without a credible or good faith basis, they have alleged witness tampering.
Eric Richins, 39, was discovered lifeless at the foot of their bed in March 2022. An autopsy and subsequent toxicology report unveiled approximately five times the lethal amount of fentanyl in his system. Kouri Richins defended herself by stating that she had only handed her husband a Moscow Mule cocktail in their Kamas, Utah, bedroom before retiring to their son’s room. She discovered her husband’s lifeless form on the floor at around 3 a.m., she claims.
Conspicously, around a year after her husband’s death, Kouri Richins penned a children’s book, “Are You With Me?”, which tackled the subject of dealing with sorrow following the loss of a loved one. CNN has reportedly requested comments from Kouri Richins’s attorney, Lisa Darden, and Ronald Darden regarding the ongoing issue.
