Court Filing Details
IN THE THIRD DISTRICT COURT in and for SUMMIT COUNTY STATE OF UTAH
INFORMATION
THE STATE OF UTAH, Plaintiff,
vs.
KOURI DARDEN RICHINS, D.O.B. April 20, 1990 Defendant.
- Warrant
- OTN No.
- Case No.
- Judge Richard Mrazik
- SCSO Case No. 22-L06363
Charges
The undersigned prosecutor states on information and belief that the defendant, either directly or as a party, committed the crime(s) of:
1. CRIMINAL HOMICIDE, AGGRAVATED MURDER (DV), in violation of Utah Code 76-5-202(2), a first degree felony, as follows, to wit:
That on or about March 3, 2022, in Summit County, State of Utah, the defendant, (a) did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another individual under any of the following circumstances: (xvi) the actor committed homicide by means of the administration of a poison or of any lethal substance or of any substance administered in a lethal amount, dosage, or quantity. Furthermore, the defendant was a cohabitant with the victim.
2. POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE, in violation of Utah Code 58-37-8(1)(a)(iii), a second degree felony, as follows, to wit:
That on or about January, 2022, in Summit County, State of Utah, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess, with intent to distribute, a controlled or counterfeit substance that was (a) classified in Schedule I or II; (b) a controlled substance analog; or (c) gammahydroxybutyric acid as listed in Schedule III.
3. POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE, in violation of Utah Code 58-37-8(1)(a)(iii), a second degree felony, as follows, to wit:
That on or about February 11, 2022, in Summit County, State of Utah, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess, with intent to distribute, a controlled or counterfeit substance that was (a) classified in Schedule I or II; (b) a controlled substance analog; or (c) gammahydroxybutyric acid as listed in Schedule III.
4. POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE, in violation of Utah Code 58-37-8(1)(a)(iii), a second degree felony, as follows, to wit:
That on or about February 26, 2022, in Summit County, State of Utah, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess, with intent to distribute, a controlled or counterfeit substance that was (a) classified in Schedule I or II; (b) a controlled substance analog; or (c) gammahydroxybutyric acid as listed in Schedule III.
Statement of Probable Cause
This Information is supported by a Statement of Probable Cause as follows:
On March 4, 2022 at 03:22 hours, Summit County Sheriff’s Deputies and EMS staff responded to a residence located at 282 Willow Court, in Summit County on the report of an unresponsive male. When they arrived, they found Eric Richins (“Eric”) on the floor at the foot of his bed. Life saving measures were attempted, but Eric was declared deceased.
During interviews with the deceased’s wife, the defendant, KOURI RICHINS (“defendant”), she stated that at around 21:00 hours on March 3, 2022, she and Eric were celebrating the defendant’s closing on a house for her business. Defendant stated that she made Eric a Moscow Mule in the kitchen and brought it to their bedroom where Eric consumed it while sitting in bed. The only people in the house were defendant, Eric, and their children. Defendant stated she went to bed and shortly after went to sleep with one of the children in the child’s bedroom because that the child was having a night terror. Defendant said she awoke around 03:00 hours and came back to her and Eric’s bedroom. She felt Eric and he was cold to the touch. That is when defendant called 911.
Defendant told law enforcement that when she left her room to go to her child’s room, she left her phone plugged in next to her bed and did not take it to her child’s room. However, between when the defendant said she went to child’s room and when she called 911, the status on her phone shows that it was locked and unlocked multiple times and there was also movement recorded on the phone. In addition, tolls on defendant’s phone show that messages were sent and received during that time. These messages were deleted.
Following an autopsy and pursuant to toxicology findings from the autopsy, it was determined that Eric died from an overdose of fentanyl. The medical examiner (“OME”) indicated the level of fentanyl in Eric’s system was approximately five times the lethal dosage. The OME stated the fentanyl in Eric’s system was illicit fentanyl and not medical grade fentanyl. It is also the opinion of the OME, after evaluating Eric’s gastric fluid contents, that the fentanyl in Eric’s body was ingested orally.
After receiving the information regarding the toxicology, a search warrant was obtained for Eric and the defendant’s residence. During the service of that search warrant, defendant’s phone and several computers were seized as evidence. Warrants were obtained for all the electronic devices and the information from those devices was downloaded. When investigators downloaded defendant’s phone, several communications between defendant and C.L. were located.
C.L. (Carmen Lauber) was identified as an acquaintance of defendant. A police records check of C.L. revealed multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. On May 2, 2023, Summit County detectives interviewed C.L. C.L. told detectives that sometime between December 2021 and February 2022, the defendant contacted C.L. via text message and asked if C.L. could get defendant some prescription pain medication for an investor who had a back injury. Within a few days, C.L. procured hydrocodone pills from a dealer. Defendant told C.L. to leave the pills at a house defendant was flipping in Midway. C.L. left the pills at the house and defendant left cash for C.L. It has been determined that this house was owned by defendant in December 2021 and January 2022.
About two weeks later, defendant contacted C.L. again and said that her investor wanted something stronger and asked for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff.” The defendant asked specifically for fentanyl. C.L. contacted a dealer in Ogden on February 11, 2022 and procured 15-30 fentanyl pills from that dealer. Defendant came to C.L.’s home in Heber and C.L. delivered the pills to the defendant. C.L. received $900 for those pills.
Three days later, on February 14, 2022, Eric and defendant had a Valentine’s Day dinner at their Kamas home. Shortly after the dinner, Eric became very ill. Eric believed that he had been poisoned. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him.
About two weeks later, the defendant contacted C.L. again asking for another $900 of fentanyl pills. C.L contacted the Ogden dealer again on February 26, 2022 and procured the pills. The defendant told C.L. to leave the pills at the outdoor fire pit of the Midway house where there was cash waiting for her. Six days later, on March 4, 2022, Eric was found dead of a fentanyl overdose.
This information is based on evidence obtained from the following witnesses:
Justin Hemingway Deputy O’Driscoll
[The State reserves the right to supplement its witness list as additional discovery warrants]
Authorized for presentment and filing May 8, 2023.
/s/ Patricia S. Cassell Chief Prosecutor
DEFENDANT’S LAST KNOWN ADDRESS:
282 West Willow Court Kamas, UT 84036