Kouri Richins, a Utah mother and author, is scheduled to appear in court in November on charges of poisoning and killing her husband with fentanyl. Richins is also accused of writing a children’s book about dealing with grief following her husband’s death. On November 3, Judge Richard Mrazik will hear a motion from state prosecutors to prevent Richins from contacting her mother and brother while in custody. The defense will also present a motion to hold the state in contempt of court for allegedly violating a court gag order.
The dispute between state prosecutors and Richins’ lawyer, Skye Lazaro, began on September 15 when correctional officers allegedly found a letter in Richins’ cell addressed to her mother. The letter reportedly instructed her mother to guide her brother’s testimony in favor of Lazaro. Richins claimed that her late husband obtained drugs from workers in Mexico, and the letter advised her mother not to disclose this information to her. State prosecutors argue that the letter is evidence of witness tampering, while Richins’ defense claims that its submission violated a court gag order issued in June.
The state maintains that there is no evidence linking Eric Richins to obtaining fentanyl in Mexico and dismisses the testimony as a “false narrative.” Richins herself stated that the letter was part of a fictional novel she was working on about a fictional stay in a Mexican prison. Judge Mrazik will hear arguments from both sides when Richins appears in court on November 3.
