What is in the envelope Kouri Richins gave her defense attorney?
Kouri Richins, left, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children’s book about grieving, stands with her attorney Skye Lazaro during a status hearing on Friday, Sept. 1.
Rick Bowmer/AP photo, pool
A manila envelope containing at least 60 pages kept by Kouri Richins in the Summit County Jail may have been dubbed dubious by prosecutors, but they don’t exactly know what’s inside.
The Summit County attorney’s Office on Friday said it believes there could be evidence and a letter from another jail inmate behind the clasp, and asked Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik to compel the defense to hand the documents over.
But Skye Lazaro, the attorney representing the Kamas mother of three who is accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richns, with a fentanyl-laced cocktail in March of 2022, asserts the envelope holds privileged information provided by her client.
Prosecutors argued the material could be relevant and important to the ongoing murder case in the wake of the conspicuous “Walk the Dog” letter, which they said was a request from Kouri to her mother to ask her brother to provide false testimony. They accused Kouri of witness tampering and filed a no-contact order on Sept. 15 seeking to prevent her from speaking to her relatives.
Mrazik denied the motion during a court hearing last week. He said there was not enough evidence to restrict her right to free speech and that the letter could be interpreted several ways. According to Kouri, the writing was an excerpt from a fictional mystery book she’s authoring about drugs and a Mexican prison.
If the envelope does have part of a short story, that doesn’t necessarily mean the writing falls under attorney-client privilege. However, it also doesn’t guarantee the pages would be turned over to the state.
Lazaro argued the Summit County Jail had already examined the packet multiple times. She was hesitant to provide the documents to prosecutors. However, she agreed to a third-party review after the judge recognized the potentially sensitive nature of the contents.
Both sides agreed an independent attorney chosen by the state would analyze the pages to determine what’s relevant to the case and what is attorney-client privileged. Then, there would be a sealed meeting to decide what prosecutors are allowed to see. The state will be unaware of the contents until that process is completed.
Mrazik asked prosecutors and the defense to determine how they want to move forward by December. Then, there will be a hearing to determine the order of the case and to establish a timeline. A date had not been set as of Monday.
The judge also denied a motion from the defense to dismiss the case on Friday. Lazaro accused prosecutors of unprofessional conduct for their handling of the “Walk the Dog” letter, which she argued was an attempt to make the world question the integrity and credibility of Kouri, her counsel and her witnesses. She questioned whether Kouri would have a fair trial.
However, Mrazik repeatedly recognized the high stakes nature of the case — as well as the intense media attention it received, even before the “Walk the Dog” letter was released. He affirmed the court proceedings would be protected and said there would be a more involved jury selection process to ensure the pool is not prejudiced.
Kouri is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and three second-degree felonies for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance stemming from the death of her husband. Eric died after ingesting five times the lethal dose of fentanyl. She is being held without bail.
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