The murder trial continues for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in 2022, by spiking his Moscow Mule drink with fentanyl.
Richins, 35, is currently on trial in Summitt County, facing more than charges, including, in part:
- Aggravated murder
- Attempted aggravated murder
- Insurance fraud
- Forgery
On Tuesday, retired forensic pathologist Dr. Pamela Ulmer testified that in 2022, she worked for the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, ABC 7 reports.
Eric Richins, according to the prosecution, passed away on March 4, 2022, after the defendant said she found him unresposince in their Kamas, Utah, residence.
Ulmer’s testimony followed arguments from Richins’ attorney, Kathryn Nester, who claimed that Eric possibly overdosed due to his own painkiller addiction.
Ulmer disagreed.
“The decedent did not have a history of any kind of illicit drug use or prescription medication abuse. So, the fentanyl level should have been zero,” Ulner said.
“There should not have been any fentanyl or more fentanyl preset. The fact that I have fentanyl present tells me that fentanyl was obviously ingested at some point.”
Ulmer, who performed an autopsy on Eric, stated that he showed no signs of natural causes of death. She also saw no “external evidence” that would have caused his death, The Park Record reports.
Toxicology results, however, indicated that he had a lethal amount of fentanyl in his system.
Carmen Lauber, the Richins’ housekeeper, has been accused of selling Kouri Richins fentanyl on several occasions.
Lauber, the state’s key witness, previously told investigators that she sold up to “90 blue-green fentanyl pills” after acquiring them from a dealer, CBS 11 reports.
The defense team argued Monday that Lauber lied to authorities for legal protection.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, in May 2023, Richins allegedly spiked Eric’s drink with “illicit” fentanyl, that had been over five times the legal limit.
Richins, a mother of three, later self-published a children’s book titled “Are You with Me?” about a father with angel wings watching over his young son.
Additional charges accused her of a previous attempt to kill Eric by spiking his sandwich on Valentine’s Day 2022.
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The defense argued that it’s unclear how Eric ingested the drug and that investigators did not thoroughly test the cup containing the Moscow Mule drink for evidence.
Richins has pleaded not guilty. Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to a previous episode on the case:
[Feature Photo: Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook]
