The Kouri Richins Trial (Part 1)

Summary

Court Junkie Podcast Summary

Episode: The Kouri Richins Trial (Part 1)
Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Jillian (Court Junkie, in partnership with Law & Crime)

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Overview

This episode delves into the highly publicized trial of Kouri (Corey) Richins, accused of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, by poisoning him with fentanyl on March 3, 2022. Host Jillian takes listeners into the Summit County Courthouse in Park City, Utah, providing a comprehensive account of opening statements, early witness testimony, and the key questions at the heart of the case. The core issue: does the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Corey murdered Eric for money and a "fresh start," or is the case, as the defense maintains, "paper thin"?

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Prosecution's Case & Opening Statement

(00:31–08:17)

• Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth’s Narrative:

  • Claims evidence will show Corey killed Eric for financial gain and to maintain the perception of success.
  • Sets a timeline based on digital device activity the night Eric died, highlighting unexplained phone unlocks and a delay in the 911 call (03:06am unlocked, 03:21am call made—see [03:06–03:21]).
  • Suggests attempted murder took place two weeks prior and that Corey had fraudulently altered and filed insurance claims.
  • Corey’s real estate business was deeply in debt ($4.5 million to 20+ lenders), and the estate she would inherit was substantial.

  "The evidence will prove that Corey Richards murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life. More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence, and success."
  – Brad Bloodworth (01:08)

• Motive Outlined:

  • Corey’s belief she would inherit Eric’s lucrative business and life insurance policies.
  • Divorce would cut her out due to a prenuptial agreement; only his death would allow her inheritance.
  • Evidence of relationship breakdown; Corey was unhappy and already making plans with her boyfriend for a new life.

  "She believed she would inherit Eric's $2 million interest in a stone masonry business. An interest that a prenuptial agreement prevented her from getting any part of if they divorced, but permitted her to get all of if Eric died while they were married."
  – Brad Bloodworth (05:52)

• Attempted Murder Incident:

  • Details the Valentine's Day 2022 incident where Eric fell ill after a sandwich, alleging Corey had her house cleaner buy illicit pills used in the attempt ([08:18+]).

2. The Defense’s Response

(13:02–34:29)

• Attorney Katherine Nestor’s Opening:

  • Plays the emotional 911 call, painting Corey as a grieving wife, not a calculating murderer ([13:02–14:32]).
  • Argues couple was celebrating a major business success (“the Midway Mansion deal”) on the night of Eric’s death ([14:34–16:12]).
  • Emphasizes that there is no evidence of how fentanyl was ingested, and that no drugs or drug paraphernalia were initially found at the scene.

  "What you will never hear after four years of investigation...is how that fentanyl got inside of him because there is zero evidence of that to this day."
  – Katherine Nestor, Defense (20:33)

• Challenges to the Prosecution:

  • Points to the incomplete and tainted crime scene investigation; the Moscow Mule cups (the alleged murder weapon) were not tested—were put in the dishwasher by the nanny.
  • Contends Eric’s family hired a private investigator and experts to build a biased narrative.
  • Suggests Corey’s housekeeper changed testimony after police pressure, and that other explanations for fentanyl exposure exist (Eric’s Mexico trip, opioid use for pain).

3. Testimony from Eric’s Family

(34:29–51:45+)

• Eric’s Father (Eugene) and Sister (Katie):

  • Recall Corey’s strange behavior after the death and inconsistencies about contacting the medical examiner ([35:30–37:04]).
  • Katie testifies Corey was composed, not crying, and seemed more concerned with business, real estate, and financial matters the morning of Eric’s death, rapidly taking steps to sell the house and referencing plans for Eric’s business ([38:00–45:52]).
  • Testifies about a family meeting where Corey’s mother suddenly brought up cremation, contrary to Eric’s burial wishes. Corey quickly adjusted her position ([47:06–47:59]).

  "She was not how she normally was...Her hair was all done up. She wasn't crying like I was. She wasn't hysterical. Just stood there and shook her head no at me."
  – Katie Richins Benson (38:00)

• Suspicion and Motive:

  • Katie admits to telling police about potential motive (the family trust) and feeling an “overwhelming” need to warn officers, though she denies claiming outright that Corey was behind it ([48:37–50:59]).

4. Forensics, Police Work, and Key Unanswered Questions

(51:45–68:39)

• Crime Scene Lapses:

  • Officer Nguyen and technician testimony reveal initial searches did not locate THC gummies, although they were later found in the home during a re-search ([55:07–60:30]).
  • Moscow Mule cups—never tested, possibly destroying evidence.
  • No fentanyl found in bedroom; insufficient crime scene control.

• Medical Evidence:

  • Dr. Pamela Ulmer (medical examiner): cause of death—fentanyl overdose, but manner (accident, suicide, homicide) undetermined ([61:01–63:33]).
    • 15ng/mL fentanyl in blood; “no reason this should be there.”
    • No THC gummies in gastric contents.
  • Dr. Brianna Peterson (toxicologist): Confirms presence of fentanyl and a trace of quetiapine (an antipsychotic prescribed to Corey), but multiple variables make method of ingestion uncertain.

  "So the fentanyl level should have been zero. There should not have been any fentanyl or norfentanyl present..."
  – Dr. Ulmer (63:12)

  • Alcohol detected but could be from post-mortem processes.

• Defense Points:

  • Defense questions reliability of forensic evidence, motive of housekeeper, and possibility Eric obtained fentanyl elsewhere (e.g., Mexico visit).
  • Stresses that after four years, there is still no direct evidence of Corey delivering fentanyl to Eric.

• Cross-Examination of Family and Cops:

  • Family admits suspicions are based on intuition and context but have no direct evidence.
  • Officers admit to incomplete searches and not asking Corey questions about THC gummies or paraphernalia locations.

  "You're not going to hear a single one of Eric's family, Corey's investors, Corey's friends...ever going to be able to tell you what happened in those six hours. Not one of them."
  – Katherine Nestor, Defense (29:17)

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Notable Quotes / Memorable Moments

• On Motive and Facade:

  “She had been taking out new loans to include payday loans to service existing loans. But her new credit was drying up.”
  – Brad Bloodworth (04:22)

• Text Messages Presented as Evidence:

  • Texts from Corey to her boyfriend Josh, before Eric’s death:

    "I have a crazy dream. You quit your job. I divorce and come up with millions and millions. We buy midway and live in the guest house..."
    – Prosecutor presentation of Corey’s texts (08:18)

• On Crime Scene Handling:

  “Guess what was sitting in the sink? The Moscow Mule cups. She said they were never taken and tested. Instead, the nanny ended up taking them and putting them in the dishwasher the following morning.”
  – Defense recap (21:53)

• On Family Dynamics Post-Death:

  “She was planning on selling the house that he had just been wheeled out of, closing on a multi-million dollar mansion. I could not wrap my head around it.”
  – Katie Richins Benson (44:07)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Prosecution’s Opening Statement: 00:31–08:17
• Defense’s Opening Statement: 13:02–34:29
• 911 Call Played in Court: 13:02–14:32
• Discussion of Financial Motive and Prenup: 05:16–06:52
• Text Messages Between Corey and Josh: 08:18–12:50
• Valentine’s Day Attempted Murder Allegation: 12:51–13:01, 08:18–12:50
• Crime Scene Handling / Cups Destroyed: 21:53–22:23
• Family Testimony on Corey's Behavior: 38:00–45:52
• Cremation vs Burial Dispute: 46:09–47:59
• Medical Examiner Testifies Fentanyl Cause/Undetermined Manner: 61:01–63:33
• Toxicologist Details, Uncertainty in Evidence: 64:02–68:39

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Tone and Language

• The host and most courtroom speakers use factual yet emotive language, particularly when discussing text messages or family testimony.
• Survivor accounts are raw, direct, and not overly dramatized; the defense uses measured, logical deconstruction of the prosecution’s narrative.
• Prosecutor pushes a narrative of greed and premeditation; defense rebuts with questions of reasonable doubt and pointed critiques of investigative and forensic weaknesses.

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Takeaway

Episode 1 sets the stage for a gripping, complex trial:
Prosecutors draw a picture of greed, deception, and murder for financial gain, relying on circumstantial financial evidence, text messages, and witness suspicions, but lacking direct proof of how Eric ingested the fatal fentanyl. The defense forcefully raises doubts about the investigation, possible alternate sources of the drug, and Corey's demeanor, reminding jurors of the high burden of proof.

Listeners are challenged to put themselves in the jury box:
Do the facts as stated—disparate marital accounts, financial desperation, suspicious texts, but no direct forensic evidence of poisoning—justify conviction beyond a reasonable doubt?

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“You're going to have to decide if Corey Richards intentionally and knowingly poisoned, secretly, her husband, ending the life of the father of her kids...And that she did it for money that was less than what she was about to make on one of her own deals.”
– Defense (34:01)

Next Episode Preview:
Upcoming parts will focus on witnesses central to the prosecution’s theory—Corey’s housekeeper and a street drug dealer—and directly address whether any of the evidence can convincingly prove murder.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

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[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Monday, February 23, 2026 I want to take you inside the Summit County Courthouse in Park City, Utah. At the defense table sits 35 year old Corey Richins. At her side are her defense attorneys. At the podium, about to speak to the jury is Summit County Deputy Attorney Brad Bloodworth. His goal is to convince the jury that Corey Richards murdered her husband Eric Richards on March 3, 2022 by poisoning him after lacing his drink with fentanyl.

[Narrator/Host]

The evidence will prove that Corey Richards murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life. More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence and success.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Did prosecutor Bloodworth achieve his goal? As we go through the evidence, as always, I'd love for you to pretend that you are a juror. Do you find the evidence against Corey convinces you beyond a reasonable doubt that she's guilty? Or is the case just too paper thin as her defense team says?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Over the last four years, they've gone back to that house 10 more times

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

and they still can't tell you what

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

happened the early morning of March 4, 2022.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Today's episode is part one. This is Jillian in partnership with law and Crime. You are listening to court Junkie. Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth began his opening statements by walking the jury through what he says happen the night of March 3, 2022. It was nighttime and inside the Richens home where Corey lived with her husband Eric and their three sons, the kids had just gone to bed. Corey made Eric a drink and took it to him in their bedroom. She then left. She returned at about 3am According to what she told police, she felt Eric and he was cold. She nudged him and he didn't respond. She saw that he was stiff and pale, his mouth wide open. Prosecutor Bloodworth then walked the jury through a timeline of what happened next. At 3:06am Corey unlocked her cell phone. She then traveled 243ft. At 308am At 3:10, she unlocked her phone again. Then again twice at 3:15 and again at 3:19. At 3:21, she unlocked her phone again and called 91 1. Paramedics were unable to revive Eric and he was pronounced dead at 3:58am he was 39 years old. But prosecutor Bloodworth noted paramedics believed Eric had been dead for a while. He said the state will prove that two weeks before murdering him, Corey attempted to murder him. And weeks before that by fraud and forgery, she took out an insurance policy on his life. He said two weeks after Eric died, she submitted a fraudulent claim on yet another insurance policy which brought him to the motive. He told the jury that Corey owned a house flipping business. She would purchase rehab and resell homes. He said she presented herself to friends and business associates as remarkably successful.

[Narrator/Host]

The evidence will prove that on the day that Eric died, Corey Richards owed over four and a half million dollars to over 20 different lenders. And she did not have the ability to service that debt because her bank accounts were exhausted and her credit was exhausted. She had been taking out new loans to include payday loans to service existing loans. But her new credit was drying up. In the five months leading to Eric Richards death, Cory Richards overdrafted over 200 transactions totaling over $300,000, he said on

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

the day Eric died, Corey was scheduled to close on an unfinished and derelict mansion in Midway and thus take on an additional $3.2 million in debt. She didn't have the financial ability to service the debt, he said, to rehab the mansion or to hold on to it long enough to resell it. He said the mansion may appear impressive from a distance, but upon close inspection it's just a facade, he said. On the other hand, on the day Eric died, his estate was worth over $4 million.

[Narrator/Host]

And the evidence will prove that Corey believe Corey Richards believe she would inherit it all. She believed that she would inherit Eric's $2 million interest in a stone masonry business. An interest that a prenuptial agreement prevented her from getting any part of if they divorced, but permitted her to get all of if Eric died while they were married.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

He said Corey believed she would inherit the million dollar home they lived in, but that Eric owned separate and apart from her. And she believed she would benefit from nearly $2 million in insurance on Eric's life, he said. To include the $100,000 policy that she took out a few weeks before he died. He said not only was money her motive, but she wanted a fresh start at life.

[Narrator/Host]

The evidence will prove that Cory Richards was chronically unhappy in her marriage. She thought that having children would make her happier, but it did not. She consulted with a divorce attorney in the months leading up to Eric's death. Three months before before Eric's death, Corey Richards booked a $4,000 five nights all inclusive vacation for her and her boyfriend Robert Josh Grossman at the Secrets St. Martin's Resort and Spa in the Caribbean. They were to check in the month after Eric died. Three weeks before Eric's death, 15 days before Eric's death, one day before the charge attempted murder, Corey Richardson's text message. Josh Grossman, if I was divorced right now and asked you to marry me tomorrow, you would. I just want to lay on the couch and cuddle you, watch a murder documentary and snuggle, he said.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Five days after the charged attempted murder and 11 days before the charged murder, Corey texted Josh, babe, I miss you. I want you today, every day. Not just sexually, but physically, mentally, every day. When I wake up, I do want a future together. I do want you figure life out together. If he could just go away and you could just be here, life would be so perfect. I love you. I don't know what my deal is today. I'm sorry. Nine days after the charged attempted murder and one week before Eric's death, Corey texted Josh, I have a crazy dream. You quit your job. I divorce and come up with millions and millions. We buy midway and live in the guest house and rent out the huge house as a big event center. $15,000 a day like they charge down the road. Maybe 12,000 to stay competitive. And we would just run the event center as our daily job and hang out every day, raise some kids, have a little farm deal. Just over two weeks after Eric's death, Corey texted Josh a link to the secret St. Martin Resort and Spa in the Caribbean and asked, are we there yet? One month and five days after Eric's death, Corey texted him, I think I want you to be my husband one day. Prosecutor Bloodworth then told the jury more details about the attempted murder charge stemming from an incident on Valentine's Day 2022. Three days prior to that, Corey's house cleaner, a woman named Carbon Lauber, purchased illicit pills from Robert Cozier, a street drug dealer who is a friend of a friend of hers. He said she purchased the pills for Corey and gave them to her after, he said. Three days later, on Valentine's Day, Corey purchased a sandwich from the Mirror Lake Diner and left it for Eric. She then left and met up with Josh. At 11:33am Eric texted Corey, I'm gonna lay down for a bit. If I don't start getting better, I'm gonna head to the hospital soon. Shortly thereafter, all activity on Eric's phone ceased for nearly 90 minutes in the middle of a busy workday. Once activity resumed, Eric called his two best friends. He sounded scared, somber, confused, bewildered. But he was okay. Prosecutor Bloodworth said A few days after that, Corey asked Carmen if she could get something stronger. He told the jury, the evidence will prove that on February 26, five or six days before Eric's death, Carmen, again, at Corey's request, purchased pills from Robert at a home Corey was just finishing up a rehab on. He said those pills contained fentanyl. He said Eric had, several times, a lethal amount of fentanyl in his blood and stomach. He said the evidence will prove that Corey then tried to cover up her attempted murder and ultimate murder of Eric. He said when confronted with Eric's reaction on Valentine's Day, Corey texted her friend. It was Valentine's Day, and Eric and I were both working from home that day, and I ordered lunch from Mirror Lake. He never broke out in hives or used an EpiPen. I was fucking with him. Bailey was there, too. He said the sandwich hurt his stomach, so he was going to nap. No hives, no EpiPen. Prosecutor Bloodworth said Corey Richards was an hour away from Eric that day with her boyfriend. Regarding Eric's death, he said Corey wrote in a notebook that she entered their room at 3:20am and when she nudged Eric, nothing happened. She then grabbed her phone and called 91 1. He said she first grabbed her phone at 3:06am and delayed calling 911 for at least 15 minutes. He said almost a year after Eric's death, when Corey knew the police were investigating her, Corey published a children's book on how to deal with the loss of a parent. When it was time for Corey Richards, attorney Katherine Nestor, to give her opening statements, she started with a 911 call Corey made on the morning of March 4, 2022.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

911.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

What's the address of the emergency?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay, what's the address? 282 Willow Court. 28 Willow Court. Okay, what's the good phone number in case we get disconnected?

[Narrator/Host]

435. 671.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

4,987. Okay. It's going to be in Francis. Okay. Tell me exactly what happened.

[Narrator/Host]

I don't. I don't know what this.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

I was sleeping with my kids. Okay? I can't understand you. I need you to Take a deep breath. What's going on?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't know. I just. I was sleeping in with my kids. I just came in the bed, in our bed and I turned over and. He's just cold.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

He's just cold.

[Narrator/Host]

Who's cold? My husband. I took the light off his

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

and he's not breathing. He's not breathing?

[Narrator/Host]

No.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

I need you to confirm it for me. Is he not breathing?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Okay, we're gonna.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Can you do cpr? You don't know? I'm gonna tell you how to. Are you willing to do cpr?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Those are the sounds of a wife becoming a widow. Nestor said she told the jury that six and a half hours before that terrible phone call, Eric and Corey were in that same bedroom. They were celebrating. She said they were celebrating because Corey was about to close on the biggest real estate deal that her company had ever done. She was about to close on something called the Midway Mansion, a sprawling multi million dollar home that had been abandoned before construction was completed. The plan was to fix it up just enough to resell it and Corey was supposed to make at least a $2 million profit for her and all of her investors. She said Eric was a part of this and was even at that property the day he died. She said Eric had also made good money that year for the family. They lived in a beautiful home with a two story garage that was filled with exotic animals. She said Eric was a huge hunter and went on trips all over the world, including to Mexico two weeks before he died. She said they had the kind of money they were blessed with. They had a lot to celebrate, she said. They also had a wonderful family. She told the jury. Both Eric and Corey adored their boys and their marriage survived through rough times like any marriage.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

They'd gone through a really bad year where they both contemplated divorce and they did what a lot of couples do. They went to marriage counseling. They worked it out and they decided to stick it out and they did, she said.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

On March 3, 2022, Eric started sending excited text messages to Corey saying, hey, let's get together. Let's have some celebratory shots. She said he was excited and wanted to celebrate the big closing. Then when he got home from the property that evening, they all had dinner together as a family. Corey's mom came by. She had been at the property earlier that day, too. Corey's mom left. They tucked their kids into bed, and at about 9pm they decided to have their celebratory shot. A friend had gifted them some Moscow Mule cups and so they decided to try those out. Corey made a Moscow Mule and a Lemon drop shot. They had their drinks, didn't finish them, and then set their cups in the Sink. At around 9:30, they were getting ready to go to bed when they heard one of their children who suffered from night terrors, crying out. She said Corey went to sleep with him and left her phone in the charger in hers and Eric's room.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to hear the police. Corey also told the police the day that they came to the house that she believed Eric might have had what we call a marijuana gummy. You're gonna hear Eric loved marijuana gummies. He used them a lot. And the police found a whole bunch of them in the house, in his things, in his clothes, in his closet. You know he was a marijuana Gummy user. Slide 8. These are all gummies that the police found in Eric's things. Some of them, you can tell, had commercial bags where he bought them from dispensaries. Some were in clear bags that he bought from somewhere else, the location unknown.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said after Corey left the room, Eric was on his phone. At around 10pm he was talking to a friend of his named Scott. She said Eric did not sound drunk, high, or like he was on fentanyl or anything else. There were no sounds of Corey or the kids in the background. Eric was alert and having a totally normal conversation with Scott. Shortly after 10pm, around 10:30, Corey's phone was unlocked and moved a few feet. Nestor told the jury they would hear from friends who would say that Eric was always checking Corey's phone. She said. And you can probably see why he was doing that based on what you heard from the state. She said. That's the last thing we know for sure that Eric did that night. Sometime after that, we don't know exactly when she said he died. She said Eric's apple watch was hanging on a charger, as was his phone on the nightstand. He was lying in his underwear on his back on his side of the bed.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So it appears pretty clear that Eric went to bed and fell asleep and died in his sleep. You're also going to hear slide 10, that there was an empty pill bottle right next to him in his nightstand. And I want you to pay careful attention to this. The empty pill Bottle expired in 2016, made out to him for pain pills. That's going to become important later, she said.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Sometime after 3am Corey woke up and came back into the dark bedroom. She unlocked her phone shortly after. She said the phone moved around the house a little Bit for a few minutes. Then the phone stopped being active, which was indicative of being back in the Charger. A few minutes later, the 911 call came in. She said that period of about three minutes is when Corey crawled into bed, touched her husband and realized he was cold. She then picked her phone up and called 91 1. Nestor said it was pretty clear Eric had been dead for several hours. She said somewhere in those six hours between 9. 00pm and 3am Eric Richards died.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Somewhere in that time, he ingested a fatal dose of fentanyl. What you will never hear after four years of investigation where as recently as two weeks ago, they were back searching that house after four years of investigation and five weeks of this trial. You know what you're never going to hear you is how that fennel got inside of him because there is zero evidence of that to this day. Slide 11, please. You're going to see that. His death certificate. Oh, that's the wrong thing, Katie. Just take it down. Sorry about that. That's the wrong thing. His death certificate reads that the manner of his death is still unknown to this day. You're going to hear testimony that a medical examiner has the ability to declare the manner of someone's death. It can be homicide, it can be suicide, it can be accidental overdose, it can be murder. It can be anything. To this day, the medical examiner, the professional that's the head of declaring how people die in the state of Utah has never been able to determine the manner of Eric Richmond's death.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said first responders didn't find any fentanyl in the bedroom on the night of his death, but she said they also didn't search for it. She said there were no restrictions on anyone visiting the house following Eric's death, that no one roped it off. And guess what was sitting in the sink? She asked. The Moscow Mule cups. She said they were never taken and tested. Instead, the nanny ended up taking them and putting them in the dishwasher the following morning.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to hear the day after Eric died, Corey, or I'm sorry not day after day of they started interviewing Corey over and over and over again about what happened that night. You're going to hear for yourselves that her explanation of what happened that night. Night has never changed from that call you just listened to. As far as the timing, as far as what happened, never. Law enforcement secretly recorded her phone conversations for over a year after this incident. Two years later, listening in to her conversations with her family to see if her story about what happened that night Ever altered, ever changed. You're going to hear it never changed. You're going to hear that. Before Eric's body was even taken out of their bedroom, Corey was told the body was going to a morgue for an autopsy. So within an hour of the cops getting there, she knew there was going to be an autopsy of his body. And what happens when you have an autopsy? You figure out how stuff someone died. That's what doctors do. They test your blood, they test your bodily tissues. So she knew that. But did she tell the police or the medical responders or the ems? Hey, guys, you might want to check fentanyl. My husband used it all the time. Did she do that? Because with one sentence, she could have taken all suspicion off her and made this about a drug overdose, but she didn't. As a matter of fact, she could have staged a whole drug overdose scene with fentanyl pills on his stomach and everything all over the place and say, gosh, you know, I tried to get him in rehab for years and I couldn't. But she didn't. And you know why? Because she told her truth. She told her truth over and over again. And it's exactly what she told that 911 operator that you just heard and you're going to hear over and over at trial. I don't know what happened.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said Eric's family simply couldn't accept that and they needed someone or something to blame who wasn't Eric. She said that's understandable and that no one wants to believe someone in their family, behind closed doors, was using drugs.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

But the family's need to make sense of Eric's death went way beyond what you would expect a normal, grieving family to go through. You will hear that. As the detective arrived at the house, Eric's sisters spoke with the detective in the driveway. This is before anyone in the house knows how Eric died, if he had a heart attack, if he had an aneurysm. A lot of people were talking about aneurysms at the scene. And you're going to hear that nobody knew yet how he died. The sisters were telling the police, police, Corey probably did this. Corey probably did this. Day one. His sister Katie tells the police, and you're going to hear her testify about this, that Corey had recently found out that Eric had put all their assets in a trust and that Katie was in charge of the trust. She's going to say, I'm in charge. And that Corey didn't like that. She told that to the police at the time, same scene. So Corey Already knew before Eric ever died that his assets were protected in a trust and didn't automatically come to her if he died, that there were legal things you had to go through. You're going to hear that didn't stop there. The Richens family hired a private investigator. And you're going to see how much they paid that private investigator. And it's almost a hundred, hundred thousand dollars. And they paid that investigator to spend every waking minute digging up as much dirt as he possibly could on Corey Richards to try to implicate her in Eric's death.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said the investigator went looking for skeletons in the closet and boy, did he find some.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to hear that after an exhaustive private investigation into every single thing about Corey Rich and sleep life, he uncovered plenty of things that I'm quite sure she's not proud of. She's not a perfect person. She's a flawed person. I would submit we all are. But the prosecutor just turned some of her most intimate personal correspondence into entertainment with bubbles and slides. They're going to continue to assassinate her character throughout this trial. So get ready.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She told the jury that Eric's family and the PI became convinced that Corey had tried to kill Eric before. On that Valentine's Day, after Eric had an allergic reaction to his sandwich, she said he had some Benadryl, may or may not have used an EpiPen, took a two hour nap, and then drove his kids to soccer.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to hear that he had discussed with Corey that he was going to drive the kids to soccer. So they're asking you to believe that she secretly put narcotics in her husband's food right before he's gonna drive the three things that matter the most to her in the world to soccer. You're gonna hear that Eric didn't even. This incident wasn't even a blip to Eric. He had a professional allergy doctor that he saw very shortly after this incident. He never even brought this up. Eric talked about it with his doctor. You're gonna hear that he laughed about it with one, of course friends who visited shortly after. He thought it was funny. Interestingly, you're also going to hear that people who use oxycodone or hydrocodone, like that bottle said, also tend to have allergic reactions. They can have very similar symptoms. If you use pain pills to the symptoms described of what Eric experienced on Valentine's Day, here's what you. Which you're not going to see in this trial. You're not going to see one single bit of Evidence showing what was in that sandwich, if he went to a doctor, if he had any tests run, because he didn't. No evidence at all.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She told the jury that the family's investigator regularly updated law enforcement and sent them everything he found, along with witnesses he interviewed. He took Eric's computer before the police even got to it and had it for a long time. Eric's family also hired experts in toxicology, finances, and handwriting. She said they paid them all a bunch of money, and now all the experts they hired are going to testify against Corey for the state. She said the family was in constant contact with prosecutors right up until they decided to charge Corey a year later.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Now, as you've already heard from this prosecutor, they're going to spend weeks in this trial trying to convince you that Corey had reasons to kill her husband, because they can't show you that she did kill her husband. You're not going to hear a single one of Eric's family, Corey's investors, Corey's friends, her lover, her accountant, her broker, her lawyer, her marriage counselor, her accountants, her husband's friends, her husband's co workers. Not one of those people is ever going to be able to tell you what happened in those six hours. Not one of them. You're going to hear me ask each one of them in this trial. Do you know whether or not Eric Richards knowingly ingested fentanyl? Do you know whether he accidentally ingested fentanyl, thinking he was taking another kind of pill and it had fentanyl in it, and he took it and accidentally ingested it? Do you know whether he mixed fentanyl with alcohol after Corey went to sleep? The answer, every single time from every single one of these witnesses is going to be no.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said Eric suffered from knee and back pain a lot related to his work as a stonemason. He was also a huge outdoorsman. She said he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and told people close to him that he suffered from pain related to it. She said he was a macho guy, however, and so he didn't share that with a lot of people.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to hear that Eric was so dependent on the drugs, like the gummies that gave him relief from his pain that he would even take it and smuggle it in his luggage when he went on trips out of the country and out of the continental United States. When you got to go through tsa, that's how much he needed that relief. Now you're going to hear on one of the calls that they were recording when Corey was talking to her family. She tells her family that she purchased pain pills for Eric at his request. She purchased them from a woman named Carmen, that she knew who claimed her properties for her and she knew Carmen had access to people that had drugs. You will hear that she asked Carmen to get oxycodone. You're going to hear that oxycodone is a fairly low dose pain pill that you can get prescribed prescriptions for. Most prescriptions for oxycodone are around the range of about 10 milligrams per pill. That's about if your doctor gives you oxycodone, that's about what you usually get it for. If you want stronger oxycodone, like up to 30 milligrams, you generally either have to have a special prescription from a doctor or you're going to hear that you can get on the street. Right. And the state has talked about, about this gentleman, Robert Crozier. Robert Crozier sold higher strength oxy up to 30 milligrams. He's going to testify that back in 2022 when before Eric died, that's all he sold was oxy. But he didn't sell fentanyl at that time. It hadn't really got into the country yet. It like it is now, right where it's everywhere. It hadn't really happened yet. He was just selling oxys and he sold the stronger dose. So you're going to hear and you're going to see evidence that Corey asked Carmen for something stronger and that Carmen you're going to hear from Mr. Crozier purchased 30 milligram Oxy's from Crozier. Crozier is going to say that is what he sold Carmen Lauber was 30 milligram oxy pills. You're also going to hear that in Eric's office autopsy. There's no oxy in his system. So the pills that were purchased by Carmen Lauber could not have been the cause of Eric's death. The fentanyl had to come from somewhere else.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said Carmen will testify now that Corey asked her for fentanyl. But that wasn't her original story, that she never mentioned fentanyl at first, only oxy. She changed her testimony after police told her they caught her with drugs and guns and said that if she didn't say what they wanted her to say, she would go to jail for a long time. She said they told Carmen to say Corey said fentanyl. According to Nestor, a few weeks before Eric died, he went to Mexico. Guess where the fentanyl in this country comes from? She asked the jury. Mexico.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're going to have to decide if Corey Richards intentionally and knowingly poisoned, secretly, her husband, ending the life of the father of her kids, knowing that she was going to cause those little boys to feel pain every day for the rest of their life for the loss of their father. And that she did it for money. And that she did it for money that was less than what she was about to make on one of her own deals.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said the defense wouldn't be disputing the facts of the case, but they sure would be disputing what the facts mean. She said the only proper verdict is not guilty on all charges. In the early morning hours of March 4, 2022, Eugene Richins got a call from his daughter in law, Corey Richards. Corey told him his son Eric wasn't breathing. He testified that he went over to Eric's house as quickly as he could. He said his daughter Katie, Corey, Corey's mom, his son in law, Clint, and two granddaughters were there, along with first responders. Eric and Corey's three boys were there, too. He doesn't recall Corey saying much, if anything, to him. He said after the funeral and before the medical examiner declared what Eric had died from, Corey called him and she

[Narrator/Host]

called me and said that she had just talked to the medical examiner and they had determined that he died of the same thing Linda did. And Covid. And Linda was your wife, right? Linda was my wife, yes. What, sir, caused your wife's death? She had an issue with fungus in her lungs. What, if anything, struck you about Corey Richards telling you that Eric died of the same thing that his mother did? Well, right after I finished talking with Corey, I called my daughter Katie, who in turn called the medical examiner, and they had never received a call from court. We're going to admit this answer only for the effect that it had upon Mr. Richins to explain what he did or didn't do next. You cannot consider it for the truth of what he's about to say. Please, sir, continue. Help me again. Sure. Where are we? Why? What, if anything, struck you about Corey Richards telling you that Eric died of the same thing that Linda died of? Well, as I said, I called my daughter Katie. Katie, in turn, called the medical examiner, and they had never received a call from Corey. They had not even released the results from it yet.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

We knew the objection to move to strike.

[Narrator/Host]

Your honor, Same instruction. That answer only explains what comes next in terms of what Gene did or didn't do. May I call you gene mumsis? Absolutely. Okay. Please. Not for the truth of whether those things that he just described actually happened.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

He was asked if Eric had the same symptoms as Eric's mom did. And he said, no, not at all. Katie Richins Benson is Eric's sister. She was asked if she ever saw Eric take any pills or drugs. She said no. She testified that her dad called her on the night it happened and told her Eric wasn't breathing. She was already awake because her daughter was sick and throwing up. She and her husband gathered the kids and went straight to Eric's house. She said when she saw Corey, Corey shook her head at her and Katie fell to the floor knowing that her brother was gone.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I observed that she was. She was not how she normally was when we would go on overnights. She was very well put together. She had a matching pajama esque outfit on. Her hair was all done up. She wasn't crying like I was. She wasn't hysterical. Just stood there and shook her head no at me.

[Narrator/Host]

What, if anything, did you observe about Corey Richardson's interactions that morning with her boys?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

There weren't any until later in the morning. So like I told you, my husband stayed up with the boys. I went up and down. My sister came up and down. A few people came up and down to check on the boys. I did not see her go up and check on the boys. And I repeatedly asked her, when can we tell the boys? I think we need to tell the boys. I kept coming down saying, I think the boys need to know. It wasn't until they willed my brother's body out. And I stood by the stairs at the top of the stairs to make sure my nephews didn't come out to see because we didn't want it to see. And my husband was in the room with them. So they wheeled my brother's body out. My husband did his best. He had. My daughter was throwing up and he was trying to block it from the boys so that they didn't see my brother being wheeled out. The boys did see my brother being wheeled out. My husband came out and told me that they were upset. And so we walked down and talked to Lisa, Cory's mom, and Corey again. And I said, the boys are really upset. They just saw Eric wheeled out. I think we need to tell them. And Lisa said, I guess we better. And Corey said, yep, bring them down. So then we brought them down. And that's the first I saw her interact with him.

[Narrator/Host]

Were you there when Corey Richards told her sons that their father had Died?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes. So my husband and I brought the kids down. We're sitting on a couch, and in my brother's living room, they have a couch that kind of goes like this, like, kind of curves around. So my husband was sitting on the edge with our daughters. I was sitting next to them. Weston, my brother's youngest, that was five at the time, was sitting in between me and Corey. Corey was on the other side, and then the other two boys were in front of us.

[Narrator/Host]

What did she say?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

She let them know that their dad would not be coming back, that he was gone.

[Narrator/Host]

Just like that?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes. To my recollection, she said after she

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

told the kids, one of the sons went into his room and was very upset. She went in, but all he wanted was his mom. She kept going out to get Corey, and finally she had to say, corey, I'm not his mom. He lost his dad. He's very upset. I can't console him. Can you please go in and talk to him? Corey finally went in and hugged him and tried to console him, she said. During that, Corey's brother's fiance, Brie, came in.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

It was really interesting because Corey was consoling. And then she immediately kind of stopped and focused on. They would call her Brie. And Bree started talking about the closing of the Midway Mansion.

[Narrator/Host]

Does this need. Do we need to go into that, Mr. Bloodburn? I guess what I'm saying is, is anything further regarding that necessary to develop the upcoming testimony? Your honor, the state's next question will be, how did Corey react? Oh, okay. Yeah. So. Sustained. What Bree said is not admissible. Don't consider it. Well, your honor, the content of the call, the content of the discussion. Well, Corey's side of it is not what they're objecting to. I think it's just that fact. Am I right, miss Nestor?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Yes, sir. We just were objecting to what Bree said.

[Narrator/Host]

Take it from there. I. I understand the contours here. Let's just wait for the next question. Okay. How did Corey react to what Bri said?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Corey was very businesslike, very telling Bri exactly what to do. And I was dumb, and I looked at Corey and said, you can't tell me you're going to close on that Midway Mansion when my brother just died. And she looked at me, matter of fact, and said, yeah, absolutely. He has nothing to do with it. The money's already gone through. It's all my business. I'm going to.

[Narrator/Host]

What about the Apple watch?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

So the Apple watch. Ashton. Once he eventually came out of his room, he went and Got my brother's apple watch. Corey was standing by him. She took it from him and he said, I want my dad's watch. So I watched her take the watch, delete the entire watch, everything off of it, and then give it back to Ashton.

[Narrator/Host]

On the morning that Eric died, did Corey Richards say anything about the house that they were living in?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes, she told me so. The house, the 282 Willow Court that they were living in with their kids. She told me she was going to sell it.

[Narrator/Host]

Did anything about that strike you as I.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Yes.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I honestly could not function. I couldn't even figure out like what was for dinner that night. I had just lost one of the most important people in my whole entire life. And she was planning on selling the house that he had just been wheeled out of, closing on a multi million dollar mansion. I could not wrap my head around it.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said when Eric died, the house he and Corey were living in was in a trust and Eric was the trustee. Once he died, Katie then became the trustee. She said Corey wasn't able to sell it that morning.

[Narrator/Host]

Did Corey Richardson say anything about Eric's stone masonry business?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes. She had a plan for how she was going to run his stone masonry business. She was going to hire one of his best friends. His name is tj. TJ worked for Eric's business partners dad and had grown up working with Eric and Eric's business partner, Cody and Cody's family in their family business. And he still worked with Cody's dad, Shannon. So she said that she was going to hire TJ to run Eric's portion of the business for her and that he would take care of all of it.

[Narrator/Host]

So am I right that the morning of Eric's death, Corey Richards told you her plans on purchasing the Midway mansion, selling the home she lived in and running Eric Richen's business?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Correct.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She recalled a family meeting the day after Eric's death on March 5, 2022. The purpose was to start preparing for Eric's services. It was Eric's family and friends and Corey, her siblings and mom.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you know Eric's wishes regarding burial?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

My brother wanted to be buried as opposed to cremation?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes. My family is very big on burial and not cremation.

[Narrator/Host]

Did in the course of that family meeting the topic of cremation arise?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes. So we had gone through and planned the whole funeral. My brother would be buried by my mom, who the, where he would be buried at, who the pallbearers would be, everything to like, who would talk, who would say prayers Stuff like that. And at the very end when I thought we kind of had had it all wrapped up. Lisa Darden, Corey's mother, said, when are we going to talk about that? Eric wanted to be cremated.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you observe Corey react to her mother raising cremation?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes, I did. She looked shocked, like she was caught and off guard at first. And then she went into it and said oh yeah. He told me that he didn't want any bugs crawling on him after he was dead. It freaked him out. So we're cremating him. And I went on to ask, I said Corey, why did we just do a whole entire funeral based around the casket, the burial, the pall barriers, pallbearers, sorry, excuse me. And now you're just bringing up cremation. And she played it off and said, oh well isn't that what you do when you cremate them? To that point I said no. And then my dad started getting visibly upset because he knew his son wanted

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

to be buried on cross. Corey's attorney displayed the language from Eric's trust on the screen. It read, I wish to provide for both my wife and our children during any time that I am incapacitated after my death and to preserve and protect and pass as much of my property remaining after my death and that of my wife to my descendants. Katie agreed that Corey was one of the beneficiaries along with their children and that Katie's role was to make sure Eric's wishes were carried out. Katie was asked about what she said to a police officer outside the Richins home.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And this is before that police officer has ever entered the house. Right. This is your first time to see this officer?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I'm not sure.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And you felt it was important that this officer know that your sister in law had a motive. What was your reason for telling the officer that information?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I had an over overwhelming feeling come over me that I should let someone know.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Why? What was your overwhelming feeling?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

That I should let someone know.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Because you believed it was suspicious the death.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Honestly at that time I had no idea what was going on. I just had an overwhelming feeling. I had just barely talked to my brother. He was fantastic. When I talked to him just a couple hours before, I had an overwhelming feeling I should tell someone about this. So I did.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Because you thought Corey was behind it?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I did not say that.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Did you tell the officer that Corey had a reason to be upset with Eric because she had found out about your being a trustee over the assets before he passed?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

No, not to my recollection.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You didn't mention being the trustee of a trust to this. This officer.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I knew that I was the trustee of the trust.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Did you share that with the officer? Maybe. I.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

There's a potential.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So you can't remember?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Just give me a second. It's a.

[Narrator/Host]

Sure.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Take your time.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I mean, I did know that I was the trustee, so I definitely could have shared that with her.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And did you share with the officer that Corey had been upset with your brother about that before he passed?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

No. So if an officer. That's my recollection.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

If an officer says you said that, that would be wrong or you're just not sure.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

The questions are a little difficult. They're really vague, so not to my knowledge.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She was asked if Eric shared with her that he sometimes used marijuana, and she said no. A timeline Katie gave to police that wasn't admitted into evidence was also talked about on cross. It included information on things Corey was asking for and suggesting that Corey may have tried to kill Eric on Valentine's Day.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Do you remember in May of 2022, suggesting with the officers, the investigating officer, that Corey may have tried to kill your brother on Valentine's Day with a sandwich?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Because my brother talked to me about it.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay. As far as you know, had that information ever been imparted to them before you gave that to them?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I would have no way of knowing that.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Clinton Benson, Katie's husband and Eric's brother in law, recalled a time in November 2020 when he was with Katie and Eric called. The phone was on speakerphone and Eric sounded extremely upset.

[Narrator/Host]

Did he explain to you why he was upset? I'm not asking you what he said. I'm asking did he explain why he was upset? Yes. Okay. Having heard that, did you do something to assist with the situation? I did. What did you do? I knew he was on his way over to our home. After overhearing the conversation with Katie.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

In the amount of time it took

[Narrator/Host]

him to get from where he was to our house, I was able to pull up the Summit county website, the recorder's website, where I could pull up the property address as well as a parcel ID and be able to view all of the recorded documents against the home. I see. And when you looked at that, did you find something that concerned you about the 282 Willow Court? I did. And what was that? I found a $250,000 home equity line of credit that was taken out against Eric's house. Did you pass that information on to Eric? Yeah. After that conversation, that passing of that information can you relate to us, Eric's demeanor from that point? Yeah, his demeanor was still very upset and very sad in general. So do you know what he did following that? What he did following that? So we had a discussion about divorce attorneys while he was there as a result of finding out about that line of credit. So how did you suggest a name? I did. Was that on request or were you encouraging? It was on request. And the. Yeah. So, I mean, obviously Eric was extremely upset about what was happening and it was just that conversation we were having where it was the next step would be to get a divorce attorney involved.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

He said he became the intermediary between Eric and the attorney. Clinton also explained what he saw when he went to Eric's house the night of his death.

[Narrator/Host]

When you first entered the home, did you see anything unusual? My number one priority was taking care of the kids, my two daughters, as well as the boys. So the. Yeah, I mean, I noticed some hand movements that Corey was making which seemed to me unusual. But had you ever seen those hand movements before? No. Could you demonstrate for the jury what you saw? Simply like that? It wasn't. Didn't seem to me to be an unconscious tremor, but it just, you know, almost like a. Just an intentional movement.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Body cam footage from the first responding officer, Deputy Vincent Nguyen, was played for the jury.

[Narrator/Host]

That's what happened today. When you say we were fine, what. What time did you see him?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

When he was alert.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

We had a drink together at nine to celebrate something at work tomorrow.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

We went to bed. I went to bed with my kids.

[Narrator/Host]

He went to bed in our bed. What time did you guys go to bed? 9:30. 9:30. Okay. 9:45. And then what allerged you to him today? Right now I just woke up.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

When I sleep in, my pupils wake

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

up and I go back in my own bed. I just crawled over on his side

[Narrator/Host]

and he was laying in bed. Okay. He was on his back on the bed and I. Okay.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

As she's sitting on the floor with her head in her hands, Corey makes a phone call to someone and tells them to come to her house. One of her sons can be heard calling her name. As she talks to the person on the phone. Something's wrong with Eric. She says the police and ambulance are here. I don't know what's happening. He wasn't breathing and I don't know. A little later, she's still on the floor, legs crossed and talking to the officer. She tells him they eat gummies and that sometimes Eric will take a gummy before bed. She says it didn't seem like he did, though. The officer asks if there's any history of prescription abuse, and she says, well, when he was in high school and stuff. Yeah, pain pills, I think. A woman who's presumably Corey's mom, tells Corey, who's now seated on the couch, that maybe it was a reaction from his shots the day prior. Corey says, I mean, he said he didn't feel good from them. She says he looked pale the night before, and she asked him if he was okay, and then he said, yeah. But she notes he said his chest was hurting. As for any illicit drug use, she says, no. Later on the body cam video, Katie Richins can be seen comforting her. The prosecutor asked Deputy Wynn about Corey's emotional reaction that night, and he said Corey's was different than others he had seen. He described her as seeming abnormal and said she wasn't able to answer questions directly. She also kept her face in her hands as she talked on cross. Deputy Wynn told the jury that he didn't look for any gummies that Corey had suggested Eric took, nor did he tell anyone else to.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you ask her, Ms. Richard, about the gummies that she told you about? That she volunteered. Did you ask her where they were?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

I did not.

[Narrator/Host]

You did not. Did you tell Pimentel to ask her? I did not. You did not. So it's not like you were hidden somewhere. You knew where they could have been, correct? I did not know where they. You could have asked a question. You couldn't have asked who really were. I could have. And you didn't, Right? Correct.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

As for Cory's reaction that night, he agreed that he didn't know how Cory was feeling and that he didn't know her or how she would normally react to something like this. Officer Pimentel with the Summit County Sheriff's Office said he didn't see any gummies the night of Eric's death either.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And at this point, when you're looking for medications, you were aware that Mr. Richins may have taken a THC gummy?

[Narrator/Host]

Yes, I was made aware of that.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And while you were looking for these medications, did you see any THC gummies?

[Narrator/Host]

No, I did not.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

When you looked in that cupboard above the toilet, did you see any THC gummies?

[Narrator/Host]

No, I did not.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

How do you know that?

[Narrator/Host]

Part of my duties on patrol is typically to look for narcotics. And so I have a lot of training and a lot of experience in locating narcotics such as THC gummies, THC products, or other narcotics and paraphernalia that Goes with it.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So you're familiar with what those look like?

[Narrator/Host]

Yes, I am.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And if you would have seen them on the night of March 4th, what would you have done?

[Narrator/Host]

I would have left them where they were at. And then I would have notified the investigations team when they came in that there were in fact narcotics located while inside the house.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And you didn't find any?

[Narrator/Host]

No, I did not.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

On cross, he agreed that the only place he looked for medications was in the bathroom. He said Corey told him about the THC gummies, but he couldn't recall if he asked her where they were located. On redirect, he was again asked about the gummies.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You're looking in that cupboard above the toilet. There were no THC gummies in there, were there?

[Narrator/Host]

Not that I could see, no.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And you opened it up and you looked inside?

[Narrator/Host]

Correct.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You didn't see any weed gummies in there?

[Narrator/Host]

I did not.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

On recross, Corey's attorney continued to ask him about the gummies.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Now, you said you were. Well, we saw in the video you were looking at the cupboard above the toilet.

[Narrator/Host]

Correct.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Did you look on top of that cupboard?

[Narrator/Host]

I do not recall if I did. Well, that.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

That's a very high cupboard, correct?

[Narrator/Host]

I believe so.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You wouldn't be able to see the top of the cupboard unless you got up on the toilet.

[Narrator/Host]

True? Probably.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

All right. And are you aware that later that is where all the THC gummies were located?

[Narrator/Host]

I wasn't made aware of that, no.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Dr. Pamela Ulmer is the now retired medical examiner who performed the initial autopsy on Eric Richens. She marked the manner of death as undetermined. She said the COVID swab they did on him was positive and that he had been sick with COVID like symptoms recently prior to his death, but that he had recovered. She said the cause of death was a fentanyl overdose. There were 15 nanograms of fentanyl found in Eric's system.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Additional information that was not confirmed but still indicated presence was naloxone, caffeine and four anpp.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay, so. And that's from the blood samples that were sent?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Correct. I'm sorry. Because we did two different stages of testing. So this was all of the blood testing. And then after I got this testing back and we decided we needed more information, then we also had testing performed on gastric contents. And the purpose of that was to A, determine if there were any other drugs present in the stomach contents that weren't necessarily showing up in the blood test and then B, to give an idea of where the fentanyl might be coming from, because the question would be, was it orally ingested or was it injected? Or. Trying to narrow that down a little bit. That was part of the rationale for doing the gastric testing. What you're doing is you're taking the information that you have and you're looking and comparing it to what would be expected in someone who's not taking the drug at all. You expect not to find any someone who's taking it as a prescribed medication. So you expect it to be within therapeutic range. And then once you start seeing above that, then you have the potential to go into a level that would be toxic, and if it's high enough, then potentially cause death.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay. And in this case, the number 15 nanograms in the blood, given its location.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So with the information available to me at the time of the autopsy, 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. There should not have been any fentanyl or nor fentanyl present on cross.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She was asked about THC gummies in his system.

[Narrator/Host]

The food particle that was. You indicated that you saved it. Is that correct? Food particles, the gastric contents, and the gastric contents correct?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

We saved a portion of it.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay. And did you locate any THC gummies in there?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

No.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you look for them? Should have asked that first.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

I'm sure they would have melted by then.

[Narrator/Host]

That's fair enough.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

And there was no measurable THC in the toxicology analysis either.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Chelsea Gibson, the lead crime scene technician, testified more about the search investigators did at the house. She said she found no drug paraphernalia and no gummies when she looked originally on the night of Eric's death. After investigators came back to the house in April, however, they did find THC gummies, including several packages in the primary bathroom on cross. She was questioned about other things she found and did not find, including an old prescription bottle from 2016.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So what happened to the hydrocodone bottle that was sent with the body of the decedent?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

It's under the medical examiner's office protocol to keep that until they're done.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So you don't have that bottle?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I do not know.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So all we have is a picture of that bottle? Correct. So it has never been taken for testing by you to anyone? Correct. So if there was fentanyl residue in that empty pill bottle from 2016, we won't know it because you never took it to be tested?

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Right?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I was Never given the bottle now.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Okay.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She agreed that when they returned to the home in April, they didn't notify Corey that they were coming. When asked why they returned to the house, she said it was her understanding that they were looking for anything that contained drug paraphernalia or looking for something that may have been in the mail. She said they didn't find anything in the mail. Dr. Brianna Peterson is a forensic toxicologist. She testified that in the first blood sample she looked at, fentanyl was found, but alcohol and hydrocortisone were not. In October 2020, two more samples were tested. In these samples, a very small amount of alcohol was found, around 1200 or,

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

sorry, 1900 MG of ethanol versus a standard drink of ethanol is 14,000 MG. So it's well below the amount that

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

you would find just in one standard drink of ethanol.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

She said it's also possible that ethanol can form postmortem, especially with small amounts like that.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

So this postmortem formation can occur either

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

in the body prior to sample collection, but it could also happen in the

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

collection container because often they don't have

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

a preservative that would inhibit the bacteria from doing this process of postmortem formation of ethanol.

[Narrator/Host]

Is there any way you can chemically identify whether it's this postmortem decomposition or vodka?

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Not in the testing that we performed.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

Also found in Eric's stomach was a small amount of quetiapine. A pill bottle of quetiapine that was prescribed to Corey Richens had also been recovered from the house on Cross. Dr. Peterson was asked more about this.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So he had to have ingested quetiapine? Correct. And it appears that it was not

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

a very high dose.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You said it was probably a fairly low dose of quetiapine in the gastric? Yes, in the gastric. And again, the quetiapine had not made it to the blood. He died before there was a chance for the quetiapine to make its way into his blood?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Correct.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

There was no quetiapine above our threshold for performing a confirmation test. Well, you couldn't measure any quetiapine in the blood, true?

[Narrator/Host]

No.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

You did measure some of the blood? Yes. And where is that in your report?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

It wasn't above our threshold for reporting

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

or performing a confirmation test. So in your report, there's no indication that quetiapine was found in the blood? Correct?

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Correct.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

All right. And your report's accurate? Correct.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

All right.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

So again, quetiapine takes about the same amount of time to hit the blood as fentanyl More or less. About 30 minutes. Correct. So a very possible scenario, likely scenario is that he ingested the fentanyl before the quetiapine.

[Narrator/Host]

Fair.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

No. Well, if you took them together, they would have both been in the blood, right?

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

That's not true.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

I mean, if you didn't take a

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

dose that would lead to a concentration that's reportable in the blood, doesn't mean

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

you didn't take it.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

It just means that it wasn't at

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

a concentration high enough to be above

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

our threshold for reporting on redirect. Dr. Peterson agreed. There were too many variables taking up

[Narrator/Host]

where we last were. Aren't there other equally possible hypotheticals, such as a drink of alcohol with quetiapine and fentanyl taken at the same time? Sure. Is the problem that there aren't enough? There are too many variables that are left unknown that we can't fix any of those. We can't fix the hypothetical and say one is more likely than another because there are too many variables.

[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

One of those is that you can't tell this jury whether the alcohol in the gastric fluid came from the an alcoholic beverage or decomposition.

[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

Correct.

[Narrator Jillian / Court Junkie Host]

And that's where we're going to stop for today's episode. Next time in Part two, the prosecution continues to present their evidence against Corey, including witnesses who directly advanced their theory that Corey had her housekeeper purchase fentanyl pills for her, and then she laced Eric's drink with them. You'll hear testimony from that, that housekeeper, from that street dealer, and you'll even hear more of Corey's own words. But does any of it prove beyond a reasonable doubt how exactly? Eric Richards died from fentanyl poisoning. Thanks again for listening. Until next time.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

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[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth]

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[Witness / Family Member (Katie Richins Benson or related family)]

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