Heath (3:00)

Yeah, we would love to see you guys and hang out in Vegas. Alright guys, without further ado, this is episode 596 of Going West. So let's get into it.

Daphne (3:44)

In March of 2022, a 39 year old father of three was found dead in his Utah home from what originally appeared to be an aneurysm, but later this determination would be amended to reveal that he had been murdered. After a shocking arrest that took over a year to secure, it was up to the court to decide if this business owner and devoted husband and dad had been living a secret life steeped in drug addiction or if he was merely the unsuspecting victim. This is the murder of Eric Richins and the explosive trial that just concluded in March of this year for his wife, Corey Richins. Eric Richins was born on May 13, 1982 in Bountiful, Utah, which is a northern suburb of Salt Lake City. He grew up with parents Linda and Jean and two younger sisters named Amy and Katie. The family were devoted members of the Mormon Church, so much of their life revolved around their church community. Eric was raised on his family's spring brawling cattle ranch and loved the outdoors and working with his hands from a very young age. He was also a talented athlete and in his youth he competed in cross country, soccer, basketball and baseball. Eric graduated from Woods Cross High School and went on to complete his mission trip in Mexico City, Mexico, where he learned Spanish and completely fell in love with Mexican culture. So much so that he earned the nickname Rico. Upon the completion of his mission trip and his return to the States, he pursued his bachelor's degree at the University of Utah, majoring in international studies. And there he met his future wife, Julie Jorgensen. So the two were very eager to begin their life as a couple and only after a brief courtship. They were married at just 21 and 23. But despite their shared desire to have kids and build their lives together, the relationship faltered and after trying to make things work for four years, they filed for divorce. That divorce became contentious when money got involved, so many disputes ensued because they had not opted to sign a prenup so Julie was entitled to half his earnings and this was kind of a big deal because Eric had spent their time together building up his dream venture, a stone masonry and home improvement business that he shared with his friend and business partner, Cody Wright, which they called C and E Stone Masonry. So Eric's takeaway from his marriage was just to be more careful with his financial assets going forward and make sure that he protected them when he entered his next marriage, which is going to be incredibly prevalent in today's story. But I will say this whole, like, prenup debacle wouldn't even really matter because less than two years after their split in January of 2011, Julie was struck and killed by a driver who was high at the time. And she died instantly just the day before her 27th birthday. So although their marriage had kind of a bitter end, Eric really mourned the loss of his first love, and he was named in her obituary.

Heath (7:32)

So at this point, Eric is still eager to be a husband and a father after he and Julie split up. So he was very much on the lookout for a new life partner. And actually, he wound up meeting his second wife by chance. While picking up supplies for a work project, Eric frequented the Park City, Utah, Home Depot. And at the time, a woman named Corey Darden was working as a cashier there. Now, Corey was bubbly and irresistibly charming to Eric. In high school, she had been a cheerleader and a tennis player who was always surrounded by a tight knit group of childhood friends. So after they met at this Home Depot store, they started dating. And when Cory discovered that she was pregnant, they decided to get married, tying the knot in a small backyard ceremony In June of 2013, when Eric was 31 and Corey was 22. Two and a half years after his first wife, Julie, passed away. It was the mountain wedding of their dreams, except for one hiccup. Based on what happened in his marriage to Julie, his mom Linda had drafted a prenup for Corey to sign this time and presented it to her shortly before the wedding. The prenup stated that Cory could only lay claim to his business or benefit from it financially if he passed away and not if they were divorced. So, reluctantly, Corey signed the document, though she seemed to almost resent this notion for the entirety of their marriage. And she was completely caught off guard by it.

Daphne (9:04)

And he did make good money like he did well for himself as time would go on. But I guess I don't see why this is a big deal. Like the fact that this put a damper on her wedding, and she carried this resentment with her for years. It's like he's just watching out for himself.

Heath (9:22)

Yeah. I mean, he's already been through this one time before, so he's just trying to make sure that it doesn't happen again and he loses his business.

Daphne (9:29)

And I just think that really shows her character. If something like that is really gonna bother you, like, go make your own money, then.

Heath (9:36)

Well, after their first son was born, two more followed, and the couple wound up with three boys named Carter, Weston, and Ashton. Both Eric and Corey were very devoted and involved parents and were very active in their children's lives and activities. Like, for example, Eric absolutely loved being his son's soccer coach. And as their personal lives flourished, so did their professional lives. Eric's business was really taken off and offered them the lifestyle that Cory had yearned for since her humble upbringing. Now, as the boys grew older, Corey decided that she, too, wanted to indulge her professional aspirations. So she pursued her real estate license, and. And in 2019, she opened Kay Richards Realty, in which she would purchase properties, then she would fix them up and then flip them for a profit. A lot of people do this. Well, within two years, she was overseeing the rehabilitation of over a dozen properties at once. So, you know, they're both doing well at this point. And thus, the Richins family settled into a chic neighborhood in Camas, Utah, which is located about 45 minutes east of Salt Lake City, purchasing a very large home that cost well over a million dollars at the time.

Daphne (10:52)

However, while the couple's finances seemed enviable to many, Cory struggled with money management and spending beyond her means. And that is putting it lightly, of course.

Heath (11:03)

She finally gets to a point in her life where she's making really good money and she just can't control herself.

Daphne (11:08)

Doesn't know what to do with it or how. How to manage it. Exactly. And she and Eric constantly fought about her overspending and impulse control, particularly where her business was concerned. Cause then she started borrowing against their assets and taking money from Eric's personal accounts without telling him. Then at one point, she took out a $250,000 line of credit against their home, also without telling Eric, so she could jumpstart her business, which had heavy upfront costs.

Heath (11:44)

Yeah, it kind of seems like one of those things you might want to talk to your partner about beforehand.

Daphne (11:49)

Yeah, there's so many things in this episode where you're gonna be like, oh, yeah, conversation should have happened there. But it didn't, because she also siphoned off $100,000 cash from Eric's savings without telling him, as well as $134,000 from his bank business accounts. Like, this is really bad. So when Eric obviously found out, because he's going to notice when that much money goes missing, and he understandably confronted her about her spending, she claimed that she needed the money for her business and that the venture would pay them back. So she's kind of like, okay, I'm going to, like, sneak this money from him, but I'm going to make it back, and then he's not even going to notice, and then he's going to be so happy, and it's all going to work out, and it's like, if you're freaking lucky.

Heath (12:34)

Yeah. And also, how long is it going to take you to earn that money back?

Daphne (12:38)

Exactly. But Corey continued her crusade of reckless expenditure and dishonesty and racked up $30,000 of credit card debt. So Eric was so incensed by this and felt so betrayed that he actually consulted a divorce attorney. You know, as we know as well, he specifically, or, well, I guess his mom specifically had this prenup written up because he was so anxious about money because of his first marriage. And now this is happening. He's probably like, oh, my God, now

Heath (13:10)

he jumped in with, like, probably the worst case scenario after the last time,

Daphne (13:16)

you know, which is why, behind Corey's back, he also met with an estate planner and switched his beneficiary from Corey to his sisters Amy and Katie, so that Corey couldn't continue to screw him over if anything happened. But before jumping to an actual divorce, Eric and Corey attended counseling and ultimately decided to try to work things out. But money continued to be a point of contention between them. Corey had also been taking matters into her own hands, and unbeknownst to Eric, she had taken out a new life insurance policy on him.

Heath (13:56)

Probably the worse time to take out the policy after your husband literally is, you know, consulting with a divorce lawyer.

Daphne (14:04)

Yeah. And you're like, when you really line this up on a piece of paper,

Heath (14:08)

it's like, bam, bam, bam.

Daphne (14:09)

It's not looking good. But during this process of taking out this new life insurance policy on Eric, she flubbed his Social Security number, which led to her getting caught and charged with insurance fraud because she's, like, trying to do this secretly behind his back. And they're. They caught her, which is like, this is really bad. She also elected herself as the beneficiary of the life insurance policy he shared with his business partner, which ensured that should one of them pass away, the other could Offer a buyout for the descendants portion of the company. The insurance company then tipped Eric off about this, and he switched the beneficiary back to his business partner, Cody. But imagine being him and realizing that, like, imagine if you found this out about me, you know, like, I'm doing this to you. This is such betrayal. It's so shady. It's. It's honestly creepy business.

Heath (15:08)

It is. And you can't even imagine what was probably going through Eric's mind at the time. The fact that she's. It seems like one thing is leading to an. I mean, she literally tried to make herself the beneficiary of his business so that if, you know, either one of them died, that she would get the money for that. And it's like so sus. It's so crazy.

Daphne (15:30)

So as of March 1, 2022, Corey owed her husband. I'm going to round up or down, because there's a lot of specific numbers in here. About $500,000 in money that she had spent without his knowledge or permission. She also owed almost $200,000 in unpaid taxes and over $1.8 million to a bank lender, which wasn't a loan that she had secured for the sake of her business. Like, I am stressed for her.

Heath (16:04)

I mean, yeah, she's just keeps putting herself in really bad positions and she's borrowing all this. I can't even say borrowing. She's kind of just stealing all this money and she's not really doing anything about it.

Daphne (16:16)

And some people get into debt because things happen that are out of their control. But, like, she is just making a lot of bad decisions.

Heath (16:24)

Well, despite Eric's mounting suspicions about his wife's unethical and very nefarious deeds, she continued to move ahead with her business. And In March of 2022, she was about to close on her biggest deal yet. A sprawling 20,000 square foot home perched on nine acres with a stunning view of the mountains in the background. The home, situated on North Legacy Way in nearby Midway, Utah, which is just southeast of Salt Lake City, also features a spacious detached guest house. The property was erected in 2017, but was abandoned after the developers ran out of money. So it just kind of sat unfinished and became known for the fact that it was unfinished. It was called Midway's unfinished Mansion.

Daphne (17:09)

There's like, articles about the fact that this mansion is, like, beautiful, like you're saying, on a gorgeous piece of land.

Heath (17:15)

Massive 20,000 square feet. That's huge.

Daphne (17:18)

Yes. And it's just not completed.

Heath (17:21)

So Corey became absolutely fixated on this home, basically wanting to turn it into a luxury rental and event space that she felt could net them an impressive profit in the long run.

Daphne (17:33)

Which is fair because it almost like it has a reputation in the area as the unfinished mansion. And she's like, I want it sitting there. Nobody's picking it up. It's been there for years.

Heath (17:42)

Hey, I mean if you were to do it the right way, this could be a very lucrative business.

Daphne (17:46)

You know, like of course she wants this, but is it realistic?

Heath (17:51)

No, absolutely not. Well, as Corey closed on the house, which cost nearly $3 million and would need another 2 million of work, she and Eric fought relentlessly with Eric deciding that the risk was just way too high. But Cory got her way in the end and closed on the house on the evening of Thursday, March 3, 2022, almost nine years into their marriage. Around 9pm, 39 year old Eric was relaxing in bed when 31 year old Corey brought two Moscow mules to their bedroom to celebrate the closing on the house with this refreshing cocktail. So yeah, we're going to, we're going to celebrate. We just closed on this massive house. She later recalled that as far as she knew, Eric had just one alcoholic beverage that night before bed. Well, shortly after she was called to the bedroom of one of their sons claiming that he had a night terror, which were a fairly common occurrence for him. You know, he's a little kid, so understandable. So she laid down in bed with him and then she fell asleep. Around 3am on the morning of March 4, Corey groggily returned to her bedroom and found Eric unconscious at the foot of the bed. She claimed that she checked for a pulse and that she found none and that he was also cold to the touch. She called 911 immediately who attempted to walk her through CPR after she told the operator that she didn't know how to do it. But here's the thing. Later, EMTs were skeptical that she had ever even tried to resuscitate him due to the fact that the blood had started to come out of his mouth as soon as they began chest compressions. An ambulance arrived at the home at 3:22am and worked to restore Eric's pulse, shifting him to the floor while Corey looked on in tears when asked about his medical conditions and whether he could have ingested something that would cause him to have a fatal reaction. She explained that he would occasionally take a THC gummy in order to help him sleep and that he had weekly shots for his allergies. So obviously you know, right off the bat you're like, well, those things are probably not going to affect Eric in this sort of way. She also informed police that he had Lyme disease, but that he had never had a reaction this extreme for any sort of reason. When asked if he ever used drugs, either legal or illegal, for recreational purposes, Corey swore that he didn't and that she would have known if he did. He was otherwise healthy and in fact was very active and took his physical health very seriously. But Corey noted that he had been having chest pain the evening prior and that he had looked particularly pale.

Daphne (20:46)

Eric Richins was pronounced dead at 3:58am because of his sudden passing and the fact that he was otherwise healthy and only 39 years old, detectives informed his family that the medical examiner would be performing an autopsy to see what really happened. As Eric's family members were slowly notified, his sister Katie arrived at the home and collapsed on the floor in front of Corey in a state of shock and panic, sobbing, quote, I just talked him a couple of hours ago. And this came as the second devastating blow to their family after having lost their mom Linda in 2018. So only four earlier, which had been extremely hard on Eric. At first, Cory and her family, Eric's family and their friends all seemed to be collectively mourning him together and just sharing in the utter shock of what happened. But as it had on their wedding day, squabbles over money were about to sour the goodwill between the families. Just two days after Eric's passing, his sister Amy was at the house with Corey when a locksmith arrived to break into the safe, which was locked with a numeric combination that Corey wasn't privy to. Of course, you know, Eric is like, I don't want you having access to my cash. But According to Corey, $100,000 of cash should be inside, as well as Eric's will, which Corey claimed to need access to. Like two days in, she's already like, okay, what, what am I getting from Eric's will? But Amy was furious at her meddling in his money again and what she perceived as ill timed greed in the immediate aftermath of her brother's tragic and very sudden death.

Heath (22:42)

I mean, yeah, you would be pissed too. It's, it's just, it feels, it feels gross what you're doing, Cory. It's like he just died and you're already trying to get your little grubby fingers on the money. Like money, money, money.

Daphne (22:54)

Yeah, and even going to the length of like hiring a locksmith, like break into this safe. I need what's Inside, it's mine.

Heath (23:01)

Yeah. You know how psychotic that looks?

Daphne (23:03)

Well, that's when Amy told Corey that she herself, Amy had been made the beneficiary of Eric's will and life insurance policy. So it wasn't even Corey's business what the will said.

Heath (23:16)

Damn, that's kind of a slam dunk. Obviously got her ass.

Daphne (23:19)

She's pissed because she's like, oh my God, like you're acting so callous. So guess what? You ain't on the will.

Heath (23:26)

Yeah.

Daphne (23:27)

So they then called Eric's estate planner because Corey's like, there's no way who, by the way, Eric had retained in 2020. So a couple years earlier. And he informed Corey that Amy and Katie were indeed the executors of Eric's estate. And then his sons were the beneficiaries of his estate. And their house was tied up in his trust, which Cory also obviously did not have access to.

Heath (23:55)

Well, as you guys could probably imagine, Corey was irate. I mean, this is so her. And argued with Amy that she and Eric had bought their home together. But Amy shot back, it's not your house. Upon hearing this, Corey allegedly punched her sister in law in the face and in the neck.

Daphne (24:15)

God damn, girl.

Heath (24:16)

Wow. Unhinged. And thus, she was taken into custody and she was charged with assault, to which she later pleaded no contest. And stupidly, Cory closed on the Midway mansion on the very same day.

Daphne (24:30)

Girl, you are not gonna be able to pay for this house.

Heath (24:34)

So unbeknownst to his sisters, Corey had also opened five, four other life insurance policies on her husband, which totaled over $2 million. But she was going to retain very little when the legalities shook out, because that's exactly the way that Eric wanted it to be. A few days later, the funeral commenced, and Corey made a conscious and very obvious effort to avoid Eric's family. I mean, of course, she just punched his sister in the face. And in particular, Amy and Katie, whom she absolutely believed had it out for her. Corey's best friend, Allie Staking, who was there to support Corey and Eric, recalled that Cory's behavior was becoming very concerning and didn't seem synonymous with grief. Corey then filed a civil lawsuit against Katie, disputing Eric's will because she was desperately trying to get her hands on his money. Meanwhile, the results of the autopsy were returned, and they came back as an absolute shock to Eric's family. He had apparently died from a fentanyl overdose. At the time of his death, his body contained five times the lethal dose of this drug. His autopsy also determined that this was not medical grade fentanyl. The drug actually contained acetofentanil, meaning that it was manufactured outside of a controlled environment and had been distributed on the street. So they're like okay, this wasn't medically given to him in any way, so where the hell did he get this fentanyl from? Because it's street grate shit. So either somebody killed him or Eric was harboring a very secret drug habit.

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Daphne (33:10)

When Eric's family was notified of this development that he had died from fentanyl poisoning, they immediately brought their concerns to law enforcement and told them that they believe that Corey had played a role in Eric's death. And then his sisters detailed two other instances in which Eric thought he might be the target of foul play at the hands of his wife. Remember, they had been married for almost nine years. So a few years prior to his death, Eric and Corey had been vacationing in Greece. And Eric fell violently ill, seemingly without cause. And when they returned home to Utah, he told his sisters that he suspected Corey of poisoning him, saying, if something happens to me, check out Corey. I think she's trying to kill me. So now it really makes sense why in the years before his death, he was making all these money moves and changing his will because he was, like, afraid of his wife.

Heath (34:17)

And how insane is it the fact that he basically told, he told his sisters that he believed that Corey was trying to kill him, and then all of a sudden he dies from fentanyl poisoning? It's like he really, like, foreshadowed his fate here.

Daphne (34:32)

And it's hard to know, like, how serious this old, you know, the grease accusation actually was at the time, but

Heath (34:41)

that's a pretty bold statement to make.

Daphne (34:43)

Yeah, I mean, if you're gonna tell your family, if something happens to me, check out my wife. I think she's trying to like you. Don't Say that lightly, especially to your family, because that's just gonna make your marriage look horrible.

Heath (34:56)

Yeah. So he and everybody that he knew basically knew that she was a crazy person who was trying to kill him.

Daphne (35:03)

Yeah. And so it seemed like he knew something might be going on. That's why he's getting his ducks in a row with his will and his money. He's contacting a divorce lawyer. He's trying to make. He's trying to see if he can make it work. Probably, you know, going through counseling, thinking, okay, she really want to kill me? Or was like that. Did I overreact?

Heath (35:25)

Yeah, did. Was I actually just sick when I was in Greece or, you know.

Daphne (35:30)

Well, then on Valentine's Day, 2022. So weeks before he actually died, another similar incident scared Eric. So Corey ordered a breakfast sandwich for him, adorning it with a love note. After eating the sandwich, he broke out in hives and had trouble breathing. So he was thinking, oh, am I having an allergic reaction? So he administered his son's EpiPen on himself, took a Benadryl, and went to sleep. He even texted his friends, joking that they had almost lost him. So it doesn't seem like he, in this instance, thought, cory's trying to kill me again. It's like, oh, my God, I must have had some weird reaction to something in the sandwich. Am I allergic to something? You know, because he didn't tell anybody anything about this.

Heath (36:22)

But things keep happening while Corey's around, and she's. She's the one that's serving things to him every time.

Daphne (36:29)

I mean, absolutely. Hindsight's 20 20, though, possibly here. But I wonder as well, if maybe in the back of his mind, he thought, was this Corey?

Heath (36:40)

Well, that time he actually did recover. But sadly, the next time, he would not be so lucky.

Daphne (36:46)

Yeah. So the medical examiner wrote in his report, it is my belief, after evaluating Eric's gastric fluid contents, that the fentanyl in Eric's body was ingested orally. I think we can all remember one of the last things he ever did.

Heath (37:04)

Yep, he drank that cocktail from Corey.

Daphne (37:06)

But of course, Corey and her family quickly made peace with the belief that Eric had just been suffering from a secret drug dependency. You know, they're like, oh, that must be it. Though his family called this assumption absurd.

Heath (37:21)

Yeah. So Cory's going to her family and just being like, ah, dang. You know, it's like, I didn't even know that my husband was addicted to drugs. He never told me. And then Eric's family's like, Fuck you.

Daphne (37:33)

Yeah, bullshit. Because they. They know. Of course. Because Eric warned his sisters years earlier, and then his sisters are watching her do all this suspicious stuff with his money right after he dies.

Heath (37:45)

They're like, punching one of them in the face.

Daphne (37:47)

They know she's crazy. Yes. Meanwhile, in order to recoup her losses from being removed from Eric's will, Corey listed the Midway Mansion for sale, asking $4.8 million for it, which was $2 million more than what she paid for it, despite not making any updates. Like, she bought this house that nobody

Heath (38:08)

else wanted, and then she didn't flip it, and then she tried to get double the money for it.

Daphne (38:13)

What are you thinking?

Heath (38:15)

Well, meanwhile, she was suffering even worse financial strain in the wake of Eric's death because she had been convinced that she would have Eric's life insurance payouts and trust to keep her afloat. In the aftermath of his death, the Midway Mansion went into foreclosure, and her shady business dealings were stacking up and had lost two families their homes. So not only did she ruin Eric's life, but she's ruining other people's lives too. Because when excessive mold was discovered in the first home that Cory flipped for profit, the couple who actually bought the home, Taryn and Alec Wright, filed a lawsuit against Corey for her failure to disclose this issue. I mean, obviously you can't. You can't just sell a home that has a bunch of mold in it.

Daphne (38:59)

Yeah, very dangerous.

Heath (39:00)

Well, for their health and safety and that of their children, they were forced to move out and pay to rent a temporary house while mold remediation was completed at their home. And eventually this caught up with them and the house was foreclosed upon. Then in the other instance, Corey also stole $45,000 from a friend named Chelsea who'd offered it to her as a down payment on a house that Corey was supposed to help her buy. So basically what happened here is Corey took out a loan to help her friend buy a house and then took the $45,000 from her, which had taken Chelsea years to compile as she worked as a restaurant server. So Chelsea was absolutely shocked when the home went into foreclosure and she discovered that the deed hadn't been filed in her name. And then suddenly, her down payment was gone, the house was foreclosed upon, and she was eventually evicted because Corey had screwed her over. By the time Eric died, Corey had a net worth of -1.6 million. So even if his life insurance policies had paid out, it still wouldn't have been enough to cover all the debt

Daphne (40:12)

she had accrued, especially since she still has the Midway House on her plate. So she is absolutely drowning.

Heath (40:19)

Yeah, nothing is going well for Cory.

Daphne (40:21)

Well, as her sons navigated the loss of their father, Cory complained to her family of the frustration that she couldn't find any kids books that dealt with grief for her kids. Which was strange because a quick search of Google or Amazon would bring up hundreds of examples. But regardless, In March of 2023, Corey Self published a children's book entitled Are youe With Me? With the Help of a Ghostwriter. Written partially from the perspective of a grieving son and partially from the perspective of a deceased father. And this book aimed to help grieving children process their new normal.

Heath (41:02)

And I mean, I wonder if she even like paid the ghostwriter or the illustrator for this book because it kind of seems like she screws everybody over.

Daphne (41:10)

So it's like she's trying, she's getting deeper into debt by like you're saying, yeah, hiring an illustrator and a ghostwriter. Probably thinking, I'm gonna make it big with this book and then I'll be able to pay everything off. Like she's, she's trying, it seems, but getting deeper in the hole for it.

Heath (41:27)

Well, the crazy thing here is that she's kind of, she's like starting a business, going into debt to start a business. And so then her kind of saving grace is, oh, let me do another business that I'm probably gonna debt for. Oh, and then I need to go do another business. And it's just like, how long is this going to keep going?

Daphne (41:45)

Because every business needs money to start

Heath (41:49)

and all of hers tend to fail.

Daphne (41:51)

Well, Corey went on a morning news talk show called Good Things Utah to promote the book and gave a brief, very stiff, very awkward interview with the two hosts. And here is a clip for anybody who wants to hear it. And Corey, I want to start with your story. What happened in your personal life?

Corey Richards (42:11)

So my husband passed away unexpectedly last year. So it's March 4th was a one year anniversary for us and he was 39. It completely took us all by shock. And we have three little boys, 10, nine and six. And you know, we kind of micro. And I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced last year and you know, hoping that it can kind of help other kids, you know, deal with this and kind of, you know, find happiness some, some way or another and to make sense and process.

Daphne (42:53)

I'm sure.

Corey Richards (42:54)

And I'm sure you felt that going

Daphne (42:56)

through and trying to explain it and articulate it for you and your boys.

Corey Richards (43:01)

Yes, exactly. Exactly. And so I've done, you know, I'm new to all of this, so kind of doing, you know, research and reading books and things to try and understand, you know, not only how to grieve as a widow, as a wife, but also, you know, with my kids, how to help them. How to help them understand what just happened.

Daphne (43:21)

And Corey, do you mention at times, here's dad, or dad would like this

Corey Richards (43:25)

meal, or dad would, let's bring dad

Daphne (43:28)

on a bike ride?

Corey Richards (43:29)

Yeah, exactly. And it's, you know, explaining it to my kids. Just because he's not present here with us physically, that doesn't mean his presence isn't here with us. And he's doing these things with us. And he's, you know, here for birthdays and he's here for Christmas and, you know, and it's just comforting to them to know that, you know, they're not living this life alone. Like, dad is still here. It's just in a different way. And it has found, you know, it's been a lot of peace for my kids to, you know, to really remember that in the back of their head that they're never alone, you know, so. So you actually wrote this book with your children? I did, and it's only been a year.

Heath (44:08)

How did you process and say you go from processing death to I need

Daphne (44:13)

to write a book can help others?

Corey Richards (44:15)

You know, I just watched the struggle that my kids were going through, and I actually, you know, I went on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and trying to find something that we could use to cope at nights. Nights are the hardest, it seems like, for everybody when, you know, dealing with anything. But I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night, and I just could not find anything. I couldn't find anything that really, you know, suited them or helped them find comfort. And so, you know, I was like, let's just write one. And so, you know, I took things that my kids have said to me this last year, and we kind of articulated it and put it into a story and, you know, just have hopes that it will help other kids.

Daphne (44:55)

You are an amazing woman and mom, and we thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this and touching the lives of others.

Corey Richards (45:02)

Thank you. I really appreciate being here.

Daphne (45:04)

Thank you. Corey. You and the fact that she said, like, her and her sons, she and her sons wrote the book. Like, girl, you didn't write the book. Like the lies begin.

Heath (45:15)

Yeah. You had a ghost writer you couldn't even. You couldn't even write a children's book by yourself. You had to have a ghostwriter do it for you.

Daphne (45:21)

It's even crazier when we, like, I'm going to. Let's. Let's go into. I guess then what is in the book. And like, the fact that you needed a ghostwriter for that. So first, though, after this interview aired, the host received an email that read in all caps, you know she killed her husband, because people were already talking about it. So the first page, of course, includes a dedication, and it reads, dedicated to my amazing husband and a wonderful father. The page directly after it features an illustration of the Richins family from behind, like, sitting on a hill and watching the sunset. And it reads, always on our minds, forever in our hearts. And then, like, under each family member, like, of this family of five is

Heath (46:11)

a stack of cash.

Daphne (46:13)

No is their names. So she's like, she's putting. It feels very personal, very pointed. Like, almost like you might want to make this book only for your kids and then give it to them, but not to sell this. This book that has.

Heath (46:29)

That's like your story.

Daphne (46:30)

Yeah, it's almost like. Well, that's. It's very specific to you. And we won't read the whole book because it's kinda long, but page one from the POV of one of their sons, Weston, as the entire book is, when it's not from the POV of Eric, shows Weston from behind looking at clouds in the sky. And it says, are you in the clouds when I look up to see you, to tell you about my day, ask about yours, and tell you that I love you. The next page is another image, and it says, are you at my soccer game when I scored that goal for you, I looked for you in the crowd, but you weren't there. Did you see it? The next page, are you with me on my birthday to blow out my candles to celebrate another year, to watch me grow, teach me new things, and watch me make mistakes. And then it just kind of goes on from there like that of different situations that Weston would be experiencing. And I. I don't know, I just. This feels quite exploitative. Like, even everything else aside the fact that she's using her young son's name in the book and this illustration of him and of Eric and their family. Like, I totally get if this horrible experience inspired you to want to help others. But the method is so strange. And of course it will make sense why it is so exploitative and strange, because this is in no Way a normal book or a normal situation. But even weirder again, that she used a ghostwriter for something like this that's supposed to be so incredibly personal. It just feels so phony because it is. Because it is. Right.

Heath (48:13)

And it's sad to think that after all of this comes out and it all went down, the fact that Weston had to realize that there were ulterior motives to this book that his mother created.

Daphne (48:26)

Right.

Heath (48:27)

You know, it just. It feels like that would just stab

Daphne (48:29)

you through the heart, especially because she poised it as, I just wanted to help my children.

Heath (48:36)

Right.

Daphne (48:36)

And that could not be further from the truth with anything with Corey Richards. But anyway, so her book has since, of course, been pulled from Amazon. Meanwhile, by the time it came out, it had been over a year since Eric passed away, and his family was growing very frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation when they felt it was so obvious what had happened. So they hired a private investigator named Todd Gabler, who doggedly pursued answers in the case of Eric's death and provided the push that law enforcement needed. Todd managed to pull Corey's phone records, which showed that before and after Eric's death, she was in frequent communication with a woman named Carmen Lauber, who cleaned Corey's house. Flips for her. Todd was passing along all this information to investigators who were particularly interested in the fact that Carmen was a convicted felon with a slew of drug charges.

Heath (49:41)

Ah, so now they're starting to connect some dots.

Daphne (49:44)

Here we go with the drugs. And because she was on probation for drug related crimes at the time, detectives were able to just pop up at Carmen's house and search through her trash, finding discarded drug paraphernalia and using this as reasonable cause against her.

Heath (50:01)

Yeah, because again, she is a convicted felon. She's probably on probation for this.

Daphne (50:07)

Yeah. So they're. They're allowed to do this and they're like, oh, we've got something. But they also found that she was in possession of a gun, which, of course, she was not permitted to have because she's a felon.

Heath (50:19)

Well, when Carmen was brought in for questioning, she admitted to selling fentanyl to Corey on two separate occasions and claimed that the first time she purchased the drug, Corey said that it hadn't been strong enough.

Daphne (50:31)

Why would she say that?

Heath (50:33)

So this is giving us a clue. This is giving us insight into the fact that Corey had done this more than once. Like, you know, Eric's sisters had assumed from the beginning after that grease trip. So prosecutors hatched a plea deal for her to Speak out against Corey and Carmen accepted narrowly avoiding a hefty prison sentence for the drug and firearm charges. On May 8th of 2023, just over a month after her appearance on Good Things, Utah, Corey was arrested for the murder of her husband.

Daphne (51:07)

It's crazy that that happened so close to when she was on that show and when her book came out. Like she's in the. She's in the news literally for this book, and then it's like, wham, arrested.

Heath (51:18)

Imagine seeing her on Good Things, Utah, and you're feeling sympathetic for her because she's this wife that just lost her husband and then a couple or like, what was it? A couple months later she's arrested for his murder. Like your head would just be spinning.

Daphne (51:33)

Yes, truly.

Heath (51:35)

While her family maintained their belief that it was an accidental overdose and couldn't believe that Corey was being held responsible for such a heinous act, In a four page letter that she wrote from prison, or wrote to them from prison, she complained, this comes down to jealousy, money and Eric's partying that they don't want to acknowledge. And sadly, an accidental overdose.

Daphne (51:59)

Even though she told police that he wasn't known to take drugs recreationally. And that like, now she's suddenly like, he was a partier.

Heath (52:08)

Yeah, yeah. Now all of a sudden he's a partier. Because basically, you know, ahead of her trial, she was attempting to kind of portray Eric as this drug user just to get these people on board with saying whatever they had to in order to let her off for the crime. She wrote, a year prior to Eric's death, Ronnie, Corey's brother, was over watching football one Sunday, and Eric and Ronnie were chatting about Eric's Mexico trips. Eric told Ronnie he gets pain pills and fentanyl from Mexico from the workers at the ranch. Not to tell me because I would get mad because I always said he just gets high every night and won't help take care of the kids.

Daphne (52:45)

This is so messed up. She is tainting his memory and making up lies when she could have easily told this to the police in the beginning if it was even a little bit true.

Heath (52:56)

But she didn't say that.

Daphne (52:57)

Yeah, because now she's scrambling and she's like, has to come up with a reason why there would be fentanyl in his system. As if she didn't imagine that poisoning him with fentanyl would be uncovered.

Heath (53:09)

Well, then she added an addendum that her brother should reword the statement as he saw fit in order to get her off.

Daphne (53:15)

So she's like, if we need to tweak this a little bit. Go ahead and tweak it. Because it's not true.

Heath (53:21)

Yeah, exactly. If you need to stretch the lie a little further to fit, then just do it. Well, as the state built their case against Corey, they seized multiple cell phones as well as computers. Corey had tried to delete numerous texts and conversations, so the mistakes that she made were traceable. This included Google searches like luxury prisons for the rich in America. What is a lethal dose of fentanyl? Can cops uncover deleted messages on iPhone? As well as if someone is poisoned, what does it go down on the death certificate as.

Daphne (54:00)

The luxury prisons thing is wild, especially because you're not rich. You're in debt. Like big time debt.

Heath (54:07)

You're millions in debt.

Daphne (54:08)

But she's trying to. If I do get caught, where? What fancy little prison can I go to? That is not how.

Heath (54:14)

That's not how it works, Corey. Yeah, there is no luxury prison for the rich in America.

Daphne (54:20)

If only.

Heath (54:21)

Well, Corey told police that on the morning that her husband was found dead in their home, her phone had been charging in their bedroom while she was asleep in their son's room. Following that night terror, of course, however, her phone records proved that this was not true. Because between 9pm When Corey and Eric toasted with celebratory Moscow mules, and 3am when she claims that she found him unresponsive and called 911, her phone was locked and unlocked multiple times, and many text messages were deleted, including texts to, of course, Carmen, who had sold her the fentanyl. Now, additionally, she had purchased hydrocodone and requested, quote, some of the Michael Jackson stuff, which in part would have been the sedative propofol.

Daphne (55:09)

Three days before Valentine's Day of 2022, when it's believed that she had tried to poison Eric's breakfast sandwich, Corey bought $900 worth of fentanyl from Carmen. Well, then get this. On May 19, 2024, an unsealed search warrant revealed Corey's mom's romantic partner had also happened to die from a suspicious overdose. Her mom, Lisa Darden, was actually investigated in the death. And though she was never found to be responsible, prosecutors wondered if maybe Corey had elicited the help of her mom in Eric's murder. Though I will say no concrete evidence was found to support this conclusion. But if it's true about Lisa's partner, and if Lisa had done that, then maybe that's where Corey got the idea.

Heath (56:04)

That's what I was thinking, too.

Daphne (56:06)

Jury selection for Corey's murder Trial began on February 10th of this year, 2026, and testimony began on February 23rd. Corey's attorneys argued that shoddy police work was to blame, telling the jury, quote, they cannot tell you how Eric ingested that fentanyl. They haven't done their job and now they want you to make inferences based on paper thin evidence. Carmen, of course, was the prosecution's star witness and was granted immunity for her testimony. She cried on the stand telling the court that she had told Corey, please tell me these pills were not for him. The dealer who sold Carmen the pills was also called to the stand by the prosecution, though he claimed that he had not sold Fentanyl to Carmen, which many in the courtroom doubted.

Heath (57:03)

Yeah, I'm sure he probably did.

Daphne (57:05)

Then a surprise witness came along in the form of Corey's lover, Robert or Josh Grossman, who was a handyman that Corey hired at her properties. Cause yeah, she was having an affair.

Heath (57:19)

Either way, of course she fucking was. I mean, it had to get deeper, right?

Daphne (57:24)

Well, actually he had relocated to Utah permanently just to work for her because that's how much he wanted to be with her. Now Josh was an army veteran who was down on his luck when they met. He was unemployed and staying with friends at the time. So Corey offered him work and loaned him money when he needed it. Why does she keep doing this, by the way? And even offered him a place to stay. Of course, this is while Eric was still alive and well. As their romance blossomed, he claimed that Corey yearned for Eric to be out of the picture so that they could be together.

Heath (58:01)

Which is crazy just considering the fact that all this money was involved and she's getting them into. She's getting Eric and herself into further and further into debt. And then there's also this side guy like, like I said, it just gets deeper and deeper.

Daphne (58:17)

She's truly evil. And she even texted Josh that she wished her husband Eric would go away and that you could just be here. The years long affair had even resulted in the exchange of I love you. So not only was Cory screwing Eric up financially and taking his money, but she was completely romantically involved with another man. But of course she knew that if she divorced Eric, she wasn't gonna see a penny of his.

Heath (58:49)

Yeah, she was gonna get nothing because of that prenup.

Daphne (58:52)

Well, during trial, Josh doubled over in tears on the stand as the court read their text messages out loud. Cause he's like, oh shit. And in one Corey wrote, I have a crazy dream. 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, raise some kids, have a little farm deal.

Heath (59:22)

Yeah. Until she decides that she wants you out of the picture and decides to poison you.

Daphne (59:27)

The fact that she said, I divorce and come up with millions and millions,

Heath (59:32)

just magically, it just shows you where her priorities really are.

Daphne (59:35)

Yeah. And that she had a plan. She's like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna make millions. I'm gonna split from my husband.

Heath (59:42)

Now, would you consider that premeditation? I mean.

Daphne (59:44)

Of course.

Heath (59:45)

Yeah. It's. It's like just.

Daphne (59:47)

Well, also with the fact that she bought the drugs, that's premeditation as well.

Heath (59:50)

Well, yeah, I mean that, but I just mean, like, as far as her relationship goes with Josh, the fact that she's already planning this future life with her lover.

Daphne (59:59)

Yeah, she. It seems like before Eric actually died, for a while, she had been trying to figure out how to get him out of the picture, but how to make the dosh as well.

Heath (60:10)

Well, interestingly enough, according to her defense attorney, the relationship fizzled out in the weeks following her husband's death.

Daphne (60:17)

Lol.

Heath (60:18)

Yeah. But when they broke up, she asked him an eerily incriminating question, wondering if he had ever killed anyone when he was in active combat. And when he told her that he had, she asked him how it felt to do so.

Daphne (60:32)

It's almost like she wants to talk about what she did. And she's trying to.

Heath (60:37)

She's trying to find some common ground.

Daphne (60:39)

Yeah. Trying to try to talk about it without talking about it.

Heath (60:42)

Yeah. Yeah. Well, after nearly two weeks of testimony from witnesses from the prosecution, the defense seemed to decide at the last minute not to call a single witness. And Corey herself waived her right to testify. The jury deliberated for only three hours, and on March 16th of 2026. So this is very recent. Cory Richards was found guilty of murdering her husband Eric. She bowed her head as the verdict was read, and the jury believed without a shadow of a doubt that Cory Richins had drugged her husband's Moscow mule with the tasteless drug of fentanyl so she could gain money from his trust and life insurance policies and live out her dream life with Josh. Eric's family at this point were just beyond disturbed by all the revelations. Obviously, they were not surprised at all. They basically knew Corey's character all along. And Eric's sister has since adopted his three sons.

Daphne (61:45)

In addition to the first degree murder charge were a myriad of other charges, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and an attempted murder charge for the tainted breakfast sandwich that failed to kill Eric before. In addition to awaiting sentencing on her murder charges, she also faces charges for money laundering, forgery, insurance fraud, and writing bad checks. With all that, we're sure she will never get out. But her sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2026, which should be Eric's 44th birthday. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

Heath (62:34)

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I know that, that we have covered this episode before, but there are little details that came out during the trial that a lot of us did not know. So we felt like we really needed to dive a little deeper into all the very horrible deeds of Corey Richards.

Daphne (62:52)

It's so weird when I. I don't know, like, we just cover so many cases that I think my brain is so bogged by so many different stories that, like, when I was looking for cases to cover and like sifting through our emails and our like, massive, massive list, I was like, oh my God, this. How have we not done this one yet? This is such a crazy story. And I'm like, start diving into it.

Heath (63:15)

I'm like, wait, we did do it?

Daphne (63:17)

Did we do this? And then I like looked it up and we did and I just completely forgot all the details. So I was not hoping that a lot of you would as well. But it's. It's been a minute.

Heath (63:27)

I also think it's very relevant, the fact that, that she was just sentenced not that long ago. I mean, it was, it's in the news.

Daphne (63:34)

Yeah.

Heath (63:35)

So thank you guys so much for listening to this one. Also, don't forget, if you want to see us in Crimecon or at Crimecon in Vegas, head on over to crimecon.com and use our code goingwest10 to get some discounts. And we hope to see you guys there.

Daphne (63:51)

Yes. And if you want to see photos from this case, video of Heath and I recording it, head on over to our socials. We are on Instagram, @goingwestpodcast, on TikTok, at goingwest podcast and we are also on Facebook and YouTube shorts.

Heath (64:04)

Yep. Well, with that we will see you guys on Friday.

Daphne (64:09)

On Tuesday.

Heath (64:11)

On Tuesday. What day is it? I don't know. All right, guys, so for everybody out

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