Kouri Richins, a mother from Utah who is accused of poisoning her husband and then writing a children’s book about grief, filed a move to have her murder charges against her dismissed, but a Utah judge denied the request on Friday.
Richins is charged with injecting five times the fatal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow Mule she crafted for Eric Richins in March 2022.
In a letter known as the “walk the dog letter,” which was discovered in her jail cell, the prosecutors alleged Ms. Richins of tampering with evidence, and her attorneys claimed that this had “irreparably harmed Ms. Richins’ right to a fair trial.”
In their motion, the prosecution claimed that the letter purportedly contained instructions for Richins’ brother to propagate “a false narrative” alleging that her husband had traveled to Mexico to purchase fentanyl and painkillers.
Richins stated that the letter was a passage from a “fictional mystery book” in which she and her father travel to Mexico in search of drugs in a different memo that the prosecutors filed.
Although Richins has not been charged or found guilty of trying to tamper with potential witnesses’ testimony, her attorney, Skye Lazaro, contended that the prosecutors’ remarks in the filing implied that her client was involved in witness tampering and that her actions demonstrated consciousness of guilt.
Examine Kouri Richins’ Writings
In addition, the judge decided that Richins’ writings will be examined by an outside counsel to determine whether any attorney-client privilege applies.
Prosecutors had earlier asked Richins’ defense lawyers to turn over the letter to her mother and about sixty pages of writings that were purportedly a continuation of the “walk the dog” letter.
The judge mandated that defense lawyers provide a form of order outlining their suggested rules of engagement for handling the material by December 1.
According to the judge, the defense will turn over the requested documents to establish attorney-client privilege once the guidelines and involved parties have been established.
Judge Mrazik cited his earlier decision to deny the motion to dismiss in his refusal to impose a gag order and contempt sanctions against the prosecutors in relation to the letter.
The prosecution’s request for an order prohibiting Richins from communicating with her mother or brother was also turned down.
As of Friday, Judge Richard Mrazik’s ruling prohibits Richins from transferring, renaming, or pledging any assets she or her reality company currently owns.
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