Carmen Lauber Takes the Stand: What the Jury Heard on Day 4

The witness the entire trial has been building toward finally testified on day four. Carmen Lauber, the former Richins family housekeeper, took the stand in Park City and told jurors she purchased drugs for Kouri Richins four times between late January and early March 2022 — the period surrounding Eric Richins' death.

Lauber's testimony, given under immunity agreements with multiple jurisdictions, laid out an alleged escalation from generic opiates to fentanyl pills purchased from a street-level source. She testified that she informed Kouri the pills were fentanyl and that Kouri told her to proceed. According to Lauber, Kouri left cash in a house she was flipping and Lauber left pills in a firepit at the same property — a system that kept both women physically separated from the handoffs.

Lauber also described a phone call days after Eric's death in which she says she told Kouri to please confirm the pills weren't for him. According to Lauber, Kouri said they were not and that Eric died from a brain aneurysm. Phone records presented in court showed Kouri texted Lauber three days after Eric's death asking about her drug connection. The fourth buy was paid for with a $1,300 check Lauber says was labeled as construction cleaning for work she never performed.

Defense attorney Wendy Lewis challenged Lauber's credibility extensively. Lauber confirmed regular methamphetamine use during the period of the alleged deals, prior drug convictions, pending charges, and a failed drug court stint. Lewis highlighted that Lauber initially told investigators Kouri asked for oxycodone, not fentanyl, and played a recorded investigator meeting where Lauber was told to provide information that would ensure a conviction. Lauber's drug source has also changed his account of what he sold. Cross-examination continues Friday.

The morning session established the forensic foundation. Toxicologist Dr. Brianna Peterson confirmed Eric had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his blood, with markers for illicit fentanyl. No hydrocodone was detected. A state crime lab scientist tested 19 evidence items and found no fentanyl on any of them. Testimony also addressed phones collected from Kouri's alleged boyfriend that were initially inoperable but later became functional, and a letter found in the Richins bedroom in November 2024 that was not present during any prior search.

Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.

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