Kouri Richins: Venue Change Denied as Trial Date Approaches

Kouri Richins' defense says publicity has poisoned her jury pool beyond repair. But there's a detail the headlines missed — the judge already denied that motion days before the story even broke.

Judge Richard Mrazik rejected the defense's second attempt to move the trial out of Summit County, finding that a fair and impartial jury can still be seated despite widespread awareness of the case. Prosecutors pointed to 830 potential jurors who said they hadn't heard of the case or hadn't followed it — nearly half the questionnaire pool. The defense's argument that only 72 viable jurors remain didn't hold up.

What makes this case so well-known isn't reckless media coverage. It's the nature of the allegations themselves. A children's book about grief — written after her husband's death and before her arrest. A six-page jailhouse letter allegedly laying out fabricated testimony. Nearly $2 million in life insurance policies. And a drug source who now says under oath he never sold fentanyl at all.

Richins is charged with aggravated murder in the 2022 fentanyl death of her husband Eric in Kamas, Utah. Prosecutors allege she spiked his cocktail with a fatal dose — five times the lethal amount found in his blood — after a failed attempt on Valentine's Day two weeks earlier. Her realty company allegedly owed at least $1.8 million while Eric's estate was worth roughly $5 million.

Her case also appeared in a January 2026 DHS intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement about domestic partners using chemical and biological toxins to kill — seventeen documented cases since 2014 with at least eleven deaths.

The defense wants this to be a story about an unfair system. But trace the notoriety back to its source and every thread leads to the same place. Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent. Trial begins February 23rd.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.