Kouri Richins Psychology — Living in an Alternate Reality While Facing Murder Charges

Charged with murder. Wrote a grief book. Promoted it on television. Filed lawsuits from jail demanding millions from the estate of the man she's accused of killing. Punched her sister-in-law upon learning she'd been cut from the will.

Kouri Richins appears to be living in a version of reality that nobody else can see.

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins True Crime Today to examine cognitive distortion at its most extreme — how someone constructs and inhabits an alternate narrative that contradicts what everyone around them is experiencing, and genuinely believes their version is the true one.

The "Walk the Dog" letter from jail is a window into that mindset. Prosecutors called it blatant witness tampering — instructions to family members on testimony, claims that Eric purchased drugs from Mexico himself. When someone facing serious charges continues trying to control the narrative, what does that reveal?

The 911 call the night Eric died was hysterical — sobbing, barely able to answer questions. The defense called it "the sounds of a wife becoming a widow." But prosecutors say Kouri's phone was active before that call, and Eric's sister testified she appeared "well put together" when she arrived.

How does someone produce what sounds like genuine devastation after allegedly orchestrating a death? Is it performance, or can someone actually feel grief for an outcome they caused?

Internet searches recovered from Kouri's phone included "luxury prisons for the rich" and "if someone is poisoned what does it go down on the death certificate as." These suggest awareness that what she was doing was wrong.

How do you reconcile knowing something is criminal with believing you're entitled to do it?

After nearly three years in jail, Kouri maintains her innocence. Shavaun Scott explains how distortion becomes reality.

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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.

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