May 17, 2024 • 43 mins
Kouri Richins defense team has a strategy to argue every piece of evidence the prosecution has, in an effort to have the case against her dismissed. The prosecutors are working hard to not let that happen during the preliminary hearing. As both sides are preparing to provide the court with their evidence, the prosecution says they need at least three full days to present their case for the judge. Noting the amount of time that will be needed to conduct the hearing, the judge moved the case to June 18 to June 21. The Kouri Richins defense will be to stand up to each piece of evidence and have the case dismissed before ever getting to trial
The judge allows prosecutors to introduce evidence that Kouri looked into getting a divorce and had a law firm on retainer. After receiving a consultation. Kouri allegedly tells her bother that she ended the consultation because she didn't want half of everything and wants to walk away clean and free. However, the court may reasonably infer the opposite is true as it appears Kouri Richins didn't want half of everything. Prosecutors say she wanted everything and to that end, planned to cause Eric Richins' death
The investigation into the death of Eric Richins show text messages between Kouri Richins and her mother, Lisa Darden, show great disdain for Eric on Lisa Darden's part. Investigators include in their report that right before her significant other dies, Lisa Darden is added to her will. The detective writes, based on Lisa Darden’s proximity to her partner’s suspicious overdose death, and her relationship with Kouri, it is possible she was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric’s death."
- JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:
- Greg Skordas - Friend and Spokesperson for victim Eric Richins
- Troy Slaten - Criminal Defense Attorney, Slaten Lawyers, APC; Twitter @TroySlaten
- Dr Ernest Chiodo - Toxicologist, Physician, Biomedical Engineer, Attorney, Author: “Toxic Tort: Medical and Legal Elements”, www.ernestpchiodo.com,
- Justin Boardman - Former Detective, West Valley City Police Department Special Victim’s Unit, Boardman Training & Consulting
- Elaine Aradillas - Investigative Journalist Previously worked at People magazine and The Messenger. X/Twitter: @elaineja Instagram: @the_elaine
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace breaking news tonight. Did a
mother in law help the so called moscow mule mom
poison her hobby dead and did the very same moscow
mule mom openly stayed she'd be better off quote with
(00:24):
her husband dead just before he is dead. Good evening,
I'm Issy Grace, this is Crime Stories. Thank you for
being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Corey Richins calls police to her Utah home for her husband.
Eric Richins, is found dead in the early morning of
March four, twenty twenty two. Corey had given Eric a
drink a Moscow mule before bed. She then spent part
of the night with one of her three children, who
had a nightmare. The night of his death. She said
she returned to their bedroom at approximately three am. He
(00:59):
was called to the touch and she called nine one one.
Eric had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in
his system, which had been ingested orally.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Wow, five times a lethal dose in his system. That
combined with what prosecutors are saying that the children's book author,
Oh by the way, that book was about her children
grieving after the death of their father. Did she actually
say her husband would be quote better off dead before
(01:33):
killing him? That's what prosecutors claim. Joining me in, I'll
start panel to make sense of what we know right now,
but I want you to see some very un emotional
statements made by the so called Moscow Mule Mom.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
What I have kind of found is, as I mentioned,
it's kind of the three c's is how I visualized it,
and it's you know, connection, continuity, and care, and it's
you know, making sure connection is the one major one
in making sure that their spirit is always alive.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Okay, making sure that the dad's spirit is still alive.
I would rather have him still be alive. That clip
from our friends at Good Things Utah. But that's not all.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Listen explaining 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.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
I'm sure his presence will be with everyone in a
court of law when Corey Richards aka Moscow Mule Mom
is on trial for murder. Again. That was from our
friends at Good Things Utah, who coincidentally, and I would
say providentially, gave Corey Richards an interview about her new book,
(02:55):
Are You with Me? Guys with Me? And All Star
panel right now to make sense of the latest developments.
And it's so called Moscow Mule Mom case, the big
bombshell in my mind, and there's so many of them
as this case. Progressive to her trial is that prosecutors
apparently are alleging our suspecting that Corey Richins's own mother
(03:19):
had a hand in planning his death. Is that possible?
Would a mother aid in a bet and encourage her
own daughter to commit a murder? I find that really
hard to believe, but that seems to be what is
being argued. Listen.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Detectives are shocked to find Corey Richan's mother, Lisa Dartin,
was romantically involved with a woman she was living with
who suddenly and unexpectedly dies. The warrant states, and autopsy
found the woman dies from an overdose of oxycodone. The
woman was not addicted or in recovery and had a
legitimate prescription for the medication. Detectives say, accidental overdose seems unlike.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Okay, joining me in All Star Palins I mentioned, but
first I'm going to go to investigative journalist who worked
with People magazine and The Messenger, Elaine radiis Elaine, thank
you so much for being with us. What So, Corey
Richards's mother was involved with a woman and her lover.
(04:21):
The mom's lover died of an accidental overdose of oxy
Is that correct?
Speaker 5 (04:28):
That's right, that's what police are saying.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Huh.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
It seems that in the course of their investigation they
discovered that Lisa Darden's partner unexpectedly died.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Now, Lisa Darden is Corey Richards's mother, correct, that's right. Okay.
Let me understand this. Corey Richins, so called Moscow Mule
mom is charged and heading to trial in the poisoning
death of her husband five times over a lethal dose,
not five times the legal limit. Five times over a
(05:02):
lethal dose. Okay, and now we find out what a
coinkydink Her mother's lover died of a lethal dose of oxy. Now,
let me understand one more issue regarding that prior death.
Elaine o Adias with US investigative journalist. The lover, the
(05:26):
mom's lover. She had not had any addiction problems, She
had never been in recovery, no prior suicide attempts. Has
She had a legitimate prescription for the meds.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
That's right, she had.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
She had a legitimate subscription prescription and so, but the
police have questioned that he died unexpectedly and interestingly, Lisa
is the benefit to Harry of the partner's estate.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Elame, are you telling me that Corey Richards Moscow Mew
mom mother lover died of an accidental OD with no
history of recovery, with a legitimate prescription, and the mother,
Lisa Darden, was the beneficiary of the lover's estate. That
(06:26):
is right, Okay, I'm sorry it sounds like I'm an
English teacher again diagramming a sentence on the blackboard for
my eighth grade students. But I just had to break
that down to make sure I understood what's going on. Okay,
And apparently there may be more Listen.
Speaker 7 (06:43):
Text messages between Corey Richins and her mother, Lisa Darden
showed great disdain for Eric. On Lisa Darden's part, investigators
report that right before her significant other dies, Lisa Darden
is added to her will. Based on Lisa Darden's proximity
to her partner's suspicious overdose death and her relationship with Corey,
(07:05):
it is possible that she was involved in planning and
orchestrating Eric's death.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Before we even move a quarter inch forward, let me
just say that Cory Richinds's mother, Lisa Darden, has not
been charged, has not been named a suspect, a person
of interest, and her lover's unexpected overdose. Now that said,
this is what I think is stirring the pot of suspicion. Okay,
(07:35):
there's a reason investigators are concerned, and this is it. Listen.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
In a six page handwritten letter, Richins instructs her mother
and brother to give false testimony, stating this comes down
to jealousy, money, and Eric's partying that they don't want
to acknowledge in sadly an accidental overdose. The prosecutors have
asked the judge to restrict Richards from further engaging in
witness him bring by restricting her from contacting her mother
(08:03):
and brother. In the letter, Richins allegedly wants her brother
to say Eric told him he got pain peels in
fentnyl from Mexico, pointing out how Ronnie's testimony could make
the connection of Eric and drugs, that his testimony can
be short and to the point that has to be done.
Richins tells her mother to pass the information to her
(08:23):
brother in person that her home and phone could be bugged.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Okay, as we say in the courtroom, holy crap, that's
a lot. Let me understand this. Let me go to
a renowned criminal defense attorney. You know him well, Troy Slayton,
joining us from this Slaton Lawyers group out in La
Troy on a personal note, It's wonderful to see you
again now that that's taking care of you.
Speaker 8 (08:50):
Tune in what Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Troy, help me, help me because according to prosecutors, this
is not coming from me. I'm not dreaming this up.
According to prosecutors and cops, there was a six page
handwritten letter from Moscow Mule Mom and it instructs her
mother and brother to give false testimony. Okay, wait, but
(09:18):
about what she states in the letter. It comes down
to jealousy, money in Eric's partying, and sadly, an accidental overdose.
And she goes on to ask them to lie to
get her brother to say her husband, Eric obtained the
fentanyl that killed him from Mexico from workers at a ranch.
(09:45):
And she is instructing them in writing and writing Troy
in writing that that can connect Eric with the drugs
and can be short. She's even instracting them how to
say it short, but to the point telling her mom
to pass the info along to her brother verbally away
(10:08):
from the home because she thinks the home is bud.
This isn't conjecture. This is a handwritten note by mas
moscowmule mom instructing her mother and brother to lie under oath.
Troy Slayton respond.
Speaker 8 (10:25):
The prosecutors are saying that she was trying to engage
in witness tampering, that she's trying to coach the witnesses.
But what her defense is.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Say did you say coach the witnesses. I'm sorry, Liz,
there must be something wrong with my earpiece because I
thought I heard him say she's trying to coach the witnesses.
This is not coaching witnesses. This is suborning perjury.
Speaker 8 (10:48):
Nancy. What she's trying to explain the defense theory of
the case. She's trying to explain what her whole theory
of the case is and explain to her entire family.
You need to tell the story that you know. Nowhere
in that letter does it say I want you to
lie for me. Nowhere does it say I want you
to make up a story. She knows that everybody's going
(11:09):
to be reading her mail. She knows everyone's reading her
jail mail. That's why when she had a phone conversation
with her mom, she held up a message for her
mom to see because she didn't want to say things
out loud, because she knows everyone is listening.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
You mean she didn't want to subborn perjury out loud? Okay,
all right, I can see the argument that you would
make a trial crime stories with Nancy Grace. The prosecutors
(11:45):
were so concerned about the mother's involvement that they actually
asked the judge to restrict Moscow Mule Mom from further
engaging and witness tampering, restricting her from contact her mother
and brother. Wow, okay, Mom and bro better be careful.
(12:06):
Are they going to be dragged into this thing too?
Speaker 8 (12:09):
So?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Is it possible? Apparently prosecutors think it is that the
mother of Corey Richins actually had a hand in planning
Eric Richards's death. What more do we know? In court?
Corey Richins facing multiple multiple motions? Is it all about
(12:30):
money or is it also about love? Oh? Let me
rephrase sex.
Speaker 9 (12:36):
Listen As investigators are looking over text messages from Corey
Richins to others, they find romantic messages written to a
man other than her husband. In a text to her
unnamed lover, Corey Richins writes, I'm in love with a
man that's not my husband. In another text, I just
want to lay on the couch and cuddle you, watch
a murder documentary and snuggle. She also texts the unknown man.
(12:57):
If I was divorced right now and asked you to
make marry me tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You would.
Speaker 9 (13:01):
Richard's allegedly asked this the day after Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Troy Slayton, I don't know if I'm more angry about
the sex with the lover or wanting to watch a
murder mystery and snuggle what you may actually have emotional
intimacy with her boy toy? Are you serious? I mean
(13:26):
on the sofa snuggling watching a murder mystery That really
strikes sign with me.
Speaker 8 (13:31):
What every person, every person that has an adulterous relationship
isn't a murderer. Adultery does not murder make and although
it may provide some sort of motive for investigators, there
are plenty of people all over the world, every single
day that are having adulterous relationships that aren't killing their
(13:52):
their spouse, So that's ridiculous. And with regard to her
being and with regard to the whole with subborting perjury,
I just wanted to say that most criminal defendants are
out on bail. This is somebody who's having to defend themselves,
defend their life on murder charges while being in the
(14:13):
confines of a jail cell. She hasn't been found guilty
of anything yet she's not able to help her defense team.
She's not able to marshal her defense in because she's
stuck in a jail cell.
Speaker 10 (14:24):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
That was so complex with again technical legal term bs,
I really don't know which way to go. First, let
me try to do it chronologically. First of all, Troy Slatin,
do you ever ever get tired of second verse save
as first just because she is an adult or doesn't
make them a murderer. How many times have you said that?
(14:48):
I mean, I've run out of fingers and toes to
count how many times you've actually made that argument to me.
But let me reverse that. Okay, true, every adulterer is
not a killer, But in domestic homicide, I would argue
anecdotally that a majority of the killers are adulters, So
(15:14):
let's reverse that. What about that Slaton That may be true,
Let me enjoy the moment of him having to agree
with me.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
Are also cheating? Yes, Nancy?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Okay, now let's move on to your next, your next
what you know? Oh boohoo, Cory Riches is behind bars.
I hate when that happens, when your husband kills ever
dead and you get Okay, you know what, you'd say
that a love affair. Let me just rephrase that a
(15:48):
sex affair is not necessarily grounds for murder. Okay, I
would agree with you, because there are no grounds for murder.
But let's talk about possibly and even stronger motivator, money,
What people will do for money. Hey, you know what,
get another job? But this listen, Slayton, sit back and
(16:12):
enjoy what you're about to hear.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Prosecutor's working theory is that Corey Richins was facing a
severe financial crisis prior to the death of Eric. Richards.
Sends a text to her best friend saying she owes
her husband over a quarter of a million dollars after
taking out a home equity line of credit on his home.
The text says, I don't know what to do if
he thinks I owe him the money, then that's fine.
I'll pay whatever he thinks and then I'm out. She
tells the friend she has investments that will cover what
(16:36):
she owes in a couple of months, but until Ben,
she texts, got to be top notch careful, adding her
goal is to make sure custody for the three boys
will at least be fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Got to be top notch careful. Okay, Justin Boardman is
joining me in addition to Troy Slayton, high profile lawyer,
and Elaine are adis investigative journalist. Justin Boardman top notch careful.
I bet one thing that Moscow newle Mom didn't count
(17:07):
on is that cell phone movements and cell phone data
can be tracked. Okay. For instance, your cell phone can
be going from room to room in and out, and
when you try to delete texts that you've been texting
(17:28):
while your husband's in the next room dying, and you
tell the cops, oh, I was in another room. I
didn't sleep with him that night. My cell phone was
plugged in over there. But we can tell that you're
texting and then deleting your text at the time your
husband dies. Ouch. Boardman, there is no perfect crime.
Speaker 10 (17:51):
There's not any perfect crime.
Speaker 11 (17:53):
There's always a slip up, there's always something going on.
Speaker 10 (17:58):
You were mentioning previous.
Speaker 11 (18:00):
About a text message that happened right after Valentine's Day
to her lover and Valentine's Day, wasn't that a possible
poison sandwich at that point in time?
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Hey, you are so right man. You've got a still
trap for a memory. Justin Borman, when Corey Richins reportedly
tried to poison her husband with a sandwich on Valentine's Day,
that was a prior murder attempt. And thank you for
reminding me of that, because you know I love nothing
more than a good old similar transaction. According to prosecutors,
(18:40):
this ain't her first time at the rodeo. She has
apparently tried to kill him before. That's the allegation. She
remains innocent until proven guilty. But back too, I'm so happy.
Back to Troy Slayton. Troy Slayton, you said sex is
not enough motive for murder, as if there is anything.
But there's more about her potential financial ruin Listen.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
In the investigation into finances, prosecutors find out that even
though Corey Richins is in serious financial trouble. She continues
to rack up debt over three million dollars the day
her husband dies. Prosecutors say Richins has recently defaulted on
one loan and is struggling to avoid default on others,
adding her bank accounts are exhausted and she aspiraling toward
(19:24):
financial collapse. Even so, prosecutors say, she tries buying another
million dollar home with money she doesn't have.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Elaine Aardillaz joining US investigative journalist. Elaine tell me about
Corey Richins' money problems.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Corey Ritins is a financial disaster.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
The more details that keep coming out about this, we
are learning that she just keeps going.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Further into debt, and we're talking millions of dollars, and
she's banking on the fact that, you know, once her
husband dies, she's going to come into five million dollars
and then everything will be fixed. But she cannot keep
anything straight and she just keeps going further into debt.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Three days after Eric Richards dies, Corey Richins calls a
locksmith to have her husband safe unlocked. Corey expects there
to be one hundred and twenty five to one hundred
and sixty five thousand in cash. Eric Richard's sister Amy
finds out Corey's trying to get into the safe and
informs her that she doesn't have a right to the
funds in the safe. Eric Richards removed Corey's name from
the life insurance policy and she's no longer named in
his will. Eric replaced Corey with his sister Katie as
(20:34):
the beneficiary. Corey Richards becomes enraged and punches Amy in
the neck and face. Corey Richards is charged with assault,
and after failing to follow through on a plea agreement,
she's convicted of assault.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Okay, hold up, everybody, straight back out to investigative journalist
Elaine on Adias. So now Corey Richins is actually convicted
for attacking her sister in law. And I believe that
that happens. And when the sister in law informed her
contrary to what she thought, Moscow meile mom is no
(21:06):
longer the beneficiary, and she attacks the sister.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Corey thought that she was one step ahead of everybody.
She was talking to people running things and like having
her name changed added to documents, and she thought she
was running the show.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
But lo and behold when she goes to.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
Start taking what she thought was hers, Eric's sister informed her, no,
I am in charge of all of Eric's estate, and
so clearly she became enraged and it was a shock
to her system. And I think at that point that's
(21:48):
when she suddenly realizing that she does not have anything
to her name.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I want to get to the punching part. When does
she hit the sister.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
Oh, they get into a fight at the house when
she's trying to take everything out of the safe, and
the sister and her are, you.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Know, yelling at each other and finally coming to blows.
Speaker 7 (22:10):
And so.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Cory was arrested and charged and in a hearing she
was deemed time served.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Joining me now is a very dear friend and spokesperson
for the husband. He's often referred to his husband hubby,
deceited victim. His name is Eric Richins, and he was
a beloved father and son. Greg scored us. Thank you
for being with us. What do you make of new
(22:44):
allegations that Corey Richins's mother actually helped her in the
murder plot?
Speaker 12 (22:51):
It doesn't surprise me given the family history and given
everything we know about Corey's family, I think your mother
gave her the idea, gave her the suggestion, gave her
the sort of the whole game plan for it. But
like your other guests have said, Corey was in horrible
financial shape.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
She was a disaster as a financial planner, and even.
Speaker 12 (23:14):
The planning of this murder itself was botched so badly
that she's sitting in the Summit County jail now and
is on her way to.
Speaker 10 (23:21):
The Utah State Prison. I hope shortly.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Guys. As you heard earlier, you heard Justin Boardman describing
a Valentine's Day attempt on Eric's life. That's not the
time he died. Doctor Ernest Shoto joining us. Renowned to psychologist, physician,
biomedical engineer, author of Toxic Torque, Medical and legal Elements.
(23:48):
Doctor Shiodo, thank you for being with us. Eric died
of five times a lethal dose. Explain what that is?
Speaker 13 (23:57):
A lethal dose of sentinyl something that would kill most
most adults, would be two milligrams. Well, what does that
mean If you have five to seven grains of salt,
that is two milligrams so which is a very small
amount of fentanyl. In fact, if you have a pencil,
(24:21):
you have a sharpened pencil and you have the tip
of the pencil, you literally on the tip of the
pencil to pick up two milligrams. Or if you have
a penny and you have Lincoln's head on the penny,
two milligrams would cover just a little bit more of
the nose on the penny. So it's a very small amount.
(24:45):
Obviously five times that is, say, ten milligrams. Still also
a very small amount, because fentanyl is a very powerful,
powerful drug.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Speaking of powerful drugs and reactions to powerful drugs, Justin
Boardman again was describing a Valentine's Day sandwich.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Listen Valentine's Day twenty twenty, Eric Richins becomes violently ill
after an allergic reaction after having dinner with his wife.
He breaks out into hives, can't breathe, and passes out
after using his son's EpiPen and taking benadrill. When Eric
wakes up, he calls his business partner, Cody Wright to
let him know what had happened. Without Corey knowing, Eric
(25:29):
changes the beneficiary of his will and his power of attorney,
replacing Corey with his sister. Paperwork states Eric believes Corey
might kill him for the money and wants his children
to be financially secure Troy's.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Latent criminal defense turning out of LA How many times
have you seen a case where one spouse ends up
dead and according to friends and relatives, have said, if
I die, she did it.
Speaker 8 (25:58):
That happens. But in this case, Corey Richardson's neighbors report
a very happy, loving relationship, a very happy, loving family life.
And just because somebody has an allergic reaction that requires
an EPI pen and downing a bottle of benadrill doesn't
mean that they were poisoned. It sounds exactly that that
(26:19):
they had an allergic reaction.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace to Greg scort Is joining us,
a very dear friend of Eric Richardson, Now, did what happened?
What was your understanding of what happened the prior at
Valentine's Day? When Eric consumed a sandwich in Corey richins
(26:50):
presence and nearly died.
Speaker 10 (26:52):
He was poisoned. It was a murder attempt.
Speaker 12 (26:55):
It was a failed murder attempt, and Corey later reached
out of the people that had supplied her with the
ventanyl and said, hey, I need a little more. I
needed to be a little bit stronger. There was no
question in our mind, and I think in the state's
mind that that was a prior homicide attempt that failed
because she didn't have a sufficient enough quantity to do
(27:17):
the job. And as the doctor just said, it doesn't
take much. But she certainly got enough the next time
and ended up killing him with what ended up being
five times the lethal dosage of ventanyl.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Gregs cortis, what if anything, did Eric say after the
Valentine's Day poisonous sandwich.
Speaker 12 (27:38):
He told people that he thought he was being the
victim of a homicide.
Speaker 10 (27:43):
He thought someone was trying to kill him.
Speaker 12 (27:44):
He thought Corey was trying to kill him, and he
did just what you've been talking about here.
Speaker 10 (27:49):
He changed the way that his.
Speaker 12 (27:51):
Bipele agreement was with his partner so that his partner
would get the proceeds if he died of the business.
He changed his life insurance, and Corey had made some
efforts to change those things, and he set things up
so his children would be taken care of instead of
her because he believed that she was in fact attempting
(28:11):
to kill him.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Prosecutors say Corey Richins keeps a secret second phone in
a drawer next to her bed to make several incriminating
searches such as luxury prisons for Rich in America Women,
Utah Prisons, can cops force you to do a lie
detector test? As well as specific searches about how the
FBI conducts investigation searching when does the FBI get involved
in a case? And FBI analysis of electronics and investigations.
(28:35):
And there was a specific fentanyl search as well, what
constitutes a lethal fentanyl dose?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Wow? And Real Life Insure It's still pay if death
certificate cod calls a death says pending? Okay, Luxury prisons
for the rich in America women, Utah prison, can cops
force you to take a lie detect test? None of
(29:01):
that looks good. But one thing that really caught my
attention by that news blurb was Corey Richins keeps a
second secret phone. I just love it when defendants have
a private cell phone, a secret phone, a burner phone.
In fact, we just encountered that recently when to Kansas
(29:25):
moms are carjacked off the side of the road. Jillian Kelly,
Ronica Butler, and the purpse turned out to be the
mother in law, her boyfriend and others, and they all
had burner phones. I can tell you this much, it'll
(29:46):
be a cold day in he double l that fur
doesn't fly if my husband marches home with a secret
cell phone. Justin Boardman, you're the former detective from West
Valley CDPD Special Victims Unit helped me out there secret
cell phone?
Speaker 10 (30:07):
Uh huh no, not at all. Absolutely, that is.
Speaker 11 (30:13):
Makes you go hmm right, And certainly you're going to
try to get and see if you can find that,
to see if you can get any data.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Well, they got data, all right, justin Borman, they sure
did so, Troy Slayton, Now you're telling me that the
prior Valentine's Day poisonous sandwich doesn't really mean anything. That
he nearly died and lived because he happened to have
his own epipenne with him, That the damning searches on
a secret cell phone mean nothing, That Corey Richan's telling
(30:51):
her friends that he's better off dead. None of that
means anything to you.
Speaker 8 (30:56):
That all means something. That's all circumstantial evidence. But with
regard to the alleged prior plot, prior attempt at murder,
I've never heard of benadrill as being an antidote to fentanyl,
unless that's some sort of breaking medical news. I'm just
a jurist.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Doctor. It's an antidote to an allergic reaction.
Speaker 8 (31:17):
That's right, an allergic reaction, not an overdose of fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
I doubt when he was grasping for gasping for breath
and his throat was closing up, I doubt he was
really thinking, Wow, how did this happen? The man is
just trying to breathe. He's having a horrible anaphylactic.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
The EpiPen and the benadriyll saved him and he was fine.
So clearly he was having an allergic reaction.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
So no harm done.
Speaker 10 (31:43):
Okay, the search.
Speaker 8 (31:44):
Terms that you mentioned, those aren't good facts for a defendant.
But many people have multiple phones. Some have a business
phone in a personal phone. So having two phones in
and of itself is not damning evidence of anything.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Do you have two phones two cell phones?
Speaker 8 (32:01):
I don't. Personally, I don't have two phones.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
I know.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
I'm just curious. You know another issue that you may
want to discount. To Elaine Ardiaz joining US Investigative Journalists,
what can you tell me about the night that Eric
Richards ingested a lethal overdose a fentanyl about specifically Corey
Richards's cell phone? Where was it?
Speaker 5 (32:26):
Her cell phone was in the bedroom, and.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
She thought that it was not tracking her, but the
cell phones don't lie, and once police were because she
told police that she was sleeping with her boys because
they had night terrors. And so it was at three
am that she discovered her husband dead in their bedroom
(32:55):
and I believe he was quote cold to the touch,
and so but police realized that she actually was moving
around based on the information that they were able to
get from the phone. So you know, what was she
doing during this time?
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Okay, let me understand specifically what you just said. You're
telling me that Corey rich has told investigators she was
nowhere near her phone, that her phone was actually charging
in the master bedroom where her husband died, that she
was down the hall sleeping with her boys who had
bad dreams, and that her phone was charging all night
(33:33):
long and she didn't touch it. Is that correct? Yes? No, yes, okay.
And isn't it true that, based on reports we are
getting from the courtroom, from official court documents such as affidavits,
that police say she was actually sending texts and receiving
(33:53):
texts and deleting those during the time when she states
her phone charging beside her husband's bed.
Speaker 6 (34:01):
Yes, there are no texts from a block of time.
Speaker 5 (34:07):
They have all been erased from her phone.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Okay, you know another issue, Greg Scored is joining us
a friend of Eric Richins who died. I want to
clarify something else. You know. I thought that on the
first attempt, the first alleged poisoning attempt, that Eric used
his own EpiPen. He didn't even have an EpiPen. He
(34:32):
nearly died, and if he had not been able to
use his son's EpiPen, he would be dead. He would
have already been dead. But fortunately for him, his son
had an EpiPen. That's how he lived the first time. Question,
tell me if that's correct, Greg Scores. But also, what
(34:53):
is your understanding of the cell phone data against Corey Richins.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
Well, we could go for hours on that.
Speaker 12 (35:00):
I don't know whether and to what extent the EpiPen
actually saved his life, or whether it was just the
fact that he wasn't given a high enough dose of fatanol.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
He was doing everything he could, including.
Speaker 12 (35:10):
The benadrill and the EpiPen, to get out of the situation,
and maybe those were failed ways to save yourself from
a drug overdose. But the cell phone data shows that,
notwithstanding she was claiming to have been asleep in the
other room, she was moving around the house. And it's
very clear to those of us that looked at the evidence,
(35:30):
she was checking on the room. She was looking to
see how he was doing. She was waiting for him
to die and making no efforts to try to save him,
and finally didn't get to the point where she went
in and he was cold to the touch. She then
claimed that she was doing a CPR and whatnot on him,
but the medical examiner said nobody performed CPR on him.
That wasn't true at all, So the cell phone data
(35:52):
doesn't lie. She was moving around the house. She was
checking on him after she'd poisoned him, to make sure
and to find out how I give her attempted.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Guys, have you ever seen the movie The Liar or
Big Fat Liar?
Speaker 10 (36:09):
Liar? Liar?
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yes is starred funny. I'll let Jim Carrey, Yes, And
no matter what was far of him, he had another
lie ready. He always had a lie with this sincere face.
It was amazing. It's a fantastic actor. But I want
you to look at some very unemotional comments from our
(36:32):
friends at Good Things Utah.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
What I have kind of found is as I mentioned,
and it's kind of the three c's is how I
visualized it, and it's you know, connection, continuity, and care,
and it's you know, making sure connection is the one
major one in making sure that their spirit is always
a life.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Explaining to my.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Kids, just because he's not present here with us physically,
that doesn't mean his presence is here with us, and
he's doing these things with us our friends at Good
Things Utah.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
An anonymous witness who told COMPS she was at the
rich AND's home when Corey began talking about wanting to
end her relationship with Eric, but she is frustrated. She
tells her friend she feels trapped in the marriage. Corey
Richards says to her friend, in many ways, she will
be better off if Eric Richards is dead.
Speaker 9 (37:25):
The judge is allowing evidence Corey looked into getting a
divorce and had a law firm on retainer after receiving
a consultation, Corey allegedly tells her brother that she ended
the consultation because she didn't want half of everything and
wants to walk away clean and free prosecutors say she
wanted everything and to that end planned to cause Eric
Richards's death.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
That's the prosecution's theory. The case has been in and
out of court on various motions. To Elaine Aidias, joining
US investigative journalist, I'm very curious about a party, a
big party that Moscow Mule Mom through after Eric's death,
(38:04):
celebrating a flip of a multimillion dollar home. She's a realtor.
Can you tell me about that place he had been?
Speaker 6 (38:13):
He was banking on this house. It was going to
add an influx of cash. And when she got the house,
she threw a huge party, invited lots of people, I mean,
just to the nines, everything she could. This is a
woman that liked the good life. He always wanted more.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
Now, the flip of this home was something that Eric
Richins did not want. He didn't want to put the
money out there to buy the home for her to
then flip it and hopefully make a profit. He was
dead set against it. He dies, she does the flip
and throws a big booze fueled party. How many days
(39:00):
after his death? Alayne was the party?
Speaker 5 (39:03):
It was within days, Okay, you know.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I'm sure Troy Slayton would argue that there's no playbook
for grief. Another second verse same as the first, but
Greg scored us friend of Eric Richins. Did you hear
about the celebration party complete with champagne and toasting music?
Good times? This was within I believe, the week after
(39:29):
Eric died.
Speaker 10 (39:30):
Yes, and she's also made a plan Nancy to go
on a trip with her paramore in the.
Speaker 12 (39:36):
Weeks after Eric died. She had already made the arrangements
for that. It's important to know that there was a
pre agreement, an agreement. He took certain assets out of
the estate that he brought in, as most prenuptial agreements are.
But the exception to that was if he predeceased her.
If he died while they were still married, she would
(39:57):
get much much more of his estate. And that's why
she repeatedly told people, and that's why we believe that
she caused his death, that he was worth a lot
more to her dead than divorced. Yes, she consulted a
divorce lawyer, but she learned from other sources that Eric
was certainly worth a lot more to her as a
widow than as she would have been as a divorce.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Proceever, Greg Cordis, are you sitting down right now?
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Good. You may need to lay down because I just
went through my notes. The Utah mom accused of killing
her husband before writing a book about grief through a
massive party at her brand new two million dollar home
the day after he died. According to a report, Richard's
(40:43):
invited friends to attend acre property for drinking and celebrating.
This is on March four, just hours after her husband died,
and at the party, she toasted the closing on the
twenty two thousand square foot home the day after. Now
(41:08):
you know, I don't know how you're going to argue that,
Troy Slayton, the day after, she's throwing a champagne soaked
party for closing the deal her husband objected to with
all of her real estate friends.
Speaker 8 (41:25):
Really, I don't think that was planned following the death.
That was probably an event much in the making, an
event that was planned for weeks, if not months beforehand.
And yeah, when people pass away, life has to go on.
She's figuring that she's going to have to run her business.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah, you gotta uncorrect that champagne about ten hours after
your husband kills over Yeah, understand not. I don't understand
that at all. The guests of my fiance was murdered.
I couldn't even speak. I couldn't even think. No war
could come out, just crying, just crying, crying.
Speaker 8 (42:03):
Everybody reacts differently. Like you said, there is no playbook.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
For I was waiting on that last to doctor Ernest
Schioto joining us a toxicologist, physician and biomedical engineer. Doctor Chioto,
you were describing, like just a few shakes of the
salt shaker, fentanyl that could kill someone. Can you taste fentanyl,
(42:28):
for instance, if it was in a sandwich, or if
it was in a very tangy Moscow mule, which is
made with ginger beer, which is very very pungent, would
you be able to taste the fentanyl not the.
Speaker 13 (42:48):
Well true to in this case ten milograms of fentanyl. No,
I do not think you'd be able to taste it.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
This guy never had any idea what was happening. Corey
Richins is back in court. In the meantime, as her
case inches closer to trial, we stopped to remember an
American hero, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Clinkinbroomer, LA, just thirty deputy
(43:16):
Clinking Boomer shot and killed in an ambush. Engaged for
just four days, he leaves behind a grieving fiancee, Brittany,
his mother Kim, and his dad Mike, American Hero Deputy
Sheriff Clinking Broomer. Thank you to our incredible guests, but
(43:38):
especially to you for joining us here tonight and every
night as we seek justice. Nancy Gray signing off, good
night friend,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace breaking news tonight. Did a
mother in law help the so called moscow mule mom
poison her hobby dead and did the very same moscow
mule mom openly stayed she'd be better off quote with
(00:24):
her husband dead just before he is dead. Good evening,
I'm Issy Grace, this is Crime Stories. Thank you for
being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Corey Richins calls police to her Utah home for her husband.
Eric Richins, is found dead in the early morning of
March four, twenty twenty two. Corey had given Eric a
drink a Moscow mule before bed. She then spent part
of the night with one of her three children, who
had a nightmare. The night of his death. She said
she returned to their bedroom at approximately three am. He
(00:59):
was called to the touch and she called nine one one.
Eric had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in
his system, which had been ingested orally.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Wow, five times a lethal dose in his system. That
combined with what prosecutors are saying that the children's book author,
Oh by the way, that book was about her children
grieving after the death of their father. Did she actually
say her husband would be quote better off dead before
(01:33):
killing him? That's what prosecutors claim. Joining me in, I'll
start panel to make sense of what we know right now,
but I want you to see some very un emotional
statements made by the so called Moscow Mule Mom.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
What I have kind of found is, as I mentioned,
it's kind of the three c's is how I visualized it,
and it's you know, connection, continuity, and care, and it's
you know, making sure connection is the one major one
in making sure that their spirit is always alive.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Okay, making sure that the dad's spirit is still alive.
I would rather have him still be alive. That clip
from our friends at Good Things Utah. But that's not all.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Listen explaining 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.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
I'm sure his presence will be with everyone in a
court of law when Corey Richards aka Moscow Mule Mom
is on trial for murder. Again. That was from our
friends at Good Things Utah, who coincidentally, and I would
say providentially, gave Corey Richards an interview about her new book,
(02:55):
Are You with Me? Guys with Me? And All Star
panel right now to make sense of the latest developments.
And it's so called Moscow Mule Mom case, the big
bombshell in my mind, and there's so many of them
as this case. Progressive to her trial is that prosecutors
apparently are alleging our suspecting that Corey Richins's own mother
(03:19):
had a hand in planning his death. Is that possible?
Would a mother aid in a bet and encourage her
own daughter to commit a murder? I find that really
hard to believe, but that seems to be what is
being argued. Listen.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Detectives are shocked to find Corey Richan's mother, Lisa Dartin,
was romantically involved with a woman she was living with
who suddenly and unexpectedly dies. The warrant states, and autopsy
found the woman dies from an overdose of oxycodone. The
woman was not addicted or in recovery and had a
legitimate prescription for the medication. Detectives say, accidental overdose seems unlike.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Okay, joining me in All Star Palins I mentioned, but
first I'm going to go to investigative journalist who worked
with People magazine and The Messenger, Elaine radiis Elaine, thank
you so much for being with us. What So, Corey
Richards's mother was involved with a woman and her lover.
(04:21):
The mom's lover died of an accidental overdose of oxy
Is that correct?
Speaker 5 (04:28):
That's right, that's what police are saying.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Huh.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
It seems that in the course of their investigation they
discovered that Lisa Darden's partner unexpectedly died.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Now, Lisa Darden is Corey Richards's mother, correct, that's right. Okay.
Let me understand this. Corey Richins, so called Moscow Mule
mom is charged and heading to trial in the poisoning
death of her husband five times over a lethal dose,
not five times the legal limit. Five times over a
(05:02):
lethal dose. Okay, and now we find out what a
coinkydink Her mother's lover died of a lethal dose of oxy. Now,
let me understand one more issue regarding that prior death.
Elaine o Adias with US investigative journalist. The lover, the
(05:26):
mom's lover. She had not had any addiction problems, She
had never been in recovery, no prior suicide attempts. Has
She had a legitimate prescription for the meds.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
That's right, she had.
Speaker 6 (05:45):
She had a legitimate subscription prescription and so, but the
police have questioned that he died unexpectedly and interestingly, Lisa
is the benefit to Harry of the partner's estate.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Elame, are you telling me that Corey Richards Moscow Mew
mom mother lover died of an accidental OD with no
history of recovery, with a legitimate prescription, and the mother,
Lisa Darden, was the beneficiary of the lover's estate. That
(06:26):
is right, Okay, I'm sorry it sounds like I'm an
English teacher again diagramming a sentence on the blackboard for
my eighth grade students. But I just had to break
that down to make sure I understood what's going on. Okay,
And apparently there may be more Listen.
Speaker 7 (06:43):
Text messages between Corey Richins and her mother, Lisa Darden
showed great disdain for Eric. On Lisa Darden's part, investigators
report that right before her significant other dies, Lisa Darden
is added to her will. Based on Lisa Darden's proximity
to her partner's suspicious overdose death and her relationship with Corey,
(07:05):
it is possible that she was involved in planning and
orchestrating Eric's death.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Before we even move a quarter inch forward, let me
just say that Cory Richinds's mother, Lisa Darden, has not
been charged, has not been named a suspect, a person
of interest, and her lover's unexpected overdose. Now that said,
this is what I think is stirring the pot of suspicion. Okay,
(07:35):
there's a reason investigators are concerned, and this is it. Listen.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
In a six page handwritten letter, Richins instructs her mother
and brother to give false testimony, stating this comes down
to jealousy, money, and Eric's partying that they don't want
to acknowledge in sadly an accidental overdose. The prosecutors have
asked the judge to restrict Richards from further engaging in
witness him bring by restricting her from contacting her mother
(08:03):
and brother. In the letter, Richins allegedly wants her brother
to say Eric told him he got pain peels in
fentnyl from Mexico, pointing out how Ronnie's testimony could make
the connection of Eric and drugs, that his testimony can
be short and to the point that has to be done.
Richins tells her mother to pass the information to her
(08:23):
brother in person that her home and phone could be bugged.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Okay, as we say in the courtroom, holy crap, that's
a lot. Let me understand this. Let me go to
a renowned criminal defense attorney. You know him well, Troy Slayton,
joining us from this Slaton Lawyers group out in La
Troy on a personal note, It's wonderful to see you
again now that that's taking care of you.
Speaker 8 (08:50):
Tune in what Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Troy, help me, help me because according to prosecutors, this
is not coming from me. I'm not dreaming this up.
According to prosecutors and cops, there was a six page
handwritten letter from Moscow Mule Mom and it instructs her
mother and brother to give false testimony. Okay, wait, but
(09:18):
about what she states in the letter. It comes down
to jealousy, money in Eric's partying, and sadly, an accidental overdose.
And she goes on to ask them to lie to
get her brother to say her husband, Eric obtained the
fentanyl that killed him from Mexico from workers at a ranch.
(09:45):
And she is instructing them in writing and writing Troy
in writing that that can connect Eric with the drugs
and can be short. She's even instracting them how to
say it short, but to the point telling her mom
to pass the info along to her brother verbally away
(10:08):
from the home because she thinks the home is bud.
This isn't conjecture. This is a handwritten note by mas
moscowmule mom instructing her mother and brother to lie under oath.
Troy Slayton respond.
Speaker 8 (10:25):
The prosecutors are saying that she was trying to engage
in witness tampering, that she's trying to coach the witnesses.
But what her defense is.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Say did you say coach the witnesses. I'm sorry, Liz,
there must be something wrong with my earpiece because I
thought I heard him say she's trying to coach the witnesses.
This is not coaching witnesses. This is suborning perjury.
Speaker 8 (10:48):
Nancy. What she's trying to explain the defense theory of
the case. She's trying to explain what her whole theory
of the case is and explain to her entire family.
You need to tell the story that you know. Nowhere
in that letter does it say I want you to
lie for me. Nowhere does it say I want you
to make up a story. She knows that everybody's going
(11:09):
to be reading her mail. She knows everyone's reading her
jail mail. That's why when she had a phone conversation
with her mom, she held up a message for her
mom to see because she didn't want to say things
out loud, because she knows everyone is listening.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
You mean she didn't want to subborn perjury out loud? Okay,
all right, I can see the argument that you would
make a trial crime stories with Nancy Grace. The prosecutors
(11:45):
were so concerned about the mother's involvement that they actually
asked the judge to restrict Moscow Mule Mom from further
engaging and witness tampering, restricting her from contact her mother
and brother. Wow, okay, Mom and bro better be careful.
(12:06):
Are they going to be dragged into this thing too?
Speaker 8 (12:09):
So?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Is it possible? Apparently prosecutors think it is that the
mother of Corey Richins actually had a hand in planning
Eric Richards's death. What more do we know? In court?
Corey Richins facing multiple multiple motions? Is it all about
(12:30):
money or is it also about love? Oh? Let me
rephrase sex.
Speaker 9 (12:36):
Listen As investigators are looking over text messages from Corey
Richins to others, they find romantic messages written to a
man other than her husband. In a text to her
unnamed lover, Corey Richins writes, I'm in love with a
man that's not my husband. In another text, I just
want to lay on the couch and cuddle you, watch
a murder documentary and snuggle. She also texts the unknown man.
(12:57):
If I was divorced right now and asked you to
make marry me tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
You would.
Speaker 9 (13:01):
Richard's allegedly asked this the day after Valentine's Day.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Troy Slayton, I don't know if I'm more angry about
the sex with the lover or wanting to watch a
murder mystery and snuggle what you may actually have emotional
intimacy with her boy toy? Are you serious? I mean
(13:26):
on the sofa snuggling watching a murder mystery That really
strikes sign with me.
Speaker 8 (13:31):
What every person, every person that has an adulterous relationship
isn't a murderer. Adultery does not murder make and although
it may provide some sort of motive for investigators, there
are plenty of people all over the world, every single
day that are having adulterous relationships that aren't killing their
(13:52):
their spouse, So that's ridiculous. And with regard to her
being and with regard to the whole with subborting perjury,
I just wanted to say that most criminal defendants are
out on bail. This is somebody who's having to defend themselves,
defend their life on murder charges while being in the
(14:13):
confines of a jail cell. She hasn't been found guilty
of anything yet she's not able to help her defense team.
She's not able to marshal her defense in because she's
stuck in a jail cell.
Speaker 10 (14:24):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
That was so complex with again technical legal term bs,
I really don't know which way to go. First, let
me try to do it chronologically. First of all, Troy Slatin,
do you ever ever get tired of second verse save
as first just because she is an adult or doesn't
make them a murderer. How many times have you said that?
(14:48):
I mean, I've run out of fingers and toes to
count how many times you've actually made that argument to me.
But let me reverse that. Okay, true, every adulterer is
not a killer, But in domestic homicide, I would argue
anecdotally that a majority of the killers are adulters, So
(15:14):
let's reverse that. What about that Slaton That may be true,
Let me enjoy the moment of him having to agree
with me.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
Are also cheating? Yes, Nancy?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Okay, now let's move on to your next, your next
what you know? Oh boohoo, Cory Riches is behind bars.
I hate when that happens, when your husband kills ever
dead and you get Okay, you know what, you'd say
that a love affair. Let me just rephrase that a
(15:48):
sex affair is not necessarily grounds for murder. Okay, I
would agree with you, because there are no grounds for murder.
But let's talk about possibly and even stronger motivator, money,
What people will do for money. Hey, you know what,
get another job? But this listen, Slayton, sit back and
(16:12):
enjoy what you're about to hear.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Prosecutor's working theory is that Corey Richins was facing a
severe financial crisis prior to the death of Eric. Richards.
Sends a text to her best friend saying she owes
her husband over a quarter of a million dollars after
taking out a home equity line of credit on his home.
The text says, I don't know what to do if
he thinks I owe him the money, then that's fine.
I'll pay whatever he thinks and then I'm out. She
tells the friend she has investments that will cover what
(16:36):
she owes in a couple of months, but until Ben,
she texts, got to be top notch careful, adding her
goal is to make sure custody for the three boys
will at least be fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Got to be top notch careful. Okay, Justin Boardman is
joining me in addition to Troy Slayton, high profile lawyer,
and Elaine are adis investigative journalist. Justin Boardman top notch careful.
I bet one thing that Moscow newle Mom didn't count
(17:07):
on is that cell phone movements and cell phone data
can be tracked. Okay. For instance, your cell phone can
be going from room to room in and out, and
when you try to delete texts that you've been texting
(17:28):
while your husband's in the next room dying, and you
tell the cops, oh, I was in another room. I
didn't sleep with him that night. My cell phone was
plugged in over there. But we can tell that you're
texting and then deleting your text at the time your
husband dies. Ouch. Boardman, there is no perfect crime.
Speaker 10 (17:51):
There's not any perfect crime.
Speaker 11 (17:53):
There's always a slip up, there's always something going on.
Speaker 10 (17:58):
You were mentioning previous.
Speaker 11 (18:00):
About a text message that happened right after Valentine's Day
to her lover and Valentine's Day, wasn't that a possible
poison sandwich at that point in time?
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Hey, you are so right man. You've got a still
trap for a memory. Justin Borman, when Corey Richins reportedly
tried to poison her husband with a sandwich on Valentine's Day,
that was a prior murder attempt. And thank you for
reminding me of that, because you know I love nothing
more than a good old similar transaction. According to prosecutors,
(18:40):
this ain't her first time at the rodeo. She has
apparently tried to kill him before. That's the allegation. She
remains innocent until proven guilty. But back too, I'm so happy.
Back to Troy Slayton. Troy Slayton, you said sex is
not enough motive for murder, as if there is anything.
But there's more about her potential financial ruin Listen.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
In the investigation into finances, prosecutors find out that even
though Corey Richins is in serious financial trouble. She continues
to rack up debt over three million dollars the day
her husband dies. Prosecutors say Richins has recently defaulted on
one loan and is struggling to avoid default on others,
adding her bank accounts are exhausted and she aspiraling toward
(19:24):
financial collapse. Even so, prosecutors say, she tries buying another
million dollar home with money she doesn't have.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Elaine Aardillaz joining US investigative journalist. Elaine tell me about
Corey Richins' money problems.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Corey Ritins is a financial disaster.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
The more details that keep coming out about this, we
are learning that she just keeps going.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Further into debt, and we're talking millions of dollars, and
she's banking on the fact that, you know, once her
husband dies, she's going to come into five million dollars
and then everything will be fixed. But she cannot keep
anything straight and she just keeps going further into debt.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Three days after Eric Richards dies, Corey Richins calls a
locksmith to have her husband safe unlocked. Corey expects there
to be one hundred and twenty five to one hundred
and sixty five thousand in cash. Eric Richard's sister Amy
finds out Corey's trying to get into the safe and
informs her that she doesn't have a right to the
funds in the safe. Eric Richards removed Corey's name from
the life insurance policy and she's no longer named in
his will. Eric replaced Corey with his sister Katie as
(20:34):
the beneficiary. Corey Richards becomes enraged and punches Amy in
the neck and face. Corey Richards is charged with assault,
and after failing to follow through on a plea agreement,
she's convicted of assault.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Okay, hold up, everybody, straight back out to investigative journalist
Elaine on Adias. So now Corey Richins is actually convicted
for attacking her sister in law. And I believe that
that happens. And when the sister in law informed her
contrary to what she thought, Moscow meile mom is no
(21:06):
longer the beneficiary, and she attacks the sister.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Corey thought that she was one step ahead of everybody.
She was talking to people running things and like having
her name changed added to documents, and she thought she
was running the show.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
But lo and behold when she goes to.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
Start taking what she thought was hers, Eric's sister informed her, no,
I am in charge of all of Eric's estate, and
so clearly she became enraged and it was a shock
to her system. And I think at that point that's
(21:48):
when she suddenly realizing that she does not have anything
to her name.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I want to get to the punching part. When does
she hit the sister.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
Oh, they get into a fight at the house when
she's trying to take everything out of the safe, and
the sister and her are, you.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Know, yelling at each other and finally coming to blows.
Speaker 7 (22:10):
And so.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Cory was arrested and charged and in a hearing she
was deemed time served.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Joining me now is a very dear friend and spokesperson
for the husband. He's often referred to his husband hubby,
deceited victim. His name is Eric Richins, and he was
a beloved father and son. Greg scored us. Thank you
for being with us. What do you make of new
(22:44):
allegations that Corey Richins's mother actually helped her in the
murder plot?
Speaker 12 (22:51):
It doesn't surprise me given the family history and given
everything we know about Corey's family, I think your mother
gave her the idea, gave her the suggestion, gave her
the sort of the whole game plan for it. But
like your other guests have said, Corey was in horrible
financial shape.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
She was a disaster as a financial planner, and even.
Speaker 12 (23:14):
The planning of this murder itself was botched so badly
that she's sitting in the Summit County jail now and
is on her way to.
Speaker 10 (23:21):
The Utah State Prison. I hope shortly.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Guys. As you heard earlier, you heard Justin Boardman describing
a Valentine's Day attempt on Eric's life. That's not the
time he died. Doctor Ernest Shoto joining us. Renowned to psychologist, physician,
biomedical engineer, author of Toxic Torque, Medical and legal Elements.
(23:48):
Doctor Shiodo, thank you for being with us. Eric died
of five times a lethal dose. Explain what that is?
Speaker 13 (23:57):
A lethal dose of sentinyl something that would kill most
most adults, would be two milligrams. Well, what does that
mean If you have five to seven grains of salt,
that is two milligrams so which is a very small
amount of fentanyl. In fact, if you have a pencil,
(24:21):
you have a sharpened pencil and you have the tip
of the pencil, you literally on the tip of the
pencil to pick up two milligrams. Or if you have
a penny and you have Lincoln's head on the penny,
two milligrams would cover just a little bit more of
the nose on the penny. So it's a very small amount.
(24:45):
Obviously five times that is, say, ten milligrams. Still also
a very small amount, because fentanyl is a very powerful,
powerful drug.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Speaking of powerful drugs and reactions to powerful drugs, Justin
Boardman again was describing a Valentine's Day sandwich.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Listen Valentine's Day twenty twenty, Eric Richins becomes violently ill
after an allergic reaction after having dinner with his wife.
He breaks out into hives, can't breathe, and passes out
after using his son's EpiPen and taking benadrill. When Eric
wakes up, he calls his business partner, Cody Wright to
let him know what had happened. Without Corey knowing, Eric
(25:29):
changes the beneficiary of his will and his power of attorney,
replacing Corey with his sister. Paperwork states Eric believes Corey
might kill him for the money and wants his children
to be financially secure Troy's.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Latent criminal defense turning out of LA How many times
have you seen a case where one spouse ends up
dead and according to friends and relatives, have said, if
I die, she did it.
Speaker 8 (25:58):
That happens. But in this case, Corey Richardson's neighbors report
a very happy, loving relationship, a very happy, loving family life.
And just because somebody has an allergic reaction that requires
an EPI pen and downing a bottle of benadrill doesn't
mean that they were poisoned. It sounds exactly that that
(26:19):
they had an allergic reaction.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace to Greg scort Is joining us,
a very dear friend of Eric Richardson, Now, did what happened?
What was your understanding of what happened the prior at
Valentine's Day? When Eric consumed a sandwich in Corey richins
(26:50):
presence and nearly died.
Speaker 10 (26:52):
He was poisoned. It was a murder attempt.
Speaker 12 (26:55):
It was a failed murder attempt, and Corey later reached
out of the people that had supplied her with the
ventanyl and said, hey, I need a little more. I
needed to be a little bit stronger. There was no
question in our mind, and I think in the state's
mind that that was a prior homicide attempt that failed
because she didn't have a sufficient enough quantity to do
(27:17):
the job. And as the doctor just said, it doesn't
take much. But she certainly got enough the next time
and ended up killing him with what ended up being
five times the lethal dosage of ventanyl.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Gregs cortis, what if anything, did Eric say after the
Valentine's Day poisonous sandwich.
Speaker 12 (27:38):
He told people that he thought he was being the
victim of a homicide.
Speaker 10 (27:43):
He thought someone was trying to kill him.
Speaker 12 (27:44):
He thought Corey was trying to kill him, and he
did just what you've been talking about here.
Speaker 10 (27:49):
He changed the way that his.
Speaker 12 (27:51):
Bipele agreement was with his partner so that his partner
would get the proceeds if he died of the business.
He changed his life insurance, and Corey had made some
efforts to change those things, and he set things up
so his children would be taken care of instead of
her because he believed that she was in fact attempting
(28:11):
to kill him.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Prosecutors say Corey Richins keeps a secret second phone in
a drawer next to her bed to make several incriminating
searches such as luxury prisons for Rich in America Women,
Utah Prisons, can cops force you to do a lie
detector test? As well as specific searches about how the
FBI conducts investigation searching when does the FBI get involved
in a case? And FBI analysis of electronics and investigations.
(28:35):
And there was a specific fentanyl search as well, what
constitutes a lethal fentanyl dose?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Wow? And Real Life Insure It's still pay if death
certificate cod calls a death says pending? Okay, Luxury prisons
for the rich in America women, Utah prison, can cops
force you to take a lie detect test? None of
(29:01):
that looks good. But one thing that really caught my
attention by that news blurb was Corey Richins keeps a
second secret phone. I just love it when defendants have
a private cell phone, a secret phone, a burner phone.
In fact, we just encountered that recently when to Kansas
(29:25):
moms are carjacked off the side of the road. Jillian Kelly,
Ronica Butler, and the purpse turned out to be the
mother in law, her boyfriend and others, and they all
had burner phones. I can tell you this much, it'll
(29:46):
be a cold day in he double l that fur
doesn't fly if my husband marches home with a secret
cell phone. Justin Boardman, you're the former detective from West
Valley CDPD Special Victims Unit helped me out there secret
cell phone?
Speaker 10 (30:07):
Uh huh no, not at all. Absolutely, that is.
Speaker 11 (30:13):
Makes you go hmm right, And certainly you're going to
try to get and see if you can find that,
to see if you can get any data.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Well, they got data, all right, justin Borman, they sure
did so, Troy Slayton, Now you're telling me that the
prior Valentine's Day poisonous sandwich doesn't really mean anything. That
he nearly died and lived because he happened to have
his own epipenne with him, That the damning searches on
a secret cell phone mean nothing, That Corey Richan's telling
(30:51):
her friends that he's better off dead. None of that
means anything to you.
Speaker 8 (30:56):
That all means something. That's all circumstantial evidence. But with
regard to the alleged prior plot, prior attempt at murder,
I've never heard of benadrill as being an antidote to fentanyl,
unless that's some sort of breaking medical news. I'm just
a jurist.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Doctor. It's an antidote to an allergic reaction.
Speaker 8 (31:17):
That's right, an allergic reaction, not an overdose of fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
I doubt when he was grasping for gasping for breath
and his throat was closing up, I doubt he was
really thinking, Wow, how did this happen? The man is
just trying to breathe. He's having a horrible anaphylactic.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
The EpiPen and the benadriyll saved him and he was fine.
So clearly he was having an allergic reaction.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
So no harm done.
Speaker 10 (31:43):
Okay, the search.
Speaker 8 (31:44):
Terms that you mentioned, those aren't good facts for a defendant.
But many people have multiple phones. Some have a business
phone in a personal phone. So having two phones in
and of itself is not damning evidence of anything.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Do you have two phones two cell phones?
Speaker 8 (32:01):
I don't. Personally, I don't have two phones.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
I know.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
I'm just curious. You know another issue that you may
want to discount. To Elaine Ardiaz joining US Investigative Journalists,
what can you tell me about the night that Eric
Richards ingested a lethal overdose a fentanyl about specifically Corey
Richards's cell phone? Where was it?
Speaker 5 (32:26):
Her cell phone was in the bedroom, and.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
She thought that it was not tracking her, but the
cell phones don't lie, and once police were because she
told police that she was sleeping with her boys because
they had night terrors. And so it was at three
am that she discovered her husband dead in their bedroom
(32:55):
and I believe he was quote cold to the touch,
and so but police realized that she actually was moving
around based on the information that they were able to
get from the phone. So you know, what was she
doing during this time?
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Okay, let me understand specifically what you just said. You're
telling me that Corey rich has told investigators she was
nowhere near her phone, that her phone was actually charging
in the master bedroom where her husband died, that she
was down the hall sleeping with her boys who had
bad dreams, and that her phone was charging all night
(33:33):
long and she didn't touch it. Is that correct? Yes? No, yes, okay.
And isn't it true that, based on reports we are
getting from the courtroom, from official court documents such as affidavits,
that police say she was actually sending texts and receiving
(33:53):
texts and deleting those during the time when she states
her phone charging beside her husband's bed.
Speaker 6 (34:01):
Yes, there are no texts from a block of time.
Speaker 5 (34:07):
They have all been erased from her phone.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Okay, you know another issue, Greg Scored is joining us
a friend of Eric Richins who died. I want to
clarify something else. You know. I thought that on the
first attempt, the first alleged poisoning attempt, that Eric used
his own EpiPen. He didn't even have an EpiPen. He
(34:32):
nearly died, and if he had not been able to
use his son's EpiPen, he would be dead. He would
have already been dead. But fortunately for him, his son
had an EpiPen. That's how he lived the first time. Question,
tell me if that's correct, Greg Scores. But also, what
(34:53):
is your understanding of the cell phone data against Corey Richins.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
Well, we could go for hours on that.
Speaker 12 (35:00):
I don't know whether and to what extent the EpiPen
actually saved his life, or whether it was just the
fact that he wasn't given a high enough dose of fatanol.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
He was doing everything he could, including.
Speaker 12 (35:10):
The benadrill and the EpiPen, to get out of the situation,
and maybe those were failed ways to save yourself from
a drug overdose. But the cell phone data shows that,
notwithstanding she was claiming to have been asleep in the
other room, she was moving around the house. And it's
very clear to those of us that looked at the evidence,
(35:30):
she was checking on the room. She was looking to
see how he was doing. She was waiting for him
to die and making no efforts to try to save him,
and finally didn't get to the point where she went
in and he was cold to the touch. She then
claimed that she was doing a CPR and whatnot on him,
but the medical examiner said nobody performed CPR on him.
That wasn't true at all, So the cell phone data
(35:52):
doesn't lie. She was moving around the house. She was
checking on him after she'd poisoned him, to make sure
and to find out how I give her attempted.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Guys, have you ever seen the movie The Liar or
Big Fat Liar?
Speaker 10 (36:09):
Liar? Liar?
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yes is starred funny. I'll let Jim Carrey, Yes, And
no matter what was far of him, he had another
lie ready. He always had a lie with this sincere face.
It was amazing. It's a fantastic actor. But I want
you to look at some very unemotional comments from our
(36:32):
friends at Good Things Utah.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
What I have kind of found is as I mentioned,
and it's kind of the three c's is how I
visualized it, and it's you know, connection, continuity, and care,
and it's you know, making sure connection is the one
major one in making sure that their spirit is always
a life.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Explaining to my.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Kids, just because he's not present here with us physically,
that doesn't mean his presence is here with us, and
he's doing these things with us our friends at Good
Things Utah.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
An anonymous witness who told COMPS she was at the
rich AND's home when Corey began talking about wanting to
end her relationship with Eric, but she is frustrated. She
tells her friend she feels trapped in the marriage. Corey
Richards says to her friend, in many ways, she will
be better off if Eric Richards is dead.
Speaker 9 (37:25):
The judge is allowing evidence Corey looked into getting a
divorce and had a law firm on retainer after receiving
a consultation, Corey allegedly tells her brother that she ended
the consultation because she didn't want half of everything and
wants to walk away clean and free prosecutors say she
wanted everything and to that end planned to cause Eric
Richards's death.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
That's the prosecution's theory. The case has been in and
out of court on various motions. To Elaine Aidias, joining
US investigative journalist, I'm very curious about a party, a
big party that Moscow Mule Mom through after Eric's death,
(38:04):
celebrating a flip of a multimillion dollar home. She's a realtor.
Can you tell me about that place he had been?
Speaker 6 (38:13):
He was banking on this house. It was going to
add an influx of cash. And when she got the house,
she threw a huge party, invited lots of people, I mean,
just to the nines, everything she could. This is a
woman that liked the good life. He always wanted more.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
Now, the flip of this home was something that Eric
Richins did not want. He didn't want to put the
money out there to buy the home for her to
then flip it and hopefully make a profit. He was
dead set against it. He dies, she does the flip
and throws a big booze fueled party. How many days
(39:00):
after his death? Alayne was the party?
Speaker 5 (39:03):
It was within days, Okay, you know.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I'm sure Troy Slayton would argue that there's no playbook
for grief. Another second verse same as the first, but
Greg scored us friend of Eric Richins. Did you hear
about the celebration party complete with champagne and toasting music?
Good times? This was within I believe, the week after
(39:29):
Eric died.
Speaker 10 (39:30):
Yes, and she's also made a plan Nancy to go
on a trip with her paramore in the.
Speaker 12 (39:36):
Weeks after Eric died. She had already made the arrangements
for that. It's important to know that there was a
pre agreement, an agreement. He took certain assets out of
the estate that he brought in, as most prenuptial agreements are.
But the exception to that was if he predeceased her.
If he died while they were still married, she would
(39:57):
get much much more of his estate. And that's why
she repeatedly told people, and that's why we believe that
she caused his death, that he was worth a lot
more to her dead than divorced. Yes, she consulted a
divorce lawyer, but she learned from other sources that Eric
was certainly worth a lot more to her as a
widow than as she would have been as a divorce.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Proceever, Greg Cordis, are you sitting down right now?
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Good. You may need to lay down because I just
went through my notes. The Utah mom accused of killing
her husband before writing a book about grief through a
massive party at her brand new two million dollar home
the day after he died. According to a report, Richard's
(40:43):
invited friends to attend acre property for drinking and celebrating.
This is on March four, just hours after her husband died,
and at the party, she toasted the closing on the
twenty two thousand square foot home the day after. Now
(41:08):
you know, I don't know how you're going to argue that,
Troy Slayton, the day after, she's throwing a champagne soaked
party for closing the deal her husband objected to with
all of her real estate friends.
Speaker 8 (41:25):
Really, I don't think that was planned following the death.
That was probably an event much in the making, an
event that was planned for weeks, if not months beforehand.
And yeah, when people pass away, life has to go on.
She's figuring that she's going to have to run her business.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah, you gotta uncorrect that champagne about ten hours after
your husband kills over Yeah, understand not. I don't understand
that at all. The guests of my fiance was murdered.
I couldn't even speak. I couldn't even think. No war
could come out, just crying, just crying, crying.
Speaker 8 (42:03):
Everybody reacts differently. Like you said, there is no playbook.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
For I was waiting on that last to doctor Ernest
Schioto joining us a toxicologist, physician and biomedical engineer. Doctor Chioto,
you were describing, like just a few shakes of the
salt shaker, fentanyl that could kill someone. Can you taste fentanyl,
(42:28):
for instance, if it was in a sandwich, or if
it was in a very tangy Moscow mule, which is
made with ginger beer, which is very very pungent, would
you be able to taste the fentanyl not the.
Speaker 13 (42:48):
Well true to in this case ten milograms of fentanyl. No,
I do not think you'd be able to taste it.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
This guy never had any idea what was happening. Corey
Richins is back in court. In the meantime, as her
case inches closer to trial, we stopped to remember an
American hero, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Clinkinbroomer, LA, just thirty deputy
(43:16):
Clinking Boomer shot and killed in an ambush. Engaged for
just four days, he leaves behind a grieving fiancee, Brittany,
his mother Kim, and his dad Mike, American Hero Deputy
Sheriff Clinking Broomer. Thank you to our incredible guests, but
(43:38):
especially to you for joining us here tonight and every
night as we seek justice. Nancy Gray signing off, good
night friend,
Host
Nancy Grace
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