Lawyers for the Utah woman accused of murdering her husband by lacing his Moscow Mule drink with drugs are fighting against the prosecution’s effort to keep her away from her mother, KUTV reports.
In court filings this week, defense attorneys for Kouri Richins challenged a motion brought by the state to have no contact with the defendant’s mom, who prosecutors allege was asked by her daughter to assist in witness tampering.
That request stems from the alleged discovery earlier this month of a six-page, hand-written letter in Richins’ jail cell addressed to her mother, Lisa Darden.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the letter allegedly instructed Darden to tell her brother that he should say Richins’ husband, Eric, was addicted to pain medication and would often travel to Mexico to get them.
Following the discovery of the letter, the prosecution asked the court for a no-contact order between Richins and Darden and further alleged that Richins showed Darden another letter that was later flushed or destroyed.
But Richins’ lawyers are challenging the proposed no-contact order, arguing that the prosecution doesn’t have its facts straight.
Richins asserts that the letter was actually for a “fictional mystery book” she is writing and that it includes a scene in which she went to Mexico with her dad to get drugs.
The defense further argues that the second letter was actually found and not flushed or destroyed as the government alleges.
“But once again, the State offers no actual evidence to support its allegation that the September 13 Letter ‘was destroyed or flushed.’ This is likely because the September 13 Letter was not destroyed or flushed. Defense counsel obtained the September 13 Letter (which was not even authored by Ms. Richins) after the State filed its Motion. In short, the State’s assertion that Ms. Richins has engaged in witness tampering is entirely unfounded,” a defense motion filed this week reads, according to KUTV.
In addition, Richins’ lawyers want to sanction the prosecution over their allegations of witness tampering and that their disclosure of the alleged letter violated a gag order, according to the Park Record newspaper.
“Far from an isolated lapse in judgment, the State’s conduct is part of a calculated pattern of using the Court’s public docket as a dumping ground for its favorite (and often inadmissible) evidence,” the defense filing reads, according to the Park Record. “The resulting prejudice to Ms. Richins is inescapable.”
Richins, a mother of three, is accused of murdering Eric with an overdose in March 2022. Prosecutors allege that she attempted to name herself as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy months before his death. She later self-published a book about dealing with grief entitled “Are You With Me?”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to a previous episode on the case:
[Feature Photo: Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook]
