Kouri Richins, Utah mom charged with poisoning husband, denied bail

A judge denied bail for Kouri Richins on Tuesday, ordering the Utah mom to remain in jail until she goes on trial for allegedly fatally poisoning her husband in 2022. 
Richins is accused of killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. She has been under arrest since May 2023. Richins wrote a children’s book on grief called “Are you with me?” after the death of her husband, and appeared on television to discuss her family’s pain.
Defense attorneys recently filed a flurry of motions in the case. In addition to denying bail, the judge also denied the motion to sever attempted criminal homicide and aggravated murder charges, and to expand the number of jurors from 8 to 12. 
The judge granted the defense the ability to expand the geographic area from which the jury could be selected, and also dropped two drug charges. The judge also agreed to separate a real estate case against Richins from her trial for murder, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.
“With two charges dismissed and four others severed, the defense stands more confident. The case against our client is rapidly narrowing, exposing deeper weaknesses with each step,” said Kathy Nester, Richins’ attorney. 
The judge denied bail for Richins, a mother of three boys, for a second time. The judge said at the hearing he was in part denying the bail request because of the severity of the charges, plus the loss of her business and fraught relationship with her children could give her reason to flee, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.
“Structurally, she just doesn’t have the same connections to the community that she had then,” the judge said.

Hannah Fraser-Chanpong

contributed to this report.