Life sentence handed down—what's Kouri Richins' next move?

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]a person of convicted of committing that sequence of acts in that way and for that reason and who causes the absolute tragedy that has befallen Eric Richen's sons and family.

[00:00:20]A person convicted of those things is simply too dangerous to ever be free.

[00:00:28]Accordingly, Ms. derigence based on your conviction on count one, firstdegree felony aggravated murder. The court hereby sentences you to life without parole.

[00:00:41]You have the right to an appeal. You must file a notice of appeal within 30 days. You have the right to be represented by council on appeal.

[00:00:49]Mr. Bworth, anything further?

[00:00:52]>> No, your honor.

[00:00:53]>> Miss Lewis, Miss Nester, >> your honor, we anticipate filing a motion for >> All right. There it is, the official news that Cory Richens has been sentenced in Summit County to life without parole. The two options were there either 25 uh to life with the potential of a parole and then there was the life without parole sitting us sitting with us in the KSL Bright Side Studios. He is of course Greg Scoris, host of Inside Sources. And Greg, uh, I've been listening to this. I've been listening to the sentencing hearing basically since I started driving in this morning, listening to you guys, and we got a, uh, a resolve here and a finality of a sentencing pending any, uh, appeals. U, your thoughts right out of the gate there as we as you came into the studio and we got to listen to that thing together.

[00:01:37]>> Well, I thought that uh, it was either all or nothing and it was all. I mean the judge gave her he came out of the shoot with the with the other four counts and said um she should serve the rest of her or she should serve all of her counts consecutive that is one after the other. You can't get more harsh than that. Then it was only to remain to be see what he would do with the count one.

[00:01:57]He went back and forth. He kind of like we were talking about while the while he was talking teased us a little bit but he he's he's obviously quite upset with her and her statements her allecution we call it were not compelling. I thought there was a chance he would give her the 25 to life just because in my experience, I'll just tell you I've done this for 44 years.

[00:02:15]>> You've seen it go both ways. Probably a >> 25 to life is pretty much a life. And when he said, "I did the math and you'll do you'll do 30 some odd years." There's no way that even if she had gotten at 25 to life, she would have served as few as 30 years. More likely, she would have been in the 40 to to 50 range. Well, that puts her at 70. And I thought maybe some chance, but no, she's she will never ever get out of prison. He brought up the boys at that point and said, "What we don't know is that that after their age will be a certain age. We can't guess where they're going to be at. We don't we can't guarantee what the feeling is of those guys after that time frame either." And that that was taken into account as well by the court.

[00:02:50]>> Right. Uh what did you think about the fact that she even made a statement? She didn't she didn't say anything during the trial. And it seems to me that there's a little bit of a risk that she could actually increase her sentence making harsher if make it harsher if she doesn't say the right thing. No, I know exactly what you're saying, Ethan. I I don't think she had a choice. I think she had to say something because she didn't speak at the trial. And the reason for that is because she could be cross-examined. The state could ask her questions. When she speaks at sentencing, it's it's a free-for-all.

[00:03:21]It's it's a you know, it's she has complete authority to say whatever she wants. No one can question her. No one can cross-examine her. She can she can say her her piece and she can she could ramble, which she did. and she rambled a lot and what she did if you listened she um >> she was which obviously you listen but she she was speaking to the boys. The whole thing was a speech to the boys and and it was interesting because the judge and even the prosecution and even even her attorney said well look >> these boys right now are saying we don't want to see you again. We don't ever want to see you again. But they're kids.

[00:03:57]>> Yeah.

[00:03:57]>> Right now they have reason to be afraid of her but when they're our age they're not going to be afraid of her. And so I thought there was a chance the judge would leave the door open for some chance at some level of rehabilitation within the family.

[00:04:10]>> Yeah. Do you think that maybe because one of the things that that I was actually surprised that she did? So when we started listening to her statement, it was clear she was talking to her boy.

[00:04:18]She actually ended it as if it were a letter to them. Absolutely. So I kind of got that. You know, it seemed like she was hoping that someday they'd be able to get the court records and read it. Uh whereas they're right now they have no contact. I was a little surprised that she proclaimed her innocence. Do you do you think that that might have contributed to the judge basically throwing the book at her?

[00:04:37]>> Yes. I mean, absolutely. So, she's never admitted anything. She's always proclaimed her innocence and she'll she'll die with that. Really, she will because she has nothing to gain now by >> proclaiming her innocence. I tell clients this and and we hear this all the time. With repentance comes forgiveness. And if you ain't repenting, you're not going to give forgiveness. So she if unless you come to the table and say forgive me for I have sinned. I need some help. I I did a horrible thing then she would have had a hope but she she's also if you if you look at this persona and by the way I'm I'm the representative for the victim's family.

[00:05:12]So I'm I obviously a little bit biased here but she has no she she believes what she's saying. I don't see she I don't see her as a woman who's >> you know boy wrestling with this and you know this was a horrible thing I did.

[00:05:26]she'd do it again tomorrow. And that's what that's what's really about and I think that's why the judge issued that decision.

[00:05:31]>> Every every one of these cases that we've seen where they become, you know, these national, you know, and frankly international, this has become pretty high.

[00:05:40]>> I mean, as soon as the sentencing started to happen, you're starting to see it pop up on a lot of the national coverage here that's in studio. And then you start to see a lot of the international stuff, too. It's fascinating for people to see a mom who's addressing her kids after being convicted of of murdering the father.

[00:05:54]all the things that you want to hear when she got up to say her about the sentencing. I mean, she basically turned it into a letter, not just to the boys, but like all right, I'm going to hit all the things. I'm going to talk about school. I'm going to talk about when you get married, you know, talking because I'm basically doing all the speeches here at once.

[00:06:10]>> Yeah.

[00:06:10]>> The the appeal process is not uh necessarily one of those things that people look at and go, "Yeah, but that's a pretty good recourse there." Although, the same day that Alex Murdoch gets his uh two convictions turned over, I go, there's part of me that goes, "So, where is it? where on the appeal process they she has 30 days. She and her attorneys have 30 days presumably she might keep those same attorneys. I don't know. They have 30 days to figure it out and they're going to make the appeal. What's the reality of what the appeal process looks like and and how that kind of goes down on a on a case like this that you know is pretty much a cut and dry deal when it comes to the conviction.

[00:06:43]>> Yeah. I I think what what she has going against her ironically is that she had good lawyers. So, she's not going to argue, "Boy, did my lawyers mess up."

[00:06:54]>> Sure.

[00:06:54]>> Uh, the prosecution was straight up. And the judge held everybody's feet to the fire. I mean, this is a very good judge.

[00:07:01]I mean, I'm sure he's been reversed. I don't know that from anything personal, but I've done trials in front of him.

[00:07:05]He's as good as they come. So, I don't see the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court is where this will end up actually of of Utah looking at this and saying, "Judge, you made a mistake. You shouldn't have done this." I mean, there's an issue about was she going to get a fair trial in Summit County because of the pre-trial. Should it have been tried in Salt Lake? That's probably her most compelling appeal issue. But the proof is in the pudding because what they'll do is they'll look at the jurors that sat in the box and say, "What did they say about the case when they were being selected?" And they all said, "Whatever I've heard, I can be fair. I'm I'm willing to listen to the evidence that's presented in the trial, and I will make a fair decision." And that's all you have to say to qualify to be a juror. So, I don't know that they're going to get very far with that appeal either. Now, you said could she stay with her same attorneys? The best thing she could do, and I sort of already said something a little bit contrary to this, is to get a different set of attorneys to do the appeal because then you can argue that your attorneys made a mistake. You, if you're an attorney, you can't argue your own mistake.

[00:08:03]>> And if you fire your attorney and then you go and then they're not a part of it, then it's not they're like they're coming back being like, "Wait a minute."

[00:08:08]like that. That's not really >> I mean I always tell clients when I lose, which I do. I always say get another attorney because I may have made a mistake and I want you to have every opportunity to appeal. I always tell my clients that.

[00:08:18]>> I want to ask you a really naive question >> only because >> why we're here. Ethan, this you didn't even have to say that. When we say when we ask questions, people understand naive.

[00:08:28]>> Uh why what do you have to do to get the death penalty? Because you got he he he gave us the two options. He said under he said under Utah law these are the options. Neither of them were the death penalty.

[00:08:39]>> Yeah. At the beginning it was determined that. Right. Isn't that how >> how did they decide that?

[00:08:42]>> No. No. That was good. The prosecution decided that at the beginning. So when they filed this as an aggravated murder, it carried with it the potential of death like you're alluding to life without or 25 to life. The prosecution said, "We're going to take death off the table." They said that right out of the shoot.

[00:08:58]>> Interesting.

[00:08:58]>> We would have had a whole different trial. I'll tell you why. In a death penalty case, the jury does what the judge did today. The jury decides what the ultimate punishment is. So there's there's a separate trial. We call it the the penalty phase. And then you go to the same jurors, and by the way, there would have been 12 instead of eight. And you say, >> "What do you think? Do you put the the bad against the good, the aggravating against the mitigating? Do you think that the aggravating is enough?" And then they could say, "Uh, yes, she should she should be executed." I I agree with the prosecution in this case.

[00:09:28]I really do that it would have been unlikely to get a death penalty. And part of the reason is because she's female. She has no prior record.

[00:09:37]You know, I just there are other reasons I probably should not say because I'll get in trouble, but mostly to do with her race. But I'm just saying it would have been it would have been unlikely to get the death penalty like this. Yeah.

[00:09:48]>> Um so, uh I'm trying to think too because she doesn't go out. Is the women's state prison down at Gunnison?

[00:09:55]Is that where that is? Is >> No, it's out here. The new Okay.

[00:09:58]>> And so that's where she'll serve her time.

[00:10:00]>> That's where she'll serve the rest of her life. Now, sometimes you have inmates who are problems. Maybe they have other inmates who are being, you know, bad to them or fighting. They could be they could do it transferred.

[00:10:11]Like you can go to Arizona and you send one of your bad people to us. So sometimes people get transferred, but it's just a matter of convenience. But there's no reason that I can think of why she wouldn't serve her time here at the Utah State Penitentiary. I mean, she's been in the the Summit County Jail for 2 years. I think she got hooked up in 2024 >> and hasn't seemed to have issues with other inmates. So, she'll probably just serve her time here.

[00:10:35]>> So, from here on out, >> uh, she has some legal work to do if she chooses.

[00:10:40]>> She will.

[00:10:41]>> What about the victim's family? Is there anything that remains for them to do? Do they need to engage this at all again if they don't want to, or are they done?

[00:10:50]they're done. Because really at this point, even if they went to the board of pardons 20 years from now and said, "Please, we have forgiven her. Let her out." They can't do that. She She just got a life without. It's it's done. And like the judge said, absent her becoming >> really incompetent to the point where she's just vegetative, you know, has no ability to make any decisions and they they put her in some sort of hospital facility, she'll she'll end up spending the rest of her life in prison. It's very rare that a woman would get a life without it. We don't Did this feel like it did this feel like it went quick for you? Like the the whole trial itself? I remember she got the conviction was in March, I think, and then the sentencing.

[00:11:27]We knew the sentencing hearing was going to be this week and it was going to fire up and everything was going to go.

[00:11:32]>> But I I don't remember this being held up very much.

[00:11:36]No, it went it went slowly. I mean, really, this it was two years. It was even a year before they charged her after the homicide. Two years in jail.

[00:11:44]The trial took three weeks. The only thing that happened quickly, the only thing that happened really quickly, Alex, no. Was the the verdict?

[00:11:51]>> Oh, that trial and they make a verdict in three hours. That's world record.

[00:11:55]>> Well, I'll tell you her her statement did wasn't quick.

[00:11:58]>> No, I went for what? 40 minutes.

[00:12:00]>> Painful, right?

[00:12:01]>> No, it was it was a lot. And >> but she had to do that. I I don't blame her. She had to She had to take her Hail Mary.

[00:12:06]>> It's the Well, and it's the last chance.

[00:12:07]And you really did see she was communicating a lot. It felt like she didn't have much to say to the court. It felt like she was communicating with everyone else.

[00:12:16]>> Yeah. She was talking to to the media, talking to the public. Right.

[00:12:19]>> Before we get out, and I know we're getting killed on time here because we've just been we've been pushed around with the with this all day. I did want to ask you though from the from the because it did go so quickly. I remember the conviction did come back quick that day on the 16th of March. And I remember thinking, boy, that that was quick. And I but I also don't remember there being just such was it the Google searches?

[00:12:36]What was the thing that really according to what you saw that they said, no, that is for sure what happened? because it just felt like it was there was a lot with the with the with the housekeeper and the you know the the the drugs and all the things there, but I didn't know if it didn't feel like it was one of those where it was just so slam dunk of here's the evidence right here. They pulled the DNA off of this and they got this and and how was it that they were able to turn around so quickly? What was the the real lynch pin uh spot for you in this trial? I think that and again she had great lawyers but I think there was an error made when they put on no defense at all. they didn't put any witnesses on. They didn't put their client on, which usually it it has can backfire, but even a even an investigator or someone that could say, "Hey, what the county did in this case was wrong." I mean, I think that the defense felt that they were winning that there was no reason to put a case, no reason to do something to upset the the verdict. They thought, "Hey, the states put their case on. They haven't proven their case. I think we have a shot of winning this," which I've done before as a defense attorney, thinking, "Hey, they didn't carry the day. I'm not going to put any evidence on it. Make their case stronger. And I think that was a miscalculation. But again, hindsight's 2020. Who knows what I would have done.

[00:13:46]But the the the quickness of the verdict made me think that the state had a very compelling case because exactly what you said, Alex, they they go back and they look at all the evidence and and you know, the forensics. Did we have this?

[00:13:58]Did we have that? Was it really the cup, the glass that was used? And they say guilty. Let's get out of here and go home.

[00:14:03]>> All right. Uh thanks so much, Greg. We appreciate it. If you're just joining us, Cory Richen sentenced to life in prison, no chance of of parole.