5 Bombshells in Utah Mom Accused of Poisoning Husband Murder Case

so my husband passed away unexpectedly last year so it's March 4th was a one-year anniversary for us Cory richens the Utah mom and children's book author accused of murdering her husband for life insurance money prosecutors are laying out part of their case in new court documents I have the bombshell details with a representative from Eric Rich's family thanks for joining me for Crime fix I'm Anette Levy Corey richens will be back in court this week for a two-day preliminary hearing at that hearing the judge will hear testimony to determine whether there's enough evidence to bound Cory richens over for trial prosecutors just have to show there's probable cause that richens committed the crimes that's a very low bar they're outlining some of their case in a 32-page filing prosecutors say Corey richens killed Eric richens on March 3rd or 4th of 2022 by poisoning him with fentel but a month earlier on Valentine's Day she had tried to do the same thing according to prosecutors but failed prosecutors say richens bought fentanyl from a person identified as witness 4 that month but let's go back to the very beginning of this story Corey and Eric richens were married in 2013 and they had a prenuptual agreement Cory sold real estate in South Carolina but then opened her own real estate venture Corey richens real estate in 2019 richens flipped houses and funded this Venture using a $250,000 home home equity line of credit from a home that Eric richens owned prior to marrying Corey this is what prosecutors are saying in these documents prosecutors say it appeared on the outside that Corey Rich's real estate business was doing well but really they say a forensic accountant will testify that she was borrowing money at high interest rates to fund this Venture at one point in 2021 prosecutors say richens defaulted on a loan and was sued by Green Grass Holdings three months before Eric richens died and according to prosecutors Eric richens didn't know that Corey took out that $250,000 home equity line of credit at the time until someone at his bank told him much later prosecutors cite an October 2020 text message exchange between richens and a friend where richens wrote I don't know what to do if he thinks that I owe him money then that's fine I'll pay whatever he thinks and then I'm out it's getting a little out of hand the friend asked how much did you take out richens responded a lot the friend then asked how long do you think it would take to pay it back richens responded 250,000 it will take me a couple of months until my investments pay out so I just got to be top-notch careful but there's nothing more important to me than the boys in making sure custody is always going to be at least 5050 and if he digs and digs and finds something I don't want him hiring some expensive attorney to fight for the kids or something now prosecutors say there's a really big problem with that text message they say a forensic accountant will testify that at the time Corey richens didn't have any Investments that she could sell or cash in to pay back that loan and it was over Advanced to $254,000 remember it was originally $ 250,000 on the day Eric richens died prosecutors say that Corey richens owed $3.1 million she had purchased more properties and borrowed more money but she wasn't making any money at the time Eric richens died in March of 2022 prosecutors say his estate was worth $5 million and his life was ured for more than $2 million on top of this financial mess which sounds like an absolute nightmare prosecutors say Corey richens was having an affair prosecutors quote witness 8 identified as saying Corey richens feared leaving Eric richens would be difficult and his family would use their considerable wealth to fight her for custody of the kids witness 8 said in December of 2021 Richard said that it would be better if Eric was dead the following day prosecutors say richens texted her Paramore I'm in love with a man that's not my husband I want to but I can't break up my family it's having our cake and eating it too I do just want to love you then in January of 2022 prosecutors say someone accessed a two million life insurance policy for the business partner of Eric richens this was done online changing the beneficiary to Corey richens and then back to Eric richens prosecutors believe Corey didn't realize the policy was actually for the business partner so she put her name in there and then swapped it back that same month prosecutors say Corey consulted a divorce lawyer but ended those talks telling her brother she didn't want half of everything but wanted to walk away quote clean ande then prosecutors say that Corey richens started researching illicit drugs and asking people how to get fentanyl in late January prosecutors say Corey richens took out a $100,000 insurance policy on Eric richens forging his signature and having those documents sent to her PO box then on Valentine's Day prosecutors say Corey Rich's poison takeout food that she bought for Eric richens with fentanyl pills that a friend had purchased from someone else identified as witness 5 Eric richens texted a person identified as witness one according to prosecutors this person was a close friend and it was 1:59 p.m. quote you almost lost me richens told the friend that Corey richens had given him a sandwich with a note that he had eaten part of it and then broken out in hives and he tried to treat himself at home with one of his kids epipens and benad dril then 12 minutes later after that 1:9 p.m. text at at 2:11 p.m. richens called another friend identified as witness to and said quote I think I almost died I think my wife tried to poison me richens had become ill and blacked out the judge in the case voiced interest in those comments at a hearing this week take a listen I am most acutely interested in defense's position regarding witness one and witness 2 especially 1:59 p.m. for witness 1 and 2:11 p.m. for witness 2 I'll make sure that okay prosecutors say Eric richens tried to text Corey that afternoon but she didn't answer and then she continued to plan for a life without Eric richens the next day Corey richens texted the Paramore according to prosecutors this is all in their document quote if I were divorced right now and asked you to marry me tomorrow you would and I just want to lay on the couch and cuddle you watch a murder documentary and snuggle the following month prosecutor say Corey richens carried out her ultimate goal of poisoning and killing Eric richens prosecutors say Corey's cell phone showed her movements did not match the story that she told detectives about that night richens later wrote a children's book for her children about grief it's just comforting to them to know that you know they're not living this life alone like Dad is still here it's just in a different way if you are anything like me you are always cleaning up a mess especially with pets and kids running around the house so having 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your first order by going to blueland.com crifix Greg scoris is the spokesperson for Eric rin's family Greg how is the family doing leading up to this hearing I think they're really happy right now because the case has been pending as you know for a year uh we are finally getting to the preliminary hearing which will be uh tomorrow and uh the state has issued what they call a a pre-trial brief or a prehearing brief to kind of outline what their case is it's a long document but it really spells out the evidence that they intend to put forward the witnesses that they intend to call and I think it gives us all from the Eric Rich's side some consolation that the state has a very good case some feeling that the state has put together a very strong case and of course we're just at the preliminary hearing stage so the state doesn't have to show all of their cards and all of their Witnesses but what they've shown us so far is very compelling and I was going to ask your feelings about the brief because it is very detailed there's a lot of information in there a lot of text messages back and forth witness statements one thing the judge seem particularly interested in and it could be considered here say at trial um but would be admissible at the preliminary hearing are these phone calls that Eric richens made in the text messages from February 14th 2022 in which one was at 159 he tells a friend like you almost lost me I think my wife tried to poison me and then 13 minutes later he calls somebody and and explains this incident with the sandwich and things like that and then there there are all these text messages they outline with Corey richens and her alleged lover uh where she's talking about wanting to be with this person the issues with the the real estate company and and being in such you know extreme d um there's a lot in there Greg that really paints a picture of a woman who was desperate right and the irony of course is that this is Valentine's Day and she's literally poisoning her husband and being with her Paramore at the same time I mean talk about the irony of this and and the state really they did they had a forensic account to go through just exactly what you said all of the uh Financial issues that that she was having I mean she was upside down a million dollars or more and had other debtors coming after her I mean she had so many reasons uh to have Eric killed and they were almost all Financial of course we we learned recently like you said about the boyfriend that was a Twist we we had heard about we thought we knew about but maybe now hearing it straight from the horse's mouth is going to make this SP case even stronger as it relates to her motive both Financial and with respect to her lover how big of an issue in the relationship I mean of course there was this prenuptual agreement um that is discussed in the document so they had they had the prup they were married in 2013 then she starts the real estate business she wants to buy up more properties I mean from the outside looking in it looks successful but the forensic accountant is going to testify that it wasn't successful she's taking out these awful highin loans I mean she she can't keep up with the payments then she wants to buy this monster property in Midway and try to flip it and um that didn't work out for her so so how big of a stressor was this whole issue of the the big property in Midway as far as the family knows on the relationship it was huge because Eric never wanted that property it was a monstrosity and it was It was obviously a very beautiful home they call it the Mansion was worth several million dollars but it was in an area that wouldn't support that kind of value it wasn't it was really out of its place and he thought that there was no way they were going to just flip it and make a million dollars it wasn't going to happen because that that particular part of the state doesn't justify a two and a half or $ three million home so yeah that was a big problem but again she's trying to be get her real estate career going she's trying to make some money flipping houses she was obviously horrible at it and he was trying to be a supportive husband not notwithstanding that that she's just bleeding their accounts dry you said that the family suspected that there was a boyfriend but didn't know about this and and the text messages appear to make it pretty clear I mean we're we're at the preliminary hearing stage this is a very low bar that the state has to meet to get over that hurdle to be bound over for trial probable cause but you're saying they suspected it but didn't know now you found out there was indeed a boyfriend um there was somebody else in the picture and this person thought a divorce was on the horizon according to the text messages yeah I mean she she made clear to the boyfriend that she needed to get out of the marriage and there were a lot of text between the two of them about well I want to make sure I can preserve my my relationship with my children I don't want to lose custody and really a lot of a lot of conversations not just with the boyfriend but with her own family that Eric was worth a lot more dead than divorced and you stated a reason earlier inette which is that there was a prenuptual agreement and that prenuptual agreement provided that he had certain assets that he would get if they got divorced but if he died those assets would turn over to her so yeah he was worth much much more to her dead then divorced also there was this talk about her taking out an extra life insurance policy for $100,000 um in the time leading up to his death so I mean that I would assume goes to a premeditation aspect of this she of course says that she didn't do this she's pleaded not guilty um there's been some talk that maybe you know the suggestion is that Eric had used drugs or accidentally overdosed yeah I mean she's plad not guilty and obviously she's Presumed Innocent but Eric was not a drug user he was a very healthy man he was an Outdoorsman he supported his children in their athletic Endeavors as a coach he he liked the outdoors here in in that part of the state hunting and fishing he would not have abused his body in any way and there's no evidence that he did I mean there was some conversation that that he had tried some gummies or something but in terms of opioids fany there's just no evidence to support that he ever used drugs like that how are the kids doing the three boys they're with family members they're doing very well they're in a very loving environment they're still in the general area where they had been uh raised with Eric uh by all accounts they're going to be doing just fine and they're going to be taken care of by a loving and a very extended family in that part of the state GRE sortis we'll be watching the hearing closely thank you so much for coming on we hope to have you back you bet and that's it for this episode of crime fix I manette Levy thanks so much for being with us I'll see you back here next time

Channel: Law&Crime Network

Views: 242,921

Keywords: law and crime, law and crime network, true crime, truecrime, true crime videos, court, trials, law&crime

Id: 2D36V6l6Iyw

Length: 15min 55sec (955 seconds)

Published: Tue May 14 2024