Chapter 1: What led to Kouri Richens' conviction for murder?
My sweet baby boys. I know that today you don't want to speak to me, have a relationship with me, or you may think you hate me. And that's okay. I will never be angry at you for your feelings.
That was Corey Richens addressing her children on May 13th at a sentencing hearing. It was the first time any of us heard from Richens since the Utah mother of three was found guilty of aggravated murder in her husband Eric Richens' 2022 fentanyl overdose death. She was also found guilty of four other charges, including attempted aggravated murder, two counts of insurance fraud, and forgery.
And now I will use any opportunity I can to get a message to you. even if that means sharing it publicly to the world, fully restrained, in my jail clothes, in one of the most horrible situations possible.
She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Welcome to the season finale of Postmortem. I'm your host, 48 Hours correspondent Anne-Marie Green. And joining me today is 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales to discuss the dramatic conclusion of a case that has certainly gripped the nation. Natalie, welcome.
Thank you, Anne-Marie, for having me again. And boy, is this explosive, this sentencing hearing. We not only heard statements from Corey for the first time, but also from Eric's sisters, also from Eric and Corey's children in a statement, which you'll hear as read by their counselors. Now, this is a case, as you know, it's been getting a lot of media attention.
We've reported on it extensively as well. We're going to break it all down for you today.
All right. So we are going to get into this. But first, a reminder, as usual, everyone, if you haven't watched or listened to this episode, it is called Corey Richens Behind the Facade. Go check it out now and then come on back for this conversation. And so as you sort of point out, Natalie, a lot of people had been following this case, but it has gone on for quite a while.
So why don't you give us a bit of a recap?
Well, let's go back to March of 2022. And, you know, Corey Richens at the time was 31 years old. Eric, 39 years old. They seem to have it all by outward appearances. They seem to be in a good marriage. They had three young sons. But it was in the early morning hours of March 4th, 2022, that Corey called 911.
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Chapter 2: How did the prosecution build their case against Kouri Richens?
I had to be a parent to W. C and I would walk him to the bus stop, feed him, and watch him. You wouldn't let our dog outside, and then the dog would pee inside. You created this problem, then you would smack my dog on the head as hard as you could. You wouldn't let me put my kitten in the garage for safety at night, and we found it eaten by raccoons the next day.
You wouldn't let us turn on and use the heater lamp for the chickens and bunnies, and they froze to death.
this is kind of all new information, right? This wasn't, was this sort of stuff brought up at the trial?
Nothing, nothing of this was brought up at the trial. What came into question was how she was as a wife, not as how she was as a mother.
These two children would have been quite young at the time when they were living with her. Carter is the eldest son. And Carter says that Corey was often drunk, that she would lock him in his room. Here's another counselor reading his statement.
I felt like I had to take care of my siblings. Ash mostly took care of me, though, because I was locked in my room. Ash would bring me food. Corey would lock me up if I told her she was drunk. This happened pretty much daily. I feel angry that she locked me in my room.
We should point out that about these statements, they're not calling her mom. They're calling her Corey. But we don't know if prompts were given to the children to get those kinds of statements or what kinds of questions they were even asked by their counselors.
The court also heard from Katie, that is Eric's sister. I want to play some of that sound.
There is no question that this case is famous and that Corey is now famous. But what Corey never mentions in talking about her fame and notoriety are the reasons why this case is now famous. It is famous for how appalling and sickening it is.
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