UT - Kouri Richins, 33, Author, wife, mom, charged in husband’s “unexpected” death last year, May 2023

[nhmemorymaker]

Eric's first wife does not appear to be LDS Church, either. Her obituary does not mention the LDS Church, which would be customary in that community if she was a member. Here is the phrase in the late Julie Jorgensen's obituary:

" Julie was a born again believer in Christ and loved her family with all of her heart"

This sentence appears to be very specific to say she is not Mormon.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Maybe it’s time for the government to require a national database for life insurance policies. Whenever one is purchased in someone’s name, it gets filed and the person for whom the policy was purchased is notified. Additionally, the insurance agent is flagged if there’s a certain number of policies purchased within a certain timeframe.

And I have been wondering why such a database does not already exist.
I can certainly see wht the Insurance industry would not want that.... but really, we all know how much crime is the result of these lucrative policies.

 

[neesaki]

I keep thinking of the time she poisoned ER in a sandwich she made for him.
I just can’t imagine what that conversation would have been like. I mean, what did he say to her, and what was her response? I wish he had gone and gotten drug tested, and had her arrested. Then he could have gotten a restraining order and kept the children safe, and he’d still be alive.
Can you imagine living with someone you knew was poisoning you?!

Was it three times before she succeeded in killing him? There was Greece,
the sandwich, and Valentines dinner, right?

 

[Herat]

I keep thinking of the time she poisoned ER in a sandwich she made for him.
I just can’t imagine what that conversation would have been like. I mean, what did he say to her, and what was her response? I wish he had gone and gotten drug tested, and had her arrested. Then he could have gotten a restraining order and kept the children safe, and he’d still be alive.
Can you imagine living with someone you knew was poisoning you?!

Was it three times before she succeeded in killing him? There was Greece,
the sandwich, and Valentines dinner, right?

This is all that we have seen written down.

I wouldn't be surprised if she had done some "test" poisonings before.

 

[arielilane]

I went down the rabbit hole looking at her RE transactions. I only got through 2 counties and can't figure out what's what and there are all kinds of weird lenders involved. I assume they've had a forensic accountant digging thru that mess. I did see she got default notices for 2 Summit County properties on 5/12/23.

I've been thru Summit County and Utah County - if anyone else wants to look, here are the links

Property Page | Summit County, UT - Official Website

Find Property Records such as Deeds and Property Values. Links to GIS maps are also available on this page.

www.summitcounty.org

Web Access to Utah County Land Records

Much appreciated! Am sure it's a never-ending rabbit hole when it comes to KR.
Since she filed bankruptcy, a lenders' hands are tied at the moment. moo

‘The Grand Home’: Kouri Richins’ unfinished Midway mansion could have buyer

A mansion that broke ground in 2017—but was never finished—has been a longtime roadside curiosity in Midway. And now it’s at the center of a man’s death, which prosecutors allege was murder.

www.kpcw.org

5/9/2023

That would be good news for Kouri, who retained not only criminal defense attorney Skye Lazaro but also bankruptcy attorney Austin Nate.

 

[worm]

Maybe it’s time for the government to require a national database for life insurance policies. Whenever one is purchased in someone’s name, it gets filed and the person for whom the policy was purchased is notified. Additionally, the insurance agent is flagged if there’s a certain number of policies purchased within a certain timeframe.

Obviously I’ve been wrong in thinking that insurance companies did share this type of info as a measure to protect themselves.

 

[al66pine]

Was There an Alimony Order for Ex-Wife? A Possible Motive?

But wait.....
If the first ex had alimony from ER, KR would have a motive: more money for her that would otherwise be going to the ex.

@RickshawFan Thanks for your post. Had not thought of that ^.
Under Utah statute, alimony order (generally) cannot last longer than the length of the marriage. See (11) (e) (i) below.

Eric & first wife married in 20__?
Divorced in 20__?
Marriage lasted ___ yrs.
IF alimony was ordered, it should have (likely) terminated in yr 20__?
So when ex-wife died in yr 20__?, alimony --- was? /was not? ---being paid to her.

Takes some imagination to see end-of-alimony as motive--- that is if alimony was still being paid, but maybe possible.
Not dismissing it, but doubting it, imo.

__________________________________________________
"Index Utah Code
"Title 30 Husband and Wife
"Chapter 3 Divorce
"Section 5 Disposition of property .... Alimony -- ....
"(11) (e) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (11)(e)(iii), the court may not order alimony for a period of time longer than the length of the marriage....
"(iii) At any time before the termination of alimony, the court may find extenuating circumstances or good cause that justify the payment of alimony for a longer period of time than the length of the marriage." (sbm)

Utah Code Section 30-3-5

le.utah.gov

 

[RickshawFan]

Was There an Alimony Order for Ex-Wife? A Possible Motive?

@RickshawFan Thanks for your post. Had not thought of that ^.
Under Utah statute, alimony order (generally) cannot last longer than the length of the marriage. See (11) (e) (i) below.

Eric & first wife married in 20__?
Divorced in 20__?
Marriage lasted ___ yrs.
IF alimony was ordered, it should have (likely) terminated in yr 20__?
So when ex-wife died in yr 20__?, alimony --- was? /was not? ---being paid to her.

Takes some imagination to see end-of-alimony as motive--- that is if alimony was still being paid, but maybe possible.
Not dismissing it, but doubting it, imo.

__________________________________________________
"Index Utah Code
"Title 30 Husband and Wife
"Chapter 3 Divorce
"Section 5 Disposition of property .... Alimony -- ....
"(11) (e) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (11)(e)(iii), the court may not order alimony for a period of time longer than the length of the marriage....
"(iii) At any time before the termination of alimony, the court may find extenuating circumstances or good cause that justify the payment of alimony for a longer period of time than the length of the marriage." (sbm)

Utah Code Section 30-3-5

le.utah.gov

I had understood that the reason mom presented KR with the prenup on the day of the wedding was because ER didn't come out so well after his previous divorce. So I assumed ex-wife was getting substantial financial benefit out of the divorce.

I'm not especially attached to the "she offed the ex-wife because she wanted the alimony" storyline. It would indeed be far-fetched.

What I'm really trying to do here is put out some ideas about how far back KR's evil went. Call me cynical, but I don't believe a person can suddenly become evil: there's always a way-back trail.

I wonder if KR had a prior marriage? Maybe under another name?

 

[RickshawFan]

Obviously I’ve been wrong in thinking that insurance companies did share this type of info as a measure to protect themselves.

Not only that, you are limited by how much you can buy insuring one person. In the underwriting process, they check this: they don't want a person being "over-insured". This topic came up in the Brophy trial. Nancy Brophy took out many insurance policies on her husband, but they were only underwritten because she declared he didn't have other policies. And recall in the Vallow trial, there was a max of life insurance that could be taken out on Tammy.

Presentation re underwriting:

Limits on the Amount of Life Insurance You Can Have​

Although you can own more than one life insurance policy, you will be limited in the total amount of coverage you can get. That limit is tied, in large part, to your income or net worth.

The amount of coverage you can buy relative to your income varies by age—and can vary from insurer to insurer. Ardleigh says the standard limits are as follows:

• For adults 40 and younger, coverage is limited to 25 to 35 times annual income
• For adults ages 40 to 50, coverage is limited to 20 to 25 times annual income
• For adults ages 50 to 60, coverage is limited to 10 to 20 times annual income
• For adults ages 60 to 70, coverage can be limited to 5 times annual income

For those who want life insurance for estate planning purposes rather than just income replacement, the maximum amount of coverage that can be purchased is usually limited to 80% to 85% of net worth, Ardleigh says.

Those limits are for the total amount of coverage—not per policy. So if you want to buy more than one life insurance policy, insurers will consider how much life insurance coverage you already have when calculating how much coverage you’re eligible for, Ardleigh says.

Be aware that your income isn’t the only factor insurers will consider when deciding how much coverage you qualify to buy. If you have health issues, dangerous hobbies or a job that makes you more of a risk to insure, the total amount you can buy may be lower.

Can You Have More Than One Life Insurance Policy?

You can have more than one life insurance policy. And there actually are a variety of reasons why you might want to have more than one policy. “Insurance policies are not one-size fits all,” says Erin Ardleigh, founder and president of Dynama Insurance. “You might want to have more than one polic

www.forbes.com

 

[Herat]

I had understood that the reason mom presented KR with the prenup on the day of the wedding was because ER didn't come out so well after his previous divorce. So I assumed ex-wife was getting substantial financial benefit out of the divorce.

I'm not especially attached to the "she offed the ex-wife because she wanted the alimony" storyline. It would indeed be far-fetched.

What I'm really trying to do here is put out some ideas about how far back KR's evil went. Call me cynical, but I don't believe a person can suddenly become evil: there's always a way-back trail.

I wonder if KR had a prior marriage? Maybe under another name?

Oh agree with your suspicions!

The tragic death of Julie Jorgerson does not appear to me to be one that could have been arranged, however.

Hustlers and criminals like Kouri do not just appear de novo. They have always been in the slime, just not seen.

No one has mentioned anything about her family, as far as I can see. A bit of sleuthing is certainly in order.

 

[Herat]

Not only that, you are limited by how much you can buy insuring one person. In the underwriting process, they check this: they don't want a person being "over-insured". This topic came up in the Brophy trial. Nancy Brophy took out many insurance policies on her husband, but they were only underwritten because she declared he didn't have other policies. And recall in the Vallow trial, there was a max of life insurance that could be taken out on Tammy.

Presentation re underwriting:

Limits on the Amount of Life Insurance You Can Have​

Although you can own more than one life insurance policy, you will be limited in the total amount of coverage you can get. That limit is tied, in large part, to your income or net worth.

The amount of coverage you can buy relative to your income varies by age—and can vary from insurer to insurer. Ardleigh says the standard limits are as follows:

• For adults 40 and younger, coverage is limited to 25 to 35 times annual income
• For adults ages 40 to 50, coverage is limited to 20 to 25 times annual income
• For adults ages 50 to 60, coverage is limited to 10 to 20 times annual income
• For adults ages 60 to 70, coverage can be limited to 5 times annual income

For those who want life insurance for estate planning purposes rather than just income replacement, the maximum amount of coverage that can be purchased is usually limited to 80% to 85% of net worth, Ardleigh says.

Those limits are for the total amount of coverage—not per policy. So if you want to buy more than one life insurance policy, insurers will consider how much life insurance coverage you already have when calculating how much coverage you’re eligible for, Ardleigh says.

Be aware that your income isn’t the only factor insurers will consider when deciding how much coverage you qualify to buy. If you have health issues, dangerous hobbies or a job that makes you more of a risk to insure, the total amount you can buy may be lower.

Can You Have More Than One Life Insurance Policy?

You can have more than one life insurance policy. And there actually are a variety of reasons why you might want to have more than one policy. “Insurance policies are not one-size fits all,” says Erin Ardleigh, founder and president of Dynama Insurance. “You might want to have more than one polic

www.forbes.com

Do we have any idea what kind of income was being reported by either or both of them to the IRS?

It's very interesting that Kouri is reported to have had a LONG telephone conversation with the IRS the day Eric was murdered.

I don't think the IRS calls up just to chat out of the blue. You have to have had a series of written communications, maybe an interview or two, submit lots of documents, and fail their first review to be interesting enough to them to put that much effort into a second round.

I note that she really started to get desperate for big money in January 2022. I saw that Jan 1 2022 was when she tried to change the beneficiary on the C&S Masonry and Stone business life insurance. Then she took out another policy on Eric. I have to think the IRS was on to her in 2021 and she was getting demand letters in late 2021. She really needed a lot of money and soon. She was really playing a shell game with money and she was depending on Eric's estate to get her out.

Stated far back in this thread was a list of her most available debts, and I recall she actually owed the IRS something like $170,000. Enough to get my heart pounding, but really not that much considering she had a $1,800,000 hard loan out there and she actually owed Eric $500,000.

So she couldn't come up with $170,000 for the IRS yet she went ahead and signed papers on a $2 million purchase the next day?

No wonder she was trying to drill open his safe two days later.

I hope the IRS information can be used in her trial.

 

[Seattle1]

I wonder if she was writing the book before he even died... It will be interesting if police are able to look into that little piece too. She certainly "wrote it, published it, and started selling it" rather quickly.

I personally wonder if some of the life insurance did pay out to her. Otherwise, how was she living her high life since she was cut out of his will.

Since KR learned fairly quickly from her sister-in-law about the living trust and how she'd been cut out of the Will, I wonder if she was spooked/hesitant to make claims on the policies she purchased--afraid of bringing attention to herself.

KR had to know ER took precautions for a good reason-- and that she'd been arrogantly naive if she believed the previous attempts on his life had gone unnoticed. IMO, ER's death was under investigation from the beginning and this would be enough for all of the Insurers to delay paying any death benefit claims.

As the Trustee, the sister probably would have provided a reasonable allowance to NR for the support, health, and welfare of the three children -- similar to child support paid to divorced women. The Trust was not intended to deprive or punish his children but to keep ER's assets out of KR's control. As to KR's high lifestyle, I think KR looked rather unkept near the date of her arrest. JMO

Life Insurance Claim Denials: Reasons Insurers Won’t Pay Out - Life Insurance Lawyer

Discover the reasons why claims are denied or delayed. What to do if life insurance companies won't pay the death benefit.

life-insurance-lawyer.com

 

[arielilane]

Most likely she owes more than $170,000. A lot more! You don’t get to talk with the IRS nowadays unless you’re "special.” You'd have better luck at winning a jackpot in Vegas, than getting through phone lines! She got in over her head and is in a lot of trouble, both criminally and with financials.

I speculate about getting through to IRS phone calls simply from reading articles via MSM.

Of course, all is speculation, jmo.

 

[Crimescenetape]

I keep thinking of the time she poisoned ER in a sandwich she made for him.
I just can’t imagine what that conversation would have been like. I mean, what did he say to her, and what was her response? I wish he had gone and gotten drug tested, and had her arrested. Then he could have gotten a restraining order and kept the children safe, and he’d still be alive.
Can you imagine living with someone you knew was poisoning you?!

Was it three times before she succeeded in killing him? There was Greece,
the sandwich, and Valentines dinner, right?

I think somewhere it was mentioned Eric used his son's Epipen after taking a bite of the sandwich Kouri left for him. Also took Benadryl and slept according to what I think I read. I wonder if Eric Richins has a history of anaphylaxis and Kouri laced his sandwich with an allergen known to him. The love note makes it sound completely accidental.

 

[Soulmagent]

Obviously I’ve been wrong in thinking that insurance companies did share this type of info as a measure to protect themselves.

WS has to have someone in insurance to ask right ? I thought we had a list of professionals who also have love of true crime . I do not think the government should get a list of everyone who has life insurance as that could lead to way more wide spread complex crimes of a more structured sort. Which to me seems worse then the overall low amount of people being murdered by their spouse for monetary gain ..Moo.. Picture if Vallow had a list of peoples wives who had a ton of insurance? I think it best we keep the suspect pool low ,but if the government had that list , a bunch of people could kill people they do not even know and have it benefit them without the aide of investigators because of corruption . I would much just have to worry about my own people murdering me .

 

[Seattle1]

Much appreciated! Am sure it's a never-ending rabbit hole when it comes to KR.
Since she filed bankruptcy, a lenders' hands are tied at the moment. moo

‘The Grand Home’: Kouri Richins’ unfinished Midway mansion could have buyer

A mansion that broke ground in 2017—but was never finished—has been a longtime roadside curiosity in Midway. And now it’s at the center of a man’s death, which prosecutors allege was murder.

www.kpcw.org

5/9/2023

That would be good news for Kouri, who retained not only criminal defense attorney Skye Lazaro but also bankruptcy attorney Austin Nate.

Did KR file for bankruptcy? Please link where this was confirmed as I somehow missed this.

Retaining a bankruptcy attorney is not the equivalent of filing a petition for bankruptcy which is public information (and easily obtained by MSM).

 

[Soulmagent]

I think somewhere it was mentioned Eric used his son's Epipen after taking a bite of the sandwich Kouri left for him. Also took Benadryl and slept according to what I think I read. I wonder if Eric Richins has a history of anaphylaxis and Kouri laced his sandwich with an allergen known to him. The love note makes it sound completely accide

So ...I Seriously expect some kinda twist in this story . This sister thing ..his mothers death. Never sign a deal under Gemini guys..so flag day they write up the paper work 1 day prior to the wedding . I was on board with his wife murdered him blah blah blah ..but Did his family encourage the plan ? Aide it ?
I also noticed the ex died in 2011 ..2 years before him and Kory married and I do wonder if Eric may have received an insurance payout on Julie's death.
Anyway IMO ...it might not be what it appears to be right now. It does seem his family thought of Kori as a stupid girl. They encouraged her to do "more" .
She had nothing ,worked at home depot ,his family encouraged her to become ..etc.. Just saying guys..This why we have trials. To prove the facts.
This thing about Eric thinking she was trying to kill him ,yet still eating food and what have you ,well lots of people end up in mental hospitals because they believe this. I dunno but I am gonna watch this case cautious and slow. Anyway .. Nothing this far is getting me to she is guilty of his actual murder and I can not wait to see the resolution in the case. All of the allegations rely on ,hear say at this point.
Also they said in the 2022 life insurance that she caused the change of the life insurance change . I took it to mean some change she made in legal land created the need for the policy to be changed ,not like she called and upped it . It was the wording that makes it questionable to how that change was caused to be changed . MOO..

 

[RickshawFan]

Do we have any idea what kind of income was being reported by either or both of them to the IRS?

It's very interesting that Kouri is reported to have had a LONG telephone conversation with the IRS the day Eric was murdered.

I don't think the IRS calls up just to chat out of the blue. You have to have had a series of written communications, maybe an interview or two, submit lots of documents, and fail their first review to be interesting enough to them to put that much effort into a second round.

I note that she really started to get desperate for big money in January 2022. I saw that Jan 1 2022 was when she tried to change the beneficiary on the C&S Masonry and Stone business life insurance. Then she took out another policy on Eric. I have to think the IRS was on to her in 2021 and she was getting demand letters in late 2021. She really needed a lot of money and soon. She was really playing a shell game with money and she was depending on Eric's estate to get her out.

Stated far back in this thread was a list of her most available debts, and I recall she actually owed the IRS something like $170,000. Enough to get my heart pounding, but really not that much considering she had a $1,800,000 hard loan out there and she actually owed Eric $500,000.

So she couldn't come up with $170,000 for the IRS yet she went ahead and signed papers on a $2 million purchase the next day?

No wonder she was trying to drill open his safe two days later.

I hope the IRS information can be used in her trial.

How could she possibly owe the IRS $170k? She doesn't seem to have been doing much actual work, and you'd have to have a lucrative job to have that amount of tax liability. Granted, there would have been penalties and interest, but still... And she evidently wasn't doing "married and filing jointly".

What if she owed the IRS that amount on a gambling jackpot? And subsequently gambled away the jackpot and couldn't pay the tax?

Gambling winnings:

Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses | Internal Revenue Service

Topic No. 419 Gambling Income and Losses

www.irs.gov

 

[Lore Listener]

I had understood that the reason mom presented KR with the prenup on the day of the wedding was because ER didn't come out so well after his previous divorce. So I assumed ex-wife was getting substantial financial benefit out of the divorce.

I'm not especially attached to the "she offed the ex-wife because she wanted the alimony" storyline. It would indeed be far-fetched.

What I'm really trying to do here is put out some ideas about how far back KR's evil went. Call me cynical, but I don't believe a person can suddenly become evil: there's always a way-back trail.

I wonder if KR had a prior marriage? Maybe under another name?

If KR is 33-34 (depending on source) in 2023, and she and ER married in 2013, she would have been 23-24 at the time. I think it's possible but pretty unlikely that she was married before ER. Worth researching because you never know. Also very curious about her family, previous relationships, work history, for the reasons you state, as well as the fact we've heard basically nothing about her family, just ER's.

 

[Megnut]

How could she possibly owe the IRS $170k? She doesn't seem to have been doing much actual work, and you'd have to have a lucrative job to have that amount of tax liability. Granted, there would have been penalties and interest, but still... And she evidently wasn't doing "married and filing jointly".

What if she owed the IRS that amount on a gambling jackpot? And subsequently gambled away the jackpot and couldn't pay the tax?

Gambling winnings:

Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses | Internal Revenue Service

Topic No. 419 Gambling Income and Losses

www.irs.gov

IIRC, she was bookkeeping for her husband, was supposed to be paying his taxes. She didn't.

jmo