Kouri Richins family satisfied with partial gag order issued in case, says spokesman

SALT LAKE CITY —  A partial gag order issued in the case of Kouri Richins was welcomed by the family, a Richins family spokesman said on Monday.

Richins is charged in Summit County’s Third District Court with criminal homicide and aggravated murder in her husband’s death. 

Greg Skordas (who is also KSL NewsRadio’s legal analyst) said a gag order in this case, makes sense.

“It prevents the attorneys involved, on both sides, from saying too much what we call extrajudicial comments that could dissuade a jury,” Skordas said.

 

Richens’ case has garnered attention because she wrote a childrens book about dealing with grief after the sudden loss of a parent, after being accused of poisoning her husband.

Charging documents cite an informant that told police he twice provided Richins with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. An autopsy on Richins’ husband prompted a search warrant and then an arrest. 

The charging documents also state that Richins’ husband told a friend he believed he was being poisoned.

“The judge was just admonishing both sides to say, ‘look, this case has gotten a life of its own, it’s got so much media, it’s got so much attention, that we don’t need to exacerbate that we don’t need to make that bigger than it really has to be,” Skordas said.

Simone Seikaly contributed.

Related:

• Author of book on grief for children accused of murder of husband
• Author accused of poisoning husband owed more than $2 million according to police