PARK CITY, Utah (NewsNation) — Greg Skordas, the attorney for Eric Richins’ family, told NewsNation’s “Banfield” that the likelihood of Kouri Richins receiving the death penalty would be difficult.
Kouri Richins, the Utah mom accused of killing her husband Eric, then writing a children’s book about grief, was denied bail during a detention hearing Monday.
Skordas told “Banfield” on Monday night that he asked county attorneys about the possibility of Kouri Richins facing the death penalty. They said it was too early to discuss that possibility.
“I was a prosecutor for eight years, I did death penalty cases. This would be a very hard case to convince a jury of 12, unanimously, to agree that the penalty of death is appropriate. This is a case where Kouri should never get out of prison. … And I think that the family would be satisfied with a result like that. … She has no prior criminal history at all.”
The deceased husband’s family has not taken a stance on whether they prefer the death penalty, according to Skordas: “They’re letting the prosecution do its job.”
Judge Richard Mrazik said the state demonstrated “clear and convincing evidence that the defendant would pose a substantial danger to the community if put on bail.”
The 33-year-old Richins is charged with murder and drug possession. Prosecutors say Kouri slipped her husband Eric five times the lethal dose of illegal fentanyl inside a Moscow mule amid marital disputes over a multimillion-dollar mansion she ultimately purchased as an investment property.