2: Richins Trial: Untested Pill Bottle and "Jail Calls" Slip Rock Courtroom
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
The shortest day so far in the Kouri Richins murder trial may have been the most consequential. In less than an hour of testimony, defense attorney Kathy Nester exposed significant gaps in the investigation that are central to the prosecution's case against the Utah mother accused of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl.
Crime scene technician Chelsea Gipson confirmed that a hydrocodone bottle recovered from Eric Richins' nightstand was never tested for fentanyl residue. She also confirmed that the kitchen where Kouri allegedly prepared the drink prosecutors say delivered the fatal dose was not photographed. No drug paraphernalia of any kind was found in the home on the day Eric died. And Gipson agreed that it's common for people to hide illicit drugs in prescription pill bottles — a key concession that supports the defense's theory that Eric may have unknowingly or knowingly had access to fentanyl independent of his wife.
The courtroom's most dramatic moment came during questioning about phone recordings when Gipson asked if Nester was referring to "jail calls." The defense immediately moved to strike the comment, and Judge Mrazik instructed jurors not to speculate about the defendant's custody history. But the reference was already on the record in the jury's minds.
An unexpected early recess ended the day before noon. Gipson returns to the stand for continued cross-examination in a trial expected to last into March.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brewski. |
| 0:03.4 | Here now, Tony Brewski. |
| 0:06.8 | The hydrocodone bottle found in Eric Richon's nightstand, |
| 0:10.7 | the one sitting inches from where he died of a fentanyl overdose, that one? |
| 0:19.0 | It was never tested for fentanyl. |
| 0:23.7 | Kind of a big deal in a murder case. |
| 0:26.8 | That fact came out in the Corey Richens' murder trial, and if you're keeping score at home, |
| 0:33.7 | it should bother you, regardless of which side you're on, because the defense just |
| 0:38.3 | asked the state's own crime scene technician whether we'd have any way of knowing if fentanyl |
| 0:43.2 | residue was inside that bottle. And the answer was simple, we wouldn't. Because nobody checked. |
| 0:52.4 | Yeah. |
| 0:57.3 | Day three of the trial was supposed to be a full day of testimony. |
| 0:58.1 | It wasn't. |
| 1:04.0 | What the jury got instead was roughly 40 minutes of cross-examination, a scheduling conflict from the judge, an extended recess that turned into an early dismissal, and a |
| 1:09.5 | handful of revelations that may end up mattering |
| 1:11.8 | more than anything we heard in the first two days combined. Because defense attorney Kathy Nestor |
| 1:18.2 | didn't need a full day, she needed less than an hour to start pulling threats. And the prosecution's |
| 1:23.5 | evidence is already starting to look a little loose at the seams. Here's where we are. |
| 1:28.8 | Chelsea Gibson is the crime scene investigation technician who served as the evidence hub for |
| 1:34.9 | the Richens case. |
| 1:35.9 | She visited the home eight different times. |
| 1:39.1 | She took photos, scans, collected physical evidence. |
... |
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