Kouri Richins & Love Bombing: Why Victims Don't See It Coming | Surviving the Fog Part 1
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How did Eric Richins not see it?
Prosecutors allege Kouri Richins was $4.5 million in debt, texting a boyfriend, allegedly buying fentanyl from her housekeeper—all while Eric came home thinking he had a marriage.
The question isn't why he didn't leave. It's what he saw in the beginning that made everything else invisible.
This is Part 1 of "Surviving the Fog"—a five-part psychological examination of coercive control and narcissistic abuse. We're using the Kouri Richins case as a framework to explore documented patterns, not to diagnose anyone.
Nobody marries a monster. They marry a mask.
Love bombing is the trap. The overwhelming attention. The intensity that feels like fate. The mirroring that makes them your perfect match. It's not romance—it's reconnaissance. They study what you're missing and become exactly that.
Trauma bonding is neuroscience. The cycle of affection and withdrawal creates addiction patterns. You're not weak—your brain has been chemically hijacked.
The person you fell in love with may have never existed. The early days weren't real. They were a hook.
If you felt chosen in a way you never had before—you were targeted.
Kouri Richins is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske. Here now, Tony Bruske. |
| 0:07.0 | Why do smart, successful, capable people end up married to someone who allegedly wants them dead? |
| 0:14.9 | Eric Richens wasn't naive. By all accounts, he was a hardworking man who built a masonry business, |
| 0:22.7 | loved the outdoors, hunted, and devoted himself to his three sons. His family describes |
| 0:28.3 | him as present, capable, reliable, the kind of guy who showed up. According to prosecutors, |
| 0:36.2 | his wife was texting her boyfriend about their future together while Eric was still coming home every night thinking he had a marriage. |
| 0:44.5 | Prosecutors alleged she was $4.5 million in debt buying fentanyl from her housekeeper and planning a life that didn't include Eric, except for his life insurance and his estate. |
| 0:56.3 | How lovely. |
| 0:58.0 | If the prosecution is right, Eric Richard spent years living with someone who was allegedly |
| 1:02.1 | plotting his death, and he didn't quite fully see it coming. |
| 1:09.4 | So the question everyone asks is, how did he miss it? |
| 1:14.8 | That's a question we're going to explore, not just in this episode, but across this entire |
| 1:19.3 | series throughout this week, five parts. |
| 1:24.0 | Before I go further, let me be clear about what this series is and what it isn't. |
| 1:27.7 | We're examining psychological patterns of coercive control, narcissistic abuse using the Corey Richens case's framework. |
| 1:34.9 | We're not diagnosing her or anyone else with a personality disorder. |
| 1:38.2 | I'm not qualified to do that, and I'm not attempting to do it here. |
| 1:42.0 | We're examining our behavioral patterns. |
| 1:44.6 | The prosecutors have alleged patterns that are well documented in abuse research |
| 1:48.2 | and that I've experienced personally. |
| 1:51.3 | Corey Richens has presumed innocent and so proven guilty. |
| 1:54.8 | This is educational content, if you will, not clinical advice. |
... |
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