A judge granted the delay so defense attorneys can argue for seating a Salt Lake County jury in Summit County.

Kouri Richins’ murder trial has been delayed indefinitely over concerns on whether to summon Salt Lake County jurors to Summit County. Defense attorneys raised concerns over the impartiality of a jury pool pulled from within the originating county.  In April, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik ruled to keep the trial in Summit County. Richins’ attorneys want to appeal the decision, so they asked for a delay. There was not opposition from Summit County prosecutors.

 Richins, the mother of three wrote a children’s book about grieving her dead husband, but was later arrested in connection with his death.

 Kouri Richins' book on how to deal with grief isn't the only thing she's written.

There's a six-page handwritten letter that's sparking debate, "the walk the dog letter."  Prosecutors say that in the letter, Richins is teaching people how to lie about what happened the night her husband died.  Her defense team says the letter was privileged information and wants the prosecutors to be sanctioned.

It's called the "walk the dog letter," since that phrase is written in big letters on the top. In it,  Richins makes the claim that her husband Eric was addicted to drugs, that he would make frequent trips to Mexico to get pills, and that his death was an accidental overdose. The letter was written to Richins' mother, and it reportedly tells her to instruct Richins' brother to make the connection to Mexico and drugs when he talks about the case.

The question the court has to answer is, does a defendant attempting to help coach someone on what they should say on the witness stand, rise to the level of witness tampering?

Prosecutors say it does rise to the level of witness tampering because there is no connection between Kouri Richins' brother and drugs from Mexico. The prosecution believes, again, that  Richins is instructing people to lie.

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

• Donna Kelly– Former Utah Senior Deputy District Attorney and Attorney for Crime Victims Legal Clinic; Helped form the Utah County Sex Crimes Task Force
• Dr. Bethany Marshall – Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills, CA); Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Twitter: @DrBethanyLive
• Justin Boardman – Retired Detective, West Valley City Police Department Special Victim’s Unit, Boardman Training & Consulting
• Dr. William Morrone – Toxicologist, Chief Medical Examiner, Bay County Michigan; Author: “American Narcan: Naloxone & Heroin-Fentanyl Associated Mortality”
• Elaine Aradillas - Senior Crime Reporter at the Messenger; Twitter: @elaineja, Instagram: @the_elaineja

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