No Fentanyl Recovered, Key Witness Recanted — Can Prosecutors Still Prove Kouri Richins Killed Eric?
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 911 Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
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Summary
Eric Richins had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system. But no fentanyl was ever recovered. No pills. No forensic link tying Kouri Richins directly to the drugs. And now the witness who was supposed to prove where the fentanyl came from has recanted.
Robert Crozier originally told investigators he sold fentanyl to the housekeeper in the alleged drug chain. Now he's signed a sworn affidavit saying it was OxyContin, not fentanyl—and that he was detoxing and "out of it" during the original interview.
The defense says this eviscerates the prosecution's sourcing theory. If Crozier didn't provide fentanyl, the chain that supposedly put the murder weapon in Kouri's hands falls apart.
But that's not the only bomb dropped before trial. A new motion alleges prosecutors are intimidating witnesses—threatening arrest and suggesting immunity could be revoked if witnesses don't cooperate with additional meetings.
Defense attorney Eric Faddis breaks down what these developments mean. Is witness intimidation a legitimate concern or standard trial prep? Can prosecutors pivot on the drug sourcing without destroying their credibility? And what happens when your case depends on proving a poisoning you can't forensically connect to the defendant?
We examine every pretrial ruling: the 26 financial fraud charges severed from the murder trial, the FBI profiler limited to rebuttal, the domestic violence expert blocked entirely, and the "Walk the Dog" letter allegedly found in Kouri's jail cell—prosecutors say it instructed her mother how to lie on the stand. The defense says it was fiction.
80% of Summit County residents recognize this case. Eight jurors from that county will decide Kouri's fate.
Trial begins February 23rd.
#KouriRichins #EricRichins #FentanylMurder #WitnessRecants #WalkTheDogLetter #NoForensicLink #EricFaddis #UtahMurderTrial #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the big breakdown. |
| 0:02.2 | A long look back at some of the biggest stories we're covering for you at the Hidden Killers podcast and true crime today. |
| 0:09.2 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Burski, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:17.8 | Let's move over to another case that we've been talking about for quite some time. |
| 0:24.1 | Corey Richens, two weeks before Corey faces a jury on aggravated murder charges. |
| 0:29.6 | Her defense team dropped a bombshell motion, alleging prosecutors are intimidating witnesses, |
| 0:35.7 | including threats of arrest and the revocation of immunity. |
| 0:39.0 | This comes on top of the October revelation that the state's key fentanyl sourcing witness also recanted, |
| 0:45.7 | claiming he never sold fentanyl to the housekeeper, allegedly in this drug chain, |
| 0:51.7 | with pretrial rulings limiting the FBI profiler's testimony, |
| 0:55.4 | excluding domestic violence evidence, |
| 0:57.3 | and the admissibility of the Walk the Dog Letter still partially unresolved, |
| 1:01.3 | this case is going to trial with both sides wounded. |
| 1:05.1 | Former prosecutor and defense attorney Eric Fattis has followed the case closely with us, |
| 1:09.8 | and going to give us an interesting perspective on it, you know, because you can see both sides here. |
| 1:16.1 | We got two weeks before trial. |
| 1:17.9 | Corey Richens' attorney filing this motion claiming lead detective Jeff O'Driscoll, |
| 1:22.1 | texted a witness saying essentially, answer our call so we can prep you or the next time I knock on your door, |
| 1:28.1 | I'll have a warrant and a catch poll for your dog. |
| 1:32.6 | As a former prosecutor, when you read something like that in a court filing, what's your |
| 1:36.6 | gut reaction? Is this aggressive law enforcement or does it cross into witness intimidation |
| 1:41.5 | territory? It's certainly needlessly aggressive. |
... |
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