Handyman’s phone becomes key evidence in Richins murder case

Kouri Richins will stand trial in the murder of her husband Eric Richins. Photo: Kouri Richins via Facebook

PARK CITY, Utah – New evidence has emerged in the case of Kouri Richins, which prosecutors say shows Richins requested fentanyl from more than one person before the death of the husband, Eric Richins. According to recently disclosed search warrants, Heber City Police have turned over a cell phone belonging to William Hayden Jeffs, a former handyman for Kouri Richins.

ABC4 and Court TV reported that according to a search warrant, Jeffs, who worked on properties Richins owned through her real estate business, told Summit County Sheriff’s detectives earlier this year that Richins requested fentanyl and propofol from him. Text messages shown by Jeffs allegedly corroborated his claims, and he provided copies to investigators.

But tragically, Jeffs, 35, died in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 30, after he had spoken with authorities, according to court documents. His phone was initially seized by Heber City Police in connection with another investigation and was transferred to the Summit County Attorney’s Office following the warrant to assist in the ongoing homicide case.

The search warrant did not specify the evidence obtained, nor did it disclose Jeffs’ response to Richins’ drug request or whether he ultimately supplied them.

Prosecutors in the case have also alleged that Richins acquired fentanyl through her housekeeper, Carmen Lauber. During a preliminary hearing, a detective testified that Lauber had been interviewed multiple times and was found to have allegedly sourced an opiate and counterfeit fentanyl pills for Richins.

Richins, a Park City mother of three, who wrote and self-published a children’s book on grieving following her husband’s death, was arrested last year following a lengthy investigation about her husband’s death. Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple’s bedroom on March 4, 2022. An autopsy determined he died from fentanyl intoxication. According to the charging document, the level of fentanyl in his blood was approximately five times what would be considered a lethal dose.

In August, after just two days of a scheduled three-day preliminary hearing, Summit County Judge Richard Mrazik said Kouri Richins would go to trial for the murder of her husband. The prosecution, Mrazik said, had shown probable cause for the charges of aggravated murder and distribution of a controlled substance.