Court urged to deny change of venue in Kouri Richins murder trial

“The defendant has the right to a fair and impartial jury of her peers, not a fair and impartial jury of her preference,” Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah – Prosecutors are urging a Utah court to deny a defense motion to change venue in the upcoming murder trial of Kouri Richins. They argue that legal statutes prohibit the request and that an impartial jury can still be seated within Summit County.

The motion, filed by Richins’ defense team, seeks to hold the trial in Summit County but select jurors solely from Salt Lake County, a request the prosecution contends is legally impermissible under Utah’s Jury and Witness Act. According to Utah Code § 78B-1-107(2), prospective jurors must be selected from the county where the trial is held. The Utah Supreme Court previously reinforced this interpretation in a ruling on February 18, 2025, rejecting a compromise that would have allowed a mixed-county jury.

Even if the court had the authority to grant the request, Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth and his team argue that a Summit County jury can be fair and impartial. A state-commissioned poll found that nearly 600 of the 1,500 summoned jurors were unfamiliar with the case, and between 915 and 975 held no strong opinions on it. Prosecutors also noted that voir dire, the jury selection process, is designed to screen out biased individuals.

The defense, however, argues that pretrial publicity has compromised the ability to seat an impartial jury in Summit County. Their position is supported by Dr. Bryan Edelman, a jury consultant who has recommended that the court disregard juror questionnaire results when deciding the motion.

Prosecutors counter that media coverage alone does not inherently prejudice a jury, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent that distinguishes between widespread coverage and actual juror bias. They argue that the trial’s media attention intensified only after Richins promoted a book about grief—a year after the alleged crime took place.

Richins, a Kamas-based mother and children’s book author, is accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. Prosecutors allege that she purchased fentanyl pills from an acquaintance and administered them to Eric in what they claim was a calculated murder for financial gain. After his death, Richins wrote and promoted a children’s book about coping with grief, which she dedicated to her late husband. The book and subsequent media appearances drew national attention, ultimately contributing to her arrest in May 2023.

The motion also raises questions about the defendant’s motives, with prosecutors suggesting that the request is not about fairness but rather about securing a jury more likely to distrust the judicial system. “The defendant has the right to a fair and impartial jury of her peers, not a fair and impartial jury of her preference,” Bloodworth wrote.

The court has yet to rule on the motion, which was filed on March 31, 2025.