A spectator was removed from the courtroom in Kouri Richins’ murder trial in Utah on Thursday after a juror complained the person was drawing jurors on a sketch pad. Judge Richard Mrazik and the attorneys dealt with the issue privately, then at the end of the day Mrazik stated what happened so it will be in the trial record. The juror’s note said, “Judge, Are there members of the audience in the courtroom that are sketching members of the jury? Is that allowed without consent? It is distracting and a concern. Please advise.” “Court staff confirmed that there was a member of the spectators that was, in fact sketching jurors and identifying the sketches by juror number. That sketchbook was confiscated. The sketches of the jurors were removed from the sketchbook. That person has been removed as a spectator and will not be allowed back in,” Judge Mrazik said. “We cannot have anyone doing anything to identify the jurors in any way.” Courtroom sketch artists sometimes are permitted to draw jurors, but they generally are not allowed to include identifying facial features. Background: Kouri Richins, 35, is accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl at their home in Kamas, Utah, in March 2022. After he died, she self-published a children's book she authored titled "Are You With Me?" about coping with grief. Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in their home on March 4, 2022. Prosecutors allege Kouri dropped a lethal dose of fentanyl in a Moscow Mule cocktail she prepared for him. They say she was motivated by money because she owed nearly $5 million to lenders and had changed her husband's life insurance policies prior to his death while also taking out a home equity line of credit without his knowledge. She also was in a romantic relationship with another man. You can watch some of the prosecution's opening statement here @Meghann Cuniff and here @Meghann Cuniff and some of the defense opening statement here @Meghann Cuniff. Prosecutors allege she previously tried to murder him by poisoning his sandwich on Valentine's Day 2022, which her husband told a friend about. Richins' criminal charges in Summit County, Utah, include aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, forgery and insurance fraud. Her trial is scheduled to last five weeks. Judge Richard Mrazik in Utah's 3rd Judicial District is presiding at the Silver Summit Justice Center near Park City. #law #crime #court #news - @meghannmcuniff