Carmen Lauber was a housekeeper for Kouri and Eric Richins in Kamas, Utah, before Eric died of a fentanyl overdose in March 2022. Kouri is accused of poisoning Eric with by mixing a fatal fentanyl dose into a Moscow Mule cocktail and giving it to him in their bedroom. Prosecutors say Kouri got the fentanyl from Lauber, making her a key witness in the five-week trial that began Monday at the Silver Summit Justice Center near Park City. Lauber testified yesterday and is back on the witness stand today (Friday, February 27) in direct examination with Brad Bloodworth, the chief criminal prosecutor in Summit County. Prosecutors immunized Lauber from criminal charges related to Eric's death in exchange for her cooperation, and she avoided violating the terms of her drug court diversion program. She was in drug court before Kouri was arrested in May 2023, and she testified on Thursday about Kouri giving her a letter that falsely claimed she performed community service. "Did you perform that community service?" Bloodworth asked. "Absolutely not," Lauber answered. "Did you submit those community service letters to the drug court in Wasatch County?" Bloodworth asked. "Yes, I did," Lauber answered. "How'd that go?" Bloodworth asked. "Not too well. I ended up in jail for a day and got more community hours," Lauber answered. "Ms. Lauber, you were in drug court on a felony drug distribution charge, right?" Bloodworth asked. "Yes," Lauber answered. "You just testified that you bought drugs for Kouri Richins, which is more drug distribution, right?" Bloodworth asked. "Yes," Lauber answered. "And you just submitted a fake letter, two fake letters, to the drug court judge, right?" Bloodworth asked. "Yes," Lauber answered. "Why on Earth would you do that?" Bloodworth asked. "Well, I obviously didn't have time to do my community hours because I was reaching out to Robbie because they're in, picking up pills," Lauber answered. "Why would you try to put one over on the court at all?" Bloodworth asked. "In the early stages of addiction ... when you're slowly getting clean, you still test the waters. You're not ready to surrender yet. You're not sure about how much you can get away with and what you can't get away with," Lauber answered. "So at that point time, did you think you could get away with more drug distribution and fake letters?" Bloodworth asked. "No, not get away with it," Lauber answered. "But you tried," Bloodworth asked. "Yes, I did," Lauber answered. "Have you since surrendered to drug court?" Bloodworth asked. "Absolutely," Lauber answered. You can watch another clip of Lauber's tesitmony here @Meghann Cuniff, and you can watch all of it on my YouTube channel or Facebook page. 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. #law #crime #court #news - @meghannmcuniff