PARK CITY, Utah — The state's final witness, Det. Jeff O'Driscoll, returned to the stand Thursday as the trial of Kouri Richins continues in Summit County.
O'Driscoll, who serves with the Summit County Sheriff's Office, resumed his testimony after attorneys on both sides discussed matters regarding his appearance before the jury was brought in at 10:30 a.m.
Before O'Driscoll returned, Richins' defense team claimed a man went to the sheriff's office, saying Eric Richins had allegedly reached out to him for fentanyl. Richins' attorney, Kathy Nester, said she wanted to bring up the man's alleged appearance only to point out that O'Driscoll never interviewed him during his investigation and did not pursue the idea that Eric may have accidentally died by overdose.
After a brief recess, the defense said they had yet to decide if they would bring up the man's allegations later in the trial, but they would not do so during O'Driscoll's testimony.
On Wednesday, O'Driscoll first took the stand and was asked to read Richins' "Walk the Dog" letter out loud. It was previously up for debate whether the letter would even be brought up, as it was recovered from Richins' jail cell, and the jury was not supposed to know that she had been incarcerated.
However, after a few redactions, the six-page letter was presented to the jury.
Watch below as detective reads full "Walk the Dog" letter in court:
In the letter, prosecutors say Richins wrote her mother, instructing her brother, Ronny, to give false testimony regarding where Eric had obtained the drugs that led to his death.
After O'Driscoll read the letter, the defense fought back during cross-examination, going through various parts and making a point that the detective never verified if certain sections of the letter were accurate.
Richins' attorney, Kathy Nester, asked O'Driscoll if the letter was ever delivered to Kouri's mother or any member of the family, to which the detective replied, "not to my knowledge."
During O'Driscoll's testimony, videos were played of Lauber getting interviewed by him and another detective. The video shows O'Driscoll telling Lauber to give them details that would ensure Kouri would get convicted of murder. This comes after the defense claimed they were trying to coerce Lauber for information.
When asked about that statement on the stand, O'Driscoll testified that they were trying to emphasize the level of detail they needed to be able to offer Lauber something from the prosecution’s office for her cooperation. He testified it was a "poor choice of words in hindsight," but that they were requesting details that would be needed for the courtroom and emphasize how serious the case was.
The defense also claimed that Lauber asked the detectives to write her statement for her. Video played by the prosecution did show Lauber asking that question; however, it was followed up with O'Driscoll saying no and telling her that that's not how it works.
During the defense's cross-examination of O'Driscoll, Nester asked if any of the pills that Lauber gave to Kouri were ever collected or tested, to which O'Driscoll said no.
In addition, O'Driscoll testified that in March 2023, the sheriff's office received an anonymous Amazon package with a copy of Kouri's book with a tag that said "a gift for you." O'Driscoll said they sent a subpoena to Amazon to find who sent it, and it came back as Lisa Darden, Kouri's mother.
