Prosecutors say Kouri Richins is trying to get her mother and brother to lie for her. That's why they are asking the judge to prevent her from talking to them. The defense wants the state held in contempt of court.
www.kpcw.org
9/18/23
The Summit County Attorney's Office filed a motion Sept. 15 asking the court to forbid Kouri Richins from communicating with her mother and brother. Prosecutors say she is trying to get them to lie on her behalf.
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Now, Summit County prosecutors are considering adding witness tampering. Kouri's attorneys say the state can't prove it, and what evidence they do have was obtained through a "potentially illegal" search.
Kouri writes in the letter to get Ronney to tell defense attorney Skye Lazaro that Eric purchased pills and fentanyl in Mexico. She says Lazaro has a private investigator looking into whether Eric purchased drugs at a ranch south of the border.
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Ronney told KPCW he knew Eric purchased weed frequently, but he said he did not know about the letter found in his sister’s jail cell.
“There's no reason to testify falsely—[Kouri] didn't do anything,” he said.
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The motion prosecutors filed Friday includes allegations about a second letter too. They say Kouri had a video call with Lisa Sept. 13, during which she held up a separate letter for her mom to read.
Lisa told KPCW a girl had written the letter to Kouri, and she just wanted her mom to see it. Deputies never found the letter.
“There is a strong inference that the September 13, 2023 letter was destroyed or flushed,” prosecutors wrote.
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Lazaro told KPCW Kouri appeared to be doing well, “medically speaking,” on Sept. 15.
Her brother Ronney alleges the Summit County Jail messed up her medication, causing her to collapse.
Prosecutors subpoenaed the medical records from Kouri's visit Friday. Shortly afterward, the defense subpoenaed surveillance footage of any areas of the Summit County Jail where medication is distributed, as well as footage of Kouri’s cell, from Sept. 12 to Sept. 14.
The search of her cell occurred Sept. 14, at which point Kouri had returned to the Summit County Jail.
After receiving the results of the subpoenas, the defense will have a chance to file a direct response to the motion for a no-contact order, and the prosecution will have a chance to respond to the response.
Kouri’s next day in court will be Nov. 3, when the court could arrange a preliminary hearing.
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