Dateline NBC 2026 04 24 Book of Lies

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00:00:02Tonight on Dateline.

00:00:03You took a innocent mom away from her babies, and this means war.

00:00:08I'm ready to get this one heck of a fight.

00:00:11Something's done with Eric.

00:00:13Corey says she went into the master bedroom.

00:00:15He's cold, he doesn't have a pulse.

00:00:17Eric died in his sleep.

00:00:19He seemed like a healthy guy.

00:00:20Strong as an ox.

00:00:21She was a mess, just shattered.

00:00:23Corey wrote a book for kids on coping with grief.

00:00:27We think here she is trying to help other families.

00:00:30I thought, wow, that's wonderful.

00:00:32The results of the toxicology come back, and it's stunning.

00:00:36Eric has fentanyl in his body.

00:00:38More than five times a lethal amount.

00:00:41People have skeletons in their closet.

00:00:43Eric and Corey both have secrets you were keeping from each other.

00:00:48Did you feel that she loved you?

00:00:50Yeah, yeah, I think she did.

00:00:52We see a whole other side that we didn't know about.

00:00:56Sex, greed, lust, secrets.

00:00:58It's money.

00:01:00There's so many layers to it.

00:01:03That's what blows my mind.

00:01:06A young widow wrote the book on grief.

00:01:09But was she grieving or scheming?

00:01:12I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline.

00:01:22Here's Andrea Canning with Book of Lies.

00:01:31There are times in life when we all deal with grief.

00:01:35But some losses cut deeper than others.

00:01:40When a 39-year-old father died suddenly, his widow set out to help their three young sons make sense

00:01:46of it.

00:01:49She published a book called Are You With Me?, about a father who becomes a guardian angel.

00:01:55Talking about loss with kids can be a tricky subject.

00:01:58Then she went on a local TV show to share it with the world.

00:02:01My kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced last

00:02:10year.

00:02:10Before that awful loss, it seemed Eric and Corey Richens led a charmed life.

00:02:15A beautiful couple, and they both looked very successful.

00:02:19They looked very happy together.

00:02:21Raising their boys in this idyllic place surrounded by mountains just outside of Park City, Utah.

00:02:28But things aren't always as they seem.

00:02:30You're a TV lifestyle host who's now in the middle of a murder investigation.

00:02:35It's crazy.

00:02:36This is the most surreal thing that has happened in my career.

00:02:40How did this happen to a normal mom having a really good life?

00:02:44How did it get from there to here?

00:02:51It all began on March 4, 2022, with a pre-dawn call to 911.

00:03:04Corey Richens told the dispatcher she'd woken up to find her husband Eric not breathing.

00:03:14First responders arrived at the house on Willow Court ten minutes later.

00:03:18What's your first name?

00:03:20It's what happened today.

00:03:22I don't know.

00:03:24He was just fine.

00:03:25He was fine.

00:03:27Corey told deputies she had already tried CPR.

00:03:31Paramedics continued those life-saving efforts.

00:03:34He's had two Epis in their hand.

00:03:37Reporter Shelby Lofton covered the story for NBC affiliate KSL.

00:03:42They're doing what they can, but the efforts are failing.

00:03:46And so the bedroom is loud and chaotic.

00:03:49There's a lot of people in there.

00:03:50But it doesn't look like this is a man whose life can be saved.

00:03:55Father and local businessman Eric Richens was pronounced dead at the scene.

00:04:00Deputies asked Corey about their night.

00:04:03What time did you see him when he was alert?

00:04:07We had a drink together at nine to celebrate something at work tomorrow.

00:04:12Okay.

00:04:14What does Corey say happened that night?

00:04:16Corey says that the night Eric died, they decided to have a Moscow mule and a lemon drop.

00:04:22She told the deputies after the two drinks.

00:04:25She and Eric turned in for the night.

00:04:27We went to bed.

00:04:29I went to bed with my kids.

00:04:30We went to bed in our bed.

00:04:33Nate Eaton followed the story for East Idaho News.

00:04:36One of their sons was having a rough night having nightmares, so she went to lie down with him.

00:04:41She stayed in his bed, likely fell asleep for some time.

00:04:45I just woke up.

00:04:47I know when I sleep with my kids, I'll just wake up and I go back in my own bed.

00:04:51I just crawled over on his side.

00:05:02And then she realized something wasn't right.

00:05:05He wasn't snoring.

00:05:06Normally he snored.

00:05:07She jumped out of bed.

00:05:08She turned on the light.

00:05:09He doesn't have a pulse.

00:05:12Corey called her mom, Lisa Darden, with the horrible news.

00:05:15Mom, mom, I was in my house.

00:05:20I was in my house.

00:05:23When Lisa got there, she wondered if Eric's recent allergy shots had something to do with his death.

00:05:29Corey made me a reaction to his shots yesterday.

00:05:32He didn't feel good from them.

00:05:35He didn't look good last night.

00:05:37He looked pale last night.

00:05:39And I just, I asked if you were okay.

00:05:44I said yeah, but he was saying his chest was hurting.

00:05:48Soon, they got word to Corey's older brother, DJ.

00:05:52How do you get the news that Eric has died?

00:05:55My mom called me that morning to let me know.

00:05:59And then I jumped in the car and headed down there immediately.

00:06:03That's such, you know, just shocking news.

00:06:06When someone is that age, so young, to just die in the middle of the night.

00:06:12Yeah.

00:06:13It's not normal.

00:06:14It's not.

00:06:21When Eric's sister, Katie, arrived, Corey told her what she had told deputies.

00:06:31As Eric's family and friends struggled with his loss,

00:06:35they could not have known the saga of Eric and Corey Richens would take years to untangle.

00:06:41The betrayal here is remarkable.

00:06:43It's remarkable and unique.

00:06:45Something was about to happen that would rock your family to its core.

00:06:50It did, but I can't even describe it.

00:06:52I mean, who, whoever sees that coming?

00:06:54It's one of those stories that has sex, greed, lust, secrets.

00:07:00Right, money.

00:07:01The first thing I thought about when I heard this story was,

00:07:07this is going to be on Dateline.

00:07:08I know it is.

00:07:10My husband's active.

00:07:12He didn't just die in his sleep.

00:07:13This is insane.

00:07:34By morning, the paramedics and deputies had packed up and left the Richens' house.

00:07:38In small-town Camas, Utah, the sad news traveled fast.

00:07:43At the Mirror Lake Diner, the breakfast rush was in full swing when owner Gabe Morin first heard about his

00:07:49friend.

00:07:50Who called you with the news?

00:07:52My wife.

00:07:53That's a shocker when, you know, you just don't ever expect to get news like that.

00:07:59He seemed like a healthy guy, right?

00:08:00Young.

00:08:01Oh, yeah.

00:08:01Vibrant.

00:08:02Strong as an ox.

00:08:04It sounded like natural causes and very unexpected.

00:08:08Eric always seemed the picture of good health.

00:08:11Gabe says he loved outdoor sports, especially snowmobiling.

00:08:15We're snowmobiling at 11,000 feet.

00:08:17He's not having any problems.

00:08:19He's not short of breath.

00:08:20He's in very strong, good shape.

00:08:22You saw Eric the day he died.

00:08:26Yeah, that morning he came in and had his chicken fried steak.

00:08:30We chatted for a bit.

00:08:32Everything was normal.

00:08:33How did he look physically to you when he was here?

00:08:36Yeah, healthy, normal.

00:08:38Less than 24 hours later, he's gone.

00:08:40Yeah.

00:08:42Corey's brother, DJ, arrived from Wyoming to console his sister.

00:08:46I mean, Corey was, I'll say, a puddle in a corner.

00:08:49It was like every time he turned around, she's just bawling her eyes out.

00:08:52You know, there was a few of us there that were kind of keeping the boys preoccupied.

00:08:57Yeah, and your heart is obviously breaking for Corey and for your three nephews.

00:09:03Yes, yeah.

00:09:04I mean, and he was a good friend of mine, you know.

00:09:05So as soon as I got the news, I broke down.

00:09:09Eric and his two sisters were raised in a tight-knit family.

00:09:13He was particularly close with his father, Gene,

00:09:16who taught him the value of hard work at the family's cattle ranch.

00:09:20During college, Eric took on some masonry work.

00:09:23It was on one of those jobs that he met Corey at the Home Depot.

00:09:26She worked there part-time between college classes.

00:09:30She was a darling, sociable, just nice, cute, bubbly, very smart, I thought.

00:09:37Linda King worked alongside Corey at the registers.

00:09:40I was always like the mother hen.

00:09:43You know how guys can get.

00:09:45Were the guys interested in Corey then?

00:09:47Almost every one of them were, yeah.

00:09:49Sometimes she'd get a little scared, you know,

00:09:52so I'd have to walk over there and tell them,

00:09:54come on over to my register, you know, and deal with Mama over here, you know.

00:09:58So they would, you know.

00:09:59You're like her protector.

00:10:00I was.

00:10:01Linda did approve of one customer who took an interest in Corey.

00:10:05Why was Eric your favorite customer?

00:10:07He just had the best personality.

00:10:10He had the laugh.

00:10:13I'm going to go.

00:10:14Aw.

00:10:16The laugh.

00:10:17Yeah.

00:10:18Corey liked him too.

00:10:20She goes, I like him, you know.

00:10:23And it didn't take very long and they were going out on a date.

00:10:26This is like out of a rom-com, you know, meeting at Home Depot.

00:10:29Oh yeah.

00:10:30She's working there, he comes in.

00:10:32Yes.

00:10:33And they were on the fast track.

00:10:35Within a few months, Corey moved in with Eric.

00:10:37And soon, she was expecting a baby boy.

00:10:40She was excited to be a mom.

00:10:42Was that always something she wanted to do?

00:10:44Over the moon.

00:10:45I didn't know that so much until she had her first son.

00:10:48And that was her life calling, was to be a mom.

00:10:52They eventually married and Eric started his own masonry business with his best friend.

00:10:57They did rock on these beautiful, beautiful homes here in Park City.

00:11:03I mean, gorgeous, 20,000 square foot homes.

00:11:05I've seen some of Eric's work.

00:11:07Yes.

00:11:08It's beautiful.

00:11:09Yes.

00:11:09I mean, their work is incredible, but Eric had such a drive and a direction that I think

00:11:15really propelled that company.

00:11:17And gave Eric financial independence to buy that spacious five-bedroom home.

00:11:21A good thing, because soon, the couple would welcome two more sons.

00:11:26Life was good for Corey and Eric and the boys.

00:11:29Yes.

00:11:31Yeah, it was.

00:11:32It really was.

00:11:33According to Corey, it was a much more stable life than she knew as a child.

00:11:38Corey did not have the best of childhoods.

00:11:41Her father served time in prison.

00:11:43And she says that by the time she was a teenager, she had lived to two dozen places, that they

00:11:49had moved all over the place.

00:11:50For us, to stay in one spot for three, four months was saying a lot.

00:11:54We would move quite a bit.

00:11:55It was probably different than most kids grow up, obviously.

00:11:58DJ says his sister was driven.

00:12:00As a teenager, Corey worked for her aunt's cleaning business, helping care for some of Park

00:12:04City's most lavish homes.

00:12:06Now, with her new life, she wasn't interested in cleaning houses.

00:12:11Corey wanted to flip them and get in on the booming real estate market.

00:12:15Corey's good friend, Greg Hall, who owns a marketing company, helped her get the word out.

00:12:20Her house flipping.

00:12:21Is it like HGTV?

00:12:23Yeah, kind of.

00:12:24She would find something that she felt that she could buy at the right price and fix it

00:12:28up and flip it and make a profit.

00:12:33By 2022, the couple was bringing in significant money.

00:12:36And between three kids and two careers, their lives were constantly in motion.

00:12:41Busy.

00:12:42Busy, busy.

00:12:44Soccer.

00:12:44I mean, soccer was Eric's passion, but it was also the boys.

00:12:48And they gave back to the community a lot.

00:12:49I mean, they were busy.

00:12:51And Corey was working on the biggest deal of her career, the purchase of a 20,000-square-foot

00:12:56home she called the Midway Mansion.

00:12:58This estate was quite something, was an unfinished house in the middle of this beautiful valley

00:13:06surrounded by our gorgeous snow-capped mountains.

00:13:09That's a massive deal.

00:13:11This wasn't just something that was pennies.

00:13:14This was millions of dollars to buy.

00:13:17And then, in the middle of all that, Corey got COVID and Eric suddenly fell ill.

00:13:23And he gets really, really sick on Valentine's Day to the point that he has to lie down and

00:13:29take a nap in the middle of the day.

00:13:31That is not Eric.

00:13:33Eric does not stop.

00:13:34He's not going to lay down for 90 minutes on a weekday and have a nap because he doesn't

00:13:39feel well.

00:13:40Eric told a friend he thought it might have been an allergic reaction to a sandwich he ate.

00:13:44After using an EpiPen, he felt better.

00:13:47But perhaps it was a warning sign of things to come.

00:13:50Because two weeks after that, Eric was dead.

00:13:53A deputy at the scene told Corey there would be an autopsy.

00:13:57Because he was in good health and at his age and everything like that, okay, our medical

00:14:01examiner is going to come and do their investigation real quick and then also our detective just to

00:14:09make sure that everything is documented, you know, correctly.

00:14:14As Eric's body went off to the medical examiner's office, his family made funeral arrangements

00:14:20and Corey was about to discover that her husband had been keeping a secret.

00:14:25I mean, when you're told your husband just died, this is no longer your house, there's

00:14:30probably going to be an altercation.

00:14:31And there was.

00:14:47Eric's three young boys were now fatherless.

00:14:50Overnight, they'd lost their protector, their best friend.

00:14:53Your heart must have broken for those boys.

00:14:56Oh, absolutely.

00:14:57Yeah, I mean, to lose it.

00:14:58I lost my dad when I was 20.

00:15:00For these kids to lose their dad in, you know, what, seven years old, ten years old?

00:15:06I mean, that's crazy.

00:15:07That's terrible.

00:15:08How are the boys handling it?

00:15:10I don't think for them at their age that it had actually clicked in their mind what had

00:15:14just happened.

00:15:16Corey's friend Greg Hall says she lost the love of her life.

00:15:20How was she doing?

00:15:22She was a mess.

00:15:23She was just shattered.

00:15:24It completely destroyed her.

00:15:27But as Corey grieved in those early days, she also started getting Eric's affairs in

00:15:31order.

00:15:32There was a safe in the garage that she was trying to get in and call the locksmith to

00:15:37open up the safe.

00:15:38And Eric's sister arrived and said, hold on, you can't go in the safe.

00:15:42And then the sister, Amy, dropped a bombshell.

00:15:45She told Corey that Eric's other sister, Katie, was in charge of his estate.

00:15:50And that the house didn't even belong to Corey.

00:15:53And that situation did not end well.

00:15:55Yeah.

00:15:56Amy said that Corey did end up punching her and the police were called to the home.

00:15:59I mean, when you're told, you know, your husband just died and you're told this is no longer

00:16:05your house, there's probably going to be an altercation.

00:16:08And there was.

00:16:09There was a little bit of pushing.

00:16:12I got between them.

00:16:14And then once I was there.

00:16:15Oh, you were there.

00:16:15I was there.

00:16:17Once I was between them, obviously they're both throwing over the top of me.

00:16:21How mad was Corey when she realized what was really happening?

00:16:27The police took her upstairs into Eric's office in the garage area.

00:16:32And they actually put Katie's attorney on the phone with Corey so she could pretty much

00:16:41explain to Corey that, you know, nothing belongs to Corey at this point.

00:16:45So I think, you know, she was obviously pretty upset with that.

00:16:48A year and a half before he died, while the couple was going through a rough patch,

00:16:53Eric had secretly gone to an estate planner to set up a trust.

00:16:56He put his sister Katie in charge.

00:16:59The trust states that in the event of Eric's death, Corey would be provided for, but everything

00:17:04else, all other assets, would go to their sons.

00:17:07Those are big steps that he took, creating this trust, putting it in his sister's name.

00:17:13Right.

00:17:14He took big steps before he died.

00:17:15And then telling his family that, listen, you're going to be the owner of the trust,

00:17:21but don't tell her.

00:17:23If Corey was surprised, perhaps she shouldn't have been.

00:17:26The Richens family had always been protective of Eric's assets.

00:17:30Did Corey ever confide in you about some of the things with Eric's family?

00:17:36The only thing that she ever did tell me was that the prenup was signed five minutes

00:17:41before she walked down the aisle.

00:17:42She was in her wedding dress, ready to go through the doors, down the aisle, and then

00:17:47it was presented to her.

00:17:48That's a tough thing on your wedding day.

00:17:49Yeah, I think that would be kind of, you wouldn't expect that.

00:17:52It was pretty much an ultimatum to her that either sign it or we're not getting married.

00:17:56Well, here she is holding the baby at that point.

00:17:59Obviously, she's going to sign it.

00:18:02Now, with her world falling apart, Corey called Eric's best friend to vent.

00:18:06Her friend recorded the call.

00:18:08They're taking my f***ing house, right?

00:18:11This is my f***ing house.

00:18:12I thought the house was going to stay with you no matter what.

00:18:15No.

00:18:16No.

00:18:17The house goes to the trust's name, which goes to Katie.

00:18:21She has the right to sell it.

00:18:23She has the right to remodel it.

00:18:24She has the right to do whatever.

00:18:25I have no rights to the house, so to speak, of the trust.

00:18:30But Eric would always say that you are his wife.

00:18:33You are the mother of his children and he loves you, right?

00:18:35And so he would do anything for you and those three boys.

00:18:39I know if Eric was still here today, he would say, no, b***h.

00:18:42I need Corey to be protected.

00:18:47But unfortunately, he didn't set her up that way.

00:18:49I just want my house and my stuff and my house that me and Eric bought.

00:18:53I just want my house.

00:18:54They can have all the money.

00:18:56They can have all the money.

00:18:59A week after he died, with family tensions running high, Eric's loved ones gathered for his funeral.

00:19:05You were so close with Eric that you were a pallbearer at his funeral.

00:19:11It was a very sad service.

00:19:13Eric's friend Gabe sensed something else.

00:19:16There was a weird tension about the funeral and I just thought it was odd.

00:19:22Whatever was happening between Corey and her in-laws seemed to be on display.

00:19:26Corey's name wasn't even mentioned at the service.

00:19:29There was a lot of talk about Eric and the boys and Eric and the boys and nothing about Corey.

00:19:36And still, there was that lingering question on everyone's mind.

00:19:40How did Eric die?

00:19:42Paramedics at the scene wondered if his sudden death could have been the result of a burst artery.

00:19:46An aneurysm.

00:19:47I wonder if he had an aneurysm or something with all the blood.

00:19:52But I'm pretty young.

00:19:54Yeah.

00:19:55When the Emmy completed the autopsy, she noted there were small nodules on Eric's lungs.

00:20:00He did have COVID when he died.

00:20:03They did find signs of COVID in his system, but they said that did not contribute to his death at

00:20:08all.

00:20:09So what had killed Eric?

00:20:11It would take a few more weeks for the toxicology results to come back.

00:20:15Finally, there would be some real answers, but not the ones anyone expected.

00:20:20It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

00:20:21What's going on here?

00:20:22You know, that's the last thing you'd expect with Eric.

00:20:40Something's going on with Eric.

00:20:42The police came up now.

00:20:43I'm here.

00:20:44It's like, I don't know what's happening.

00:20:46In the days that followed Eric Richen's death, nearly everyone who knew him asked the same question.

00:20:53How could a seemingly healthy 39-year-old suddenly die in his sleep?

00:20:58There were multiple stories around town about how Eric might have died.

00:21:04And it all started actually from the night that EMTs responded.

00:21:09On body camera footage, we hear some of them wondering, how did this healthy young dad die?

00:21:14It's massive active.

00:21:16He didn't just die in his sleep.

00:21:18This is insane.

00:21:20Any mental health conditions?

00:21:24No.

00:21:25Okay.

00:21:26How about any suicidal history?

00:21:30No.

00:21:30Never.

00:21:31No.

00:21:32A month later, there was an answer.

00:21:35Former homicide detective Wayne Nichols reviewed the case for Dateline.

00:21:39The results of the toxicology come back weeks later.

00:21:43Yes.

00:21:44And it's stunning to a lot of people in Eric's world.

00:21:48It absolutely is.

00:21:50It's pretty evident that Eric has fentanyl in his body, which is an absolute game changer for this investigation.

00:22:01Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin.

00:22:04It's a painkiller that some abuse because of its intense high.

00:22:08Any history of prescription abuse?

00:22:13No.

00:22:13I mean, no, but he was in high school and stuff, yeah.

00:22:17Okay.

00:22:17Pain pills, I think.

00:22:19At the time of Eric's death, paramedics suspected he may have taken drugs, so they administered Narcan, but it had

00:22:25no effect.

00:22:26No pulse or anything?

00:22:28No.

00:22:28No, he was cold.

00:22:29What made it even harder to fathom was the amount of fentanyl found in Eric's system.

00:22:36He had a lot, a significant amount of fentanyl in his body, more than five times what is considered a

00:22:45lethal amount of fentanyl.

00:22:47And the Emmy confirmed the fentanyl was street-made, not prescription-grade.

00:22:52Eric is a dad.

00:22:53He's a businessman.

00:22:55He wasn't really known as some type of drug user in the community.

00:23:00What does law enforcement do with that when that's sort of the bio you've been given about Eric Richens?

00:23:06People have skeletons in their closet.

00:23:09Sometimes people are hiding the pain that they're really in, and they cope with that with drugs or alcohol.

00:23:16Eric's friend, Gabe, couldn't believe it.

00:23:18I heard it was a brain aneurysm, and then we're hearing fentanyl and overdose, and it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa,

00:23:23what's going on here?

00:23:25And, you know, that's the last thing you'd expect with Eric.

00:23:31What did you think when you heard fentanyl was the cause of death?

00:23:36Accidental.

00:23:37I mean, we all knew Eric kind of liked to party.

00:23:41You know, he was the life of the party wherever he went.

00:23:43But, you know, so I would think accidental, 100%.

00:23:48Does he have any history of illicit drug use or anything in the past year?

00:23:53No, no, no, whatever.

00:23:54Okay.

00:23:55Corey told deputies they had both taken marijuana edibles in the past.

00:23:59We eat gummies.

00:24:00Sometimes we go to the gummy before he goes to bed.

00:24:05Mm-hmm.

00:24:06It didn't seem like you did, though.

00:24:11It's like a gummy as in, like, a THC gummy.

00:24:14Okay.

00:24:16Is there any possibility of THC gummies being laced with fentanyl?

00:24:21Anything is possible when it comes to the world of illicit drugs.

00:24:25You know, with THC gummies, though, now being so normal, I think law enforcement is going to be able to

00:24:31discount that theory very, very early on in the investigation.

00:24:35The toxicology report jump-started the investigation, sending law enforcement back to the Richens' home.

00:24:42And this time, they come armed with search warrants.

00:24:46Is there any evidence left behind that they can figure out what happened to Eric?

00:24:52And that also includes seizing cell phones and other electronic devices belonging to the family.

00:24:58That included taking the family's iPad and Corey's phone, hoping they'd offer clues.

00:25:03They never found any trace of fentanyl in the house.

00:25:07Now, you could argue that it never was in the home or was it flushed down the toilet.

00:25:11Or was it thrown out in the garbage?

00:25:13Or did the police just never find it?

00:25:15Or did the police just never find it?

00:25:17From what we can infer, the experts don't know how Eric had that fentanyl and how it got into his

00:25:25body.

00:25:27Hey, this is Corey Richens.

00:25:29Hey, I just have some quick questions for you.

00:25:32Months later, Corey was back on the phone, recording more calls.

00:25:36I'm just trying to understand the toxicology report, and I promise I won't take up a ton of your time.

00:25:41Oh, you're fine.

00:25:42You're fine.

00:25:43This time, asking the medical examiner if he knew how the fentanyl got into her husband's system.

00:25:48So does this tell you, like, if he, if it was, like, injected, if he ate it, if, I mean,

00:25:56is that what this, can you tell from this report?

00:26:00Not definitively.

00:26:01I mean, it seems like, you know, with what the amount that's there that it probably was ingested, you know,

00:26:06probably taken by mouth.

00:26:08Okay, so the 15 NG, like, is that, like, a substantial amount?

00:26:12Is that, like, a trace?

00:26:13That's a lot, that's a lot of fentanyl in the blood.

00:26:16Then the conversation turned to the source of the fentanyl.

00:26:20It's a variant of fentanyl that is usually only present in the setting of illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

00:26:31Illicitly manufactured, like a pharmacy?

00:26:34No, no, no, like, a lot of, most fentanyl that we see that, you know, ends up people, leading people

00:26:40to die these days is related to, you know, fentanyl that's manufactured by drug cartels as opposed to by pharmaceutical

00:26:49companies.

00:26:50Oh, good Lord.

00:26:51Do you have any indication he was abusing fentanyl?

00:26:54No, that's why all of this is just like, what the heck is this?

00:26:59It was all so tragic, but Corey was ready for a fresh start and a new venture.

00:27:05You know, I just watched the struggle that my kids were going through.

00:27:09Her story would get people talking, just not in the way she expected.

00:27:14I checked my Facebook inbox and it said, you need to investigate your children's book.

00:27:20Author, did you know that she is a suspect in the murder of her husband?

00:27:38As the first anniversary of her husband's death approached, Corey channeled her grief into a new project, a self-published

00:27:46children's book called, Are You With Me?

00:27:48Her friend, Greg Hall, watched it take shape.

00:27:51She did it as a tribute to her children and to give them a memory and for other children that

00:27:58have been through this.

00:27:59Her boys were surely struggling.

00:28:02How could they not be?

00:28:03Correct.

00:28:03That's correct.

00:28:04And she wanted to comfort them.

00:28:05And I thought it was a good thing.

00:28:07All she was trying to do was find a way that kind of helped the boys cope with it.

00:28:12To help promote her book, Corey went on the Salt Lake City talk show, Good Things Utah.

00:28:18So my husband passed away unexpectedly last year.

00:28:22So it's March 4th was a one-year anniversary for us.

00:28:26The book tells a fictional story that mirrors her own children's loss.

00:28:30Dina Manzanares is a co-host of the KTVX program.

00:28:34It's about a little boy who has lost his dad.

00:28:36And as he's going through his life, going to school, going on different adventures,

00:28:42he's wondering if his dad is still there, and they're trying to keep that memory a part of his life

00:28:48every day.

00:28:49In the book, the dad is still there, but he appears as an angel who's watching over his son.

00:28:56Yeah, he's the guardian angel.

00:28:59One passage reads,

00:29:00I will forever love you, my sweet baby, until we see each other again.

00:29:05Yes, I am with you.

00:29:07Did Corey Richen's story seem like something that could help other people?

00:29:11I think what was appealing is that she was a grieving mother who was in her 30s, raising three small

00:29:19kids.

00:29:20Here she is trying to cope.

00:29:22She's trying to spread a message to others to help them cope as well.

00:29:25That sounds like a conversation that we would like to hear more about.

00:29:29My kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced last

00:29:37year.

00:29:37And, you know, hoping that it can kind of help other kids.

00:29:40Myself and the co-hosts on the show are all moms with children.

00:29:45We all have empathy for other mothers.

00:29:49You know, I just watched the struggle that my kids were going through.

00:29:53Inside is an illustration of the whole family, including their dog.

00:29:57And there is something special for Eric, dedicated to my amazing husband and a wonderful father.

00:30:03You are an amazing woman and mom, and we thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this and touching the

00:30:10lives of others.

00:30:12I really appreciate being here.

00:30:13Corey goes on the program Good Things Utah.

00:30:16Did you see her appearance?

00:30:25The co-host also sensed Corey's nerves and something else.

00:30:31What I did notice was just reading body language.

00:30:34She was a little bit protected.

00:30:38She had her big, heavy coat on, and I thought, oh, she'll take it off before we do the interview.

00:30:43But she never did.

00:30:44Did you chalk that up to, you know, the fact that she's been through this tragedy?

00:30:48I did.

00:30:49That all changed when Dina arrived at work the next day.

00:30:53I get on my computer, checking my emails, and there is an anonymous message that's come in to the entire

00:30:59station.

00:31:00To every single person at the station?

00:31:02Yes.

00:31:03The subject line was, are you with me?

00:31:06I open it up, and all it says in capital letters and many exclamation points is, you know she killed

00:31:13her husband.

00:31:13I mean, this is creepy.

00:31:16It was definitely creepy.

00:31:17It was definitely weird, but we didn't really give it another thought after the initial whoa.

00:31:24You don't think maybe she did kill her husband?

00:31:27No, because wild emails can come in, and we thought it was bizarre.

00:31:33We clocked it as being completely bizarre.

00:31:36Still, the email gave Dina pause.

00:31:38Then she remembered something Corey shared in the green room at the TV station about Eric's death.

00:31:43She said, my husband passed away from COVID, and he had a lung issue.

00:31:49I didn't pry when she said that, and I thought, oh, COVID, oh, well, maybe he did have something underlying.

00:31:56A week after that first email, Dina got another message.

00:32:01That's when I started to go, okay, hold on, what is going on?

00:32:05I checked my Facebook inbox, and it's somebody that I don't know, and it said, you need to investigate your

00:32:11children's book.

00:32:12Author, did you know that she is a suspect in the murder of her husband?

00:32:16The plot thickens.

00:32:17Yes, and this is the point where I felt like I knew something was up.

00:32:21Something was up.

00:32:23Investigators had been looking into Corey's past, and her story of a perfect life with her husband was about to

00:32:30unravel.

00:32:31It's a house of cards.

00:32:32It is a delicate house of cards that she has constructed, and it's beginning to fall apart.

00:32:53Beyond writing a children's book, Corey had also filed two lawsuits months earlier.

00:32:59Her target was Eric's sister, Katie, who controlled Eric's trust, and with it, her brother's estate.

00:33:05You know, nothing belongs to Corey at this point, so I think, you know, she was obviously pretty upset with

00:33:10that.

00:33:11While Eric's estate attorney says she assured Corey she could stay in the house,

00:33:15Corey wanted to undo the trust and get at least half of her husband's assets.

00:33:20Still, her brother maintained she was only interested in one thing.

00:33:24Everybody looked at it as she was trying to get money out of the estate or whatever.

00:33:27She never cared about the money.

00:33:29She was trying to keep her house.

00:33:31In response to Corey's lawsuits, Eric's sister hired private investigator Todd Gabler.

00:33:37My job was to investigate on behalf of the estate to determine whether there was a wrongful death,

00:33:43to determine if there was financial mismanagement.

00:33:47Eric's sisters and father wanted to know if Corey squandered his money on her house-flipping business

00:33:52or was even responsible for Eric's death.

00:33:56When do you all realize that the Richens family has hired a private detective to look into all of this?

00:34:02We knew he was reaching out to people.

00:34:04He reached out to my older sister, too, and then I reached out to him.

00:34:08We didn't have a pleasant conversation, we'll say, but I just basically told him, stay away from my family.

00:34:14The P.I. brought on a forensic accountant who found Corey was deep in the red.

00:34:19She'd taken on too many houses.

00:34:21None of it was solvent.

00:34:22Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

00:34:24That's exactly right.

00:34:25Having no money to fund your next project, you take the funding from your previous project and apply it to

00:34:31that.

00:34:31It's a house of cards.

00:34:32It is a delicate house of cards that she has constructed, and it's beginning to fall apart.

00:34:39Corey was in a huge amount of financial trouble.

00:34:44She was borrowing money from lenders that charged extremely high interest rates to pay off other lenders that were charging

00:34:53high interest rates.

00:34:54And there was something else, a year and a half before he died.

00:34:58Eric's family says he learned Corey had secretly borrowed against their own home to start her business.

00:35:04Corey has taken out this home equity line of credit, $250,000, without telling him.

00:35:10And she apparently forged his signature on this.

00:35:14It was after Eric discovered that loan that he set up the trust giving control to his sister.

00:35:19The family says that he did that because he didn't trust Corey.

00:35:24I think that's evident.

00:35:25There is a lot of evidence that suggests that the trust between these two was broken

00:35:33and that Eric took steps to protect his boys from her, from her financial mismanagement.

00:35:42To anyone who wonders why Eric didn't just leave, did you learn anything during your investigation about why he chose

00:35:50to stay?

00:35:51I think that he was concerned for the welfare of his three sons.

00:35:57As for the home she did sell, some buyers accused Corey of lying about their condition.

00:36:02And then back here, the lipstick on a pig kind of classic scenario is what we stepped into here.

00:36:09Molly Crosswhite bought one of Corey's homes in Midway, Utah.

00:36:13Her plan was to rent it out.

00:36:15But she left it not in great shape, even though it looked good.

00:36:19Looked good.

00:36:19Looked good, but was not a place that we were going to be proud or comfortable putting tenants in.

00:36:25Molly wanted the house and set up an inspection.

00:36:28We learned there was no insulation, there was electrical issues.

00:36:33Disappointed, she wanted some of her money back.

00:36:35We had to negotiate while under contract a credit that we would get at closing

00:36:40and let them know, hey, we can't rent it out the way that it is.

00:36:44Still, she says the credit didn't begin to cover the home's problems.

00:36:48Looks good, feels bad kind of a deal.

00:36:50Right.

00:36:52Taryn and Alec Wright bought a house from Corey that they also say looked good.

00:36:56Looked good.

00:36:57I remember, you know, walking into the front door and I'm getting goosebumps right now.

00:37:02Looking up, I was like, we immediately agreed.

00:37:05We're like, wow.

00:37:07Weeks after moving in, they say their family's health started to seriously decline.

00:37:11Then they found something troubling in their son's bedroom.

00:37:14When I moved the dresser away from the wall, the mold was growing behind the dresser.

00:37:20And so we never noticed it before.

00:37:21Yeah, and that's when we've noticed it growing out of the walls.

00:37:24Oh my gosh.

00:37:26Yes.

00:37:27After testing revealed dangerous mold levels throughout the house,

00:37:30the family immediately moved out.

00:37:33They say their health issues improved.

00:37:35I do.

00:37:36Val Maynard sold the house to Corey and said he disclosed to her it had serious issues.

00:37:42I showed him the really bad bathroom we hadn't used for about a year or so downstairs.

00:37:48What was wrong with the bathroom?

00:37:49I had lots of water damage.

00:37:52The rights have now sued Corey, alleging, among other things,

00:37:56that in the sales contract, she checked no on each question related to previous water damage.

00:38:02Corey has denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

00:38:07For Corey, the walls would soon start to feel like they were closing in.

00:38:11That's because investigators were about to find a surprising trail of texts.

00:38:16There were dozens of texts on some days going back and forth.

00:38:21That's a lot for a housekeeper.

00:38:23A lot for someone who's cleaning your house.

00:38:26And more scandalous accusations were coming.

00:38:29You discover Corey Richens has a lover, a secret lover.

00:38:33I do.

00:38:34Corey wanted to live her life without Eric Richens.

00:38:52For over a year, the tragic death of Eric Richens continued to weigh heavily on his family.

00:38:57They were searching for answers and for someone to be held accountable.

00:39:02This was a family that would stop at nothing to get justice for Eric.

00:39:07They would stop at nothing.

00:39:09They wanted justice for their brother and son.

00:39:13They believed they knew who that someone was, even in those early hours after Eric's death.

00:39:19Eric Richens' sister approached one of the investigators in the driveway and said,

00:39:22I think Corey had something to do with it.

00:39:24Really?

00:39:25They assumed that she was involved in his death.

00:39:27So they had to build their case.

00:39:29When you have a family member pointing out a spouse right away, that is a big red flag.

00:39:36A big red flag.

00:39:38Another red flag?

00:39:40That huge property.

00:39:41The so-called Midway Mansion.

00:39:43This 20,000 square foot mansion that sits on 10 acres at the base of the Wasatch Mountains

00:39:48was one of the properties Corey wanted to flip.

00:39:50But that would cost millions of dollars and was apparently a big source of contention between Corey and Eric.

00:39:57Remember, Corey said they were celebrating the Midway Mansion deal the night before Eric died

00:40:02with those Moscow mules and lemon drop shots.

00:40:05The family told investigators Eric was reluctant to buy that home.

00:40:09Pat Reavy is a reporter with KSL.com.

00:40:12Corey was really hot on getting that property and flipping it, but Eric, not so much.

00:40:19He thought, no, this is just not going to be a wise investment.

00:40:22Eric's sister was stunned when she learned Corey was going to close the deal just hours after his death.

00:40:27The family was also troubled by Corey's initial story, that Eric died of a lung fungus, just like the one

00:40:35that killed his mother.

00:40:36She told even Eric's dad that they found this same fungus in Eric's lungs, which was a complete lie.

00:40:46Even Eric had been suspicious of Corey.

00:40:49He told his family about that Valentine's Day sandwich that made him sick just two weeks before his death.

00:40:55I spoke with a number of people who he had contacted regarding his health condition that day.

00:41:03And they were all very alarmed at how he sounded and what he was saying to them.

00:41:10What was he saying?

00:41:11He was saying that Corey was trying to poison him.

00:41:13Eric had also told his family about an unusual drink he had with Corey on vacation years earlier.

00:41:20They took a trip to Greece and that after Eric became violently sick.

00:41:26Now, we don't know why, but he leapt to the conclusion that Corey was trying to poison him.

00:41:32And then he starts saying these statements to family members that if something were to happen to me, look at

00:41:39Corey.

00:41:39The family says that's why Eric secretly removed Corey's control over his estate.

00:41:45He wanted to protect his sons from a wife he no longer trusted.

00:41:49He's 39 and creating this living trust and making big changes.

00:41:55It gives us reason to believe that he was in fear for his life.

00:41:59So, my husband passed away unexpectedly last year.

00:42:03And as she sat under the TV lights on Good Things Utah, Corey may have believed the heat of the

00:42:08investigation was fading.

00:42:10She was wrong.

00:42:12A year after Eric's death, a new detective was assigned to the case.

00:42:16We're seeing the shift from law enforcement looking more at Corey as a suspect.

00:42:24One reason, investigators eventually ruled out the possibility that Eric had accidentally overdosed.

00:42:30Did you find any evidence that showed that Eric Richens had a secret drug problem?

00:42:35There's no evidence to suggest that at all.

00:42:38As they were looking for a connection between Corey and the drugs that killed Eric, investigators found something curious on

00:42:44her phone.

00:42:45They look at the frequency of communication, who she's communicating with the most, who she's calling the most.

00:42:52They also notice a frequency of communication with Carmen, who is her housekeeper.

00:43:00These two are, it seems, talking about or discussing more than just cleaning houses.

00:43:06Yeah, absolutely.

00:43:07Detectives found evidence of 800 text messages between Corey and Carmen prior to Eric's death.

00:43:13Most of the texts had been deleted.

00:43:16So when law enforcement looks into Carmen Lauber, they come to find out that she's got significant drug history and

00:43:23that she's actively in drug court working off her previous charges.

00:43:29I think this would be a big moment for law enforcement.

00:43:33So they start putting two and two together, that maybe Carmen's the one supplying the fentanyl?

00:43:37Yeah, and I don't think it's a huge leap.

00:43:39You've got deleted text messages.

00:43:42You've got an abnormal frequency in communication between Corey and her housekeeper.

00:43:48And then you've got the drug history.

00:43:51They need to talk to Carmen immediately.

00:43:53Detectives were able to get a search warrant for Carmen's house.

00:43:56They find a firearm during that search.

00:43:59I can tell you from experience, when a convicted felon is in possession of a firearm, those are real consequences.

00:44:08And they found something else up on a wall amongst inspirational quotes and family photos.

00:44:13Lo and behold, on the mirror is Eric Ridgen's obituary.

00:44:21This is telling.

00:44:23Carmen is close to Eric and the boys, and she is conspicuously absent from his funeral.

00:44:30Her absence is noticed by the family.

00:44:33And I consider that early on as possible evidence of consciousness of guilt.

00:44:40It was becoming clear to investigators that Carmen was connected to Eric's death.

00:44:45It's just not me.

00:44:46They arrested Carmen on that gun violation and sat her down in an interrogation room.

00:44:51The details about everything we've been talking about are going to be important.

00:44:54Right.

00:44:55For homicide investigation.

00:44:57Oh, that's not the way.

00:44:58When they asked her if she had sold drugs to Corey, her memory was fuzzy.

00:45:02So I wanted to, ah, it's so confusing, but okay.

00:45:06So I want to say when she, she asked, but like I said, ah, I hear a member of the

00:45:14news.

00:45:15So they offered Carmen an incentive to help jog her memory.

00:45:19We believe you, and that's why we're here working on what your get-out-of-jail-free card looks like.

00:45:23Soon enough, Carmen's memory seemed to get better, and she would have quite the story to tell.

00:45:29We need hard details.

00:45:31There's no more spare money.

00:45:32I can do whatever, because I've struggled so hard to get with one of that.

00:45:35That's great motivation.

00:45:52Detectives were speaking with housekeeper Carmen Lauber, who they believed was the key link between Corey and the fentanyl that

00:45:58killed her husband, Eric.

00:46:00Give up the details that will ensure Corey gets convicted of murder.

00:46:07Oh, my God.

00:46:08We need hard details.

00:46:09There's no more spare money.

00:46:11I'm going to do whatever, because I've struggled so hard to get with one of that.

00:46:14That's great motivation.

00:46:15Like I said, I love Eric.

00:46:17He was a damn good guy.

00:46:19And so Carmen began.

00:46:20It was February 2022, a month before Eric died.

00:46:25Carmen said Corey reached out and asked if she could get drugs for a real estate investor.

00:46:30Corey figured that Carmen might have access to someone who could provide her with drugs.

00:46:36And Carmen did.

00:46:37A few days before Eric ate that Valentine's Day sandwich, Corey directed Carmen to a house she had flipped.

00:46:44Carmen told investigators she went inside, took the cash Corey had left, and went to buy the drugs.

00:46:50Carmen said she later returned and placed them in the backyard fire pit for Corey.

00:46:54I pulled into the driveway of the flat, and there was just a seat.

00:46:57It wasn't a big fire pit.

00:46:59Like, it was a tiny fire pit.

00:47:00It's kind of the infamous fire pit of Midway, and it's right here.

00:47:04And this is where apparently drugs were left.

00:47:08I'm not quite sure.

00:47:09Detectives paid a visit to the owner of the house.

00:47:12You've already met her, Molly Crosswhite.

00:47:15How did you feel when you started to learn these details, that this house that you bought

00:47:19might have been used to secure, really, a murder weapon of sorts, drugs?

00:47:26It was upsetting.

00:47:27It just was kind of just shocking.

00:47:30I don't know how else to say it, but the last thing I expected.

00:47:34In the interview room, the detectives were turning up the heat on Carmen.

00:47:37She told them that just days before Eric died, Corey reached out again looking for more drugs.

00:47:43So there was a couple of...

00:47:45There was one.

00:47:46There was one.

00:47:47Okay.

00:47:48Now we're eating some.

00:47:49I know one thing that when we got one, it wasn't dark enough.

00:47:55I don't even know how fit I'm going to go.

00:47:58Dark enough, as in strong enough.

00:48:01Carmen said Corey wanted the Michael Jackson stuff.

00:48:04All she knows about the Michael Jackson drug is that it killed him.

00:48:08But that message indicates a state of mind that she wants the drugs that are lethal.

00:48:16Doesn't matter what it is.

00:48:18Detectives tracked down Carmen's drug dealer, a man named Robert Crozier.

00:48:23It wasn't that hard to find him.

00:48:25He was in jail.

00:48:27How are you?

00:48:29Confused.

00:48:30I imagine you are.

00:48:32So we're here to talk to you about a transaction that you made a little over a year ago with

00:48:38a female named Carmen Lauper.

00:48:41You met her at a Maverick and Draper on two separate occasions in February of last year,

00:48:46so a little over a year ago.

00:48:48Okay.

00:48:49She's going to call me when.

00:48:50Did she ask for blue specifically or fentanyl specifically?

00:48:54I think she might have asked me for blue, like manicure.

00:48:57She knew what she was buying.

00:48:58Okay.

00:48:59So she knew that there was good.

00:49:01Absolutely.

00:49:02Okay.

00:49:03With the dealer corroborating Carmen's story, detectives now believe they had what they'd

00:49:08been searching for, the crucial link between Corey Richens and the fentanyl that killed

00:49:13her husband.

00:49:14It was a Monday morning, a month after that TV appearance.

00:49:17Law enforcement waited until Corey's boys were at school, and then they arrested her.

00:49:23Corey Richens is here in the Summit County Jail tonight.

00:49:27We're told she is being held without bail.

00:49:30I just kept on thinking she couldn't do that.

00:49:35She wouldn't do that.

00:49:38Yeah, it's a lot to process, especially in a small valley like this.

00:49:42It's pretty heavy stuff.

00:49:45Suddenly, the story of the grieving mother turned alleged killer who wrote a book to help

00:49:49her sons was everywhere.

00:49:52A headline-making case out of Utah.

00:49:54Oh, indeed.

00:49:55Part-time author turned alleged killer?

00:49:58If you haven't heard by now, this is Corey Richens.

00:50:00And the reason we're talking about this today is they have now formally charged her.

00:50:03If she did it, if she planned this, how in the world can you come on live TV, put yourself

00:50:10in the spotlight, want publicity for your product, and tell us that the most important thing to

00:50:18you is to keep his memory alive each and every day?

00:50:22Corey called her friend Greg.

00:50:24Do you remember the first thing she said to you during your first phone call after her arrest?

00:50:30Um, yeah.

00:50:32She was crying and she said she was scared.

00:50:34And what did you say to her?

00:50:35Things will be all right.

00:50:37Things will be okay.

00:50:38We're going to help you.

00:50:40Five weeks after her arrest, Corey got her chance to ask for bail.

00:50:44Ms. Richens, good morning.

00:50:46Attorney Skye Lazaro defended her.

00:50:49There's nothing to show that Corey did anything to Eric.

00:50:55Being bad with money does not make you a murderer.

00:50:58Toward the end of the hearing, Eric's sister Amy addressed the court.

00:51:02If she gets out on bail, I will be afraid not only for my own life and those of all

00:51:06of my family,

00:51:07but most importantly, for the lives of Eric's three sons.

00:51:11Our family has already suffered enough.

00:51:14Please do not let Corey out on bail, where she will be at risk to do further harm.

00:51:19Defending Corey Darden Richens shall continue to be tamed without bail.

00:51:23Corey later entered a plea of not guilty and braced herself for the battle she was about to fight.

00:51:29You took a innocent mom away from her babies, and this means war.

00:51:49For nearly three years, Corey Darden Richens called the Summit County Jail home.

00:51:54You keep calling and visiting and messages, you know, this is daily.

00:52:01Off and on, all day, continually.

00:52:03You're her lifeline.

00:52:05100%.

00:52:06100%.

00:52:07We, of course, wanted to talk to Corey, too.

00:52:10In May of 2024, she sent us a recorded message.

00:52:14I've been silent for a year, worked away from my kids, my family, my life.

00:52:19Living with the media, telling the world who they think I am, what they think I've done.

00:52:24And the signs are speaking up.

00:52:25I'm anxious to get to trial.

00:52:28And I'm ready to get this one heck of a fight.

00:52:31You took an innocent mom away from her babies.

00:52:35And this means war.

00:52:37In February 2026, almost four years after her husband Eric's death, Corey at last got her chance to fight the

00:52:44charges against her.

00:52:45First-degree murder and attempted murder, along with fraud and forgery.

00:52:49She sat at the defense table, flanked by her new team of attorneys.

00:52:54Eric's supporters lined one row of the packed courtroom.

00:52:57Corey's another.

00:52:58My name is Brad Bloodworth.

00:53:00I am one of Summit County's criminal prosecutors.

00:53:03The evidence will prove that Corey Richens murdered Eric Richens.

00:53:09The prosecution rolled back the timeline to Valentine's Day 2022, two weeks before Eric's death.

00:53:16Good morning, sir.

00:53:17Hello.

00:53:18Turns out that sandwich Eric ate that made him sick came from his friend Gabe Morin's diner.

00:53:24The jury got a look at the to-go order that Corey called in.

00:53:27So at 855, you know, it says a Greek omelet, quinoa salad, bagel sandwich with hash browns.

00:53:35And then Corey is typed in.

00:53:36Does the detective tell you why this is coming into play?

00:53:41Sure doesn't.

00:53:42This order.

00:53:42Nope.

00:53:43Nope.

00:53:44The prosecution argued Corey was the one who picked up the food so she could put something in Eric's sandwich.

00:53:50Her first failed attempt to murder her husband.

00:53:54We know that Corey ordered it.

00:53:56Corey picked it up in person.

00:53:59Eric was a really good friend of mine.

00:54:02Eric's business partner, Cody Wright, told the jury Eric called him at 2 p.m. that Valentine's Day.

00:54:07Why is it you remember that phone call?

00:54:12The fear in his voice, the urgency of the situation.

00:54:20The state theorized that Corey learned from her mistake after that failed attempt with the sandwich.

00:54:26You bite into that and you taste the sourness of that fentanyl pill.

00:54:31You do not get the full dosage of what has been put on that sandwich because you take a couple

00:54:37of bites and you put it down.

00:54:39Prosecutors argued her next try was something easier to ingest.

00:54:43The Moscow meal she made that night was ginger beer and fentanyl.

00:54:50The lemon shot, drop shot, maybe lemon and fentanyl.

00:54:57If it's in a shot glass, masked by alcohol, you throw that back and the wrong taste doesn't matter because

00:55:05it's too late.

00:55:07It's already in your system.

00:55:08The prosecutor told the jury to listen carefully to Corey's behavior on her 911 call.

00:55:14The 911 call operator asks her to perform CPR.

00:55:18Corey told first responders she'd started CPR.

00:55:21But the prosecution said there was more to the story.

00:55:24She seemed to do everything she could to avoid CPR, as precious minutes ticked by.

00:55:29Are you able to lay him on the floor on the ground?

00:55:34I can't.

00:55:35I can't.

00:55:36I do something.

00:55:37I can't.

00:55:38I can't.

00:55:39I can't.

00:55:40You can do it.

00:55:41You can do it.

00:55:42This sheriff's deputy was one of the first to the Richens' house.

00:55:45He said Corey didn't act like most grieving family members right after a death.

00:55:51Normally, they have tears.

00:55:54They look at me when I ask them a question while they respond.

00:55:59It just, every time I spoke to Ms. Richens, it just seems like her face was in her hands and

00:56:06I couldn't see her face.

00:56:07It was just a little abnormal.

00:56:10Your Honor, the state calls Katie Richens Benson.

00:56:14Eric's sister Katie also testified about Corey's behavior that morning.

00:56:17She wasn't crying like I was.

00:56:20She wasn't hysterical.

00:56:21Katie said not long after Corey told her boys their father was dead, she was talking about closing the deal

00:56:27on the Midway Mansion.

00:56:29I was dumbfounded.

00:56:31And I looked at Corey and said, you can't tell me you're going to close on that Midway Mansion when

00:56:39my brother just died.

00:56:41And she looked at me, matter of fact, and said, yeah, absolutely.

00:56:45He has nothing to do with it.

00:56:47The money's already gone through.

00:56:49It's all my business.

00:56:50I'm going to.

00:56:52Behavior was one thing.

00:56:54But to make the case stick, prosecutors knew they needed to connect the dots between Corey and the drugs that

00:57:00killed Eric.

00:57:01For that, they needed their star witness.

00:57:04The honor of the state calls Carmen Lauper.

00:57:06On the stand, she admitted to a troubled past.

00:57:10Do you have a criminal history involving drugs?

00:57:15Yes.

00:57:15Carmen testified about Corey asking her if she knew someone who could get pain medication for one of her investors.

00:57:21I had texted Corey back and told her that I had a friend that could get them.

00:57:29But they were fat, not pills.

00:57:31How did Corey Richens respond?

00:57:33She said, OK, go ahead and get.

00:57:36The state called this digital forensics expert to prove that Carmen met up with drug dealer Robert Crozier just days

00:57:42before the Valentine's incident and the week before Eric died.

00:57:46They're located in at or near the exact same location.

00:57:51Prosecutors argued it was proof Carmen was telling the truth.

00:57:54So, all of that information corroborates the story that Carmen is telling.

00:58:03Which was helpful, because when he took the stand, Robert Crozier couldn't remember how many times he'd met up with

00:58:08her.

00:58:09Like, it was, like, four years ago.

00:58:12So, like, I don't really remember if I met her more than once.

00:58:17The prosecution presented even more digital evidence to the jury.

00:58:21The searches Corey made on her cell phone.

00:58:23Those searches were incriminating, the prosecutor told the jury.

00:58:27These are the searches.

00:58:31What was Corey Richens worried about?

00:58:34How to completely wipe an iPhone, clean remotely, can cops uncover deleted messages, luxury prisons for the rich in America,

00:58:42signs of being under FBI investigation, what is a legal dose of fentanyl?

00:58:46Your thoughts on those searches?

00:58:48It is incredibly important information about her state of mind at the time that those searches were made.

00:58:56But why had Corey allegedly killed Eric?

00:58:59This wife and mother of three had kept her share of secrets, but perhaps none as explosive as him.

00:59:07Do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give in the matter before the court to be the truth,

00:59:11the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, subject to the pains and penalties of perjury?

00:59:15You are the whole truth.

00:59:30Is the state ready to proceed, Mr. Bloodworth?

00:59:33Prosecutors may not be legally required to provide motive in a murder case, but they also know it's human nature

00:59:39to want to know the why.

00:59:41Why would Corey Richens murder her husband, Eric?

00:59:44Reason number one, said prosecutor Brad Bloodworth?

00:59:48Money.

00:59:48More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence, and success.

01:00:01The prosecution called forensic accountant Brooke Carrington to the stand.

01:00:06She was initially hired by Eric's family after he died.

01:00:09As of the date that Eric Richens died, Corey Richens was in financial distress.

01:00:16On March the 5th, 2022, immediately after closing on the Midway Mansion, what was the amount of Corey Richens' liabilities?

01:00:28Right around $8 million.

01:00:31As her company tanked, the state argued, Corey honed in on her husband's life insurance policies.

01:00:37A month before he died, prosecutors said Corey took out a $100,000 policy without Eric's knowledge.

01:00:44This handwriting expert testified Eric probably did not sign that policy himself.

01:00:48There was no evidence that Eric authored this signature.

01:00:55Corey ended up with nearly $1.4 million in life insurance money from Eric's death.

01:01:01Prosecutors also highlighted for the jury the prenuptial agreement Corey had signed.

01:01:06Their prenuptial agreement meant that if she left him, she would also leave most of his money.

01:01:13The state argued that she believed Eric was worth more to her dead than alive.

01:01:18I got hired originally as an admin.

01:01:21Becky Lloyd worked for Eric's company.

01:01:23She recalled a conversation with Corey a few months before he died.

01:01:27She talked about how she was feeling trapped and she said that in many ways it would be better if

01:01:35he were dead.

01:01:37The prosecutor told the jury that book Corey supposedly wrote to help her children through their grief was, in reality,

01:01:44also a money grab.

01:01:46You see the emails, they're in evidence.

01:01:48She thought she would sell 100,000 copies in 10 months at $5 profit a copy.

01:01:56That is not tethered to reality.

01:01:58But it does provide insight in how desperate she was for money.

01:02:03According to the prosecution, there was more than money to Corey's motive.

01:02:07She had been cheating on Eric and was planning a fresh start with another man.

01:02:12There was some question behind the scenes of the courthouse if they were even going to find him for him

01:02:17to testify.

01:02:19And then her former boyfriend, Josh Grossman, entered the packed courtroom.

01:02:24Josh Grossman comes in, but it starts off rocky immediately.

01:02:30With Corey seated just feet away, the clerk began swearing him in.

01:02:34Do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give in the matter before the court to be the truth,

01:02:38the whole truth, and nothing but the truth subject to the pains and penalties of perjury?

01:02:42You are the whole truth.

01:02:44He asks, what do you mean by tell the whole truth?

01:02:47And the judge immediately stops everything, whisks the jury out of the courtroom, and sits Mr. Grossman down and tries

01:02:58to spell out for him what he is signing up for.

01:03:02Mr. Grossman, do you understand the difference between what's true and what's not true?

01:03:06I do.

01:03:07Do you promise, under the pains and penalties of perjury, to tell the truth when you're asked questions?

01:03:13Absolutely.

01:03:13And Josh agrees to do that, finally, so the jury's brought back in.

01:03:18Josh's discomfort was palpable.

01:03:20He testified that he started working for Corey's house-flipping business in the Park City area in 2020.

01:03:26He told the jury he'd stay in the houses they were working on.

01:03:29I had my dog with me.

01:03:31We do live-in flips, me and the dog.

01:03:34Other than accommodations, did she pay you for your service?

01:03:41I mean, we didn't have any contractual agreement.

01:03:45You know, she took care of me.

01:03:48You know, I lived for free.

01:03:50She gave me money whenever I needed it.

01:03:54I just, you know, I liked her, so I'd have worked for free.

01:04:00Not that she didn't, you know, pay me.

01:04:06She did from time to time in lump sums.

01:04:10During that time that you were romantically involved with Miss Richens, did you love her?

01:04:16Yes.

01:04:18During that time, did you feel that she loved you?

01:04:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:04:30I have a tendency of going head over heels, though, probably more than most, so, you know, I think she

01:04:39did.

01:04:39The prosecutor pointed out that a few months before Eric died, Corey had even booked a trip with Josh to

01:04:45the island of St. Martin.

01:04:47I think that was a birthday present.

01:04:50Josh's discomfort only grew as the state showed the jury dozens of text messages between him and Corey.

01:04:55He was having a very difficult time, breathing deeply, making noises, spitting in his chair.

01:05:02Corey was texting with Josh and drove an hour to visit him on Valentine's Day 2022,

01:05:08the day prosecutors alleged she tried to poison Eric with that sandwich.

01:05:12The following day, Josh texted Corey that he was in love with her.

01:05:16She responded, like, actually in love with me?

01:05:19If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would?

01:05:24Josh replied, yes, in love with Y-O-U.

01:05:28Of course I would.

01:05:29He then puts his head down on the witness stand like he doesn't want to be there.

01:05:34He then starts to cry and wipes tears from his eyes.

01:05:38Mr. Grossman, I'll be with me.

01:05:40Do you need a minute or two?

01:05:41I don't know what I mean.

01:05:43Let's just start with you.

01:05:45Why don't we take a five?

01:05:46Pause for a moment, if you don't mind.

01:05:49Testimony soon resumed.

01:05:51And the subject again?

01:05:52Those texts.

01:05:53One week before Eric died, Corey wrote Josh,

01:05:56I have a crazy dream.

01:05:58I divorce and come up with millions and millions.

01:06:00We buy Midway and live in the guest house.

01:06:03Raise some kids.

01:06:04Have a little farm.

01:06:05Deal?

01:06:06Corey and Josh even made plans to celebrate her purchase of the Midway mansion on March 4th, 2022.

01:06:12When he didn't hear from her that day, he texted,

01:06:15What's going on with you?

01:06:16You good?

01:06:17Corey responded,

01:06:18No.

01:06:19Eric passed away.

01:06:21Josh said the next time he saw Corey was two weeks later.

01:06:24That's when she asked the Iraq War veteran about his time in the military.

01:06:28She asked if I had ever killed anybody.

01:06:31Sir, what was that follow-up question?

01:06:34She asked me how it made me feel or something along those lines.

01:06:40And then I answered her.

01:06:45I took it as not out of the normal, though, really.

01:06:50The prosecution made the point that Corey was trying to deal with her guilt of killing her husband

01:06:56by trying to figure out how her boyfriend dealt with it.

01:07:00Josh said his relationship with Corey cooled off in the months following Eric's death.

01:07:05Things weren't the same, so I don't know if that led to us parting ways or what,

01:07:11but there was a lot on both of us, you know what I mean?

01:07:16I understand.

01:07:17Thank you, sir.

01:07:18I don't have any further questions.

01:07:20After calling dozens of witnesses...

01:07:23Okay, Your Honor, then stay abreast.

01:07:27It was the defense's turn, with a move no one was expecting.

01:07:31I saw a lot of mouths dropped and eyebrows shot up, and they stared at that defense table.

01:07:52Prosecutors had given jurors in Park City, Utah, a lot to work with.

01:07:55Do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give me?

01:07:58They'd put on 43 witnesses to make their case.

01:08:01I'm one of Ms. Ritten's attorneys, so it's nice to meet you.

01:08:03The defense cross-examined 38 of them, hoping to unravel it.

01:08:08Going back to the web searches.

01:08:11Corey's attorney, Alex Ramos, wanted the jury to understand that those questionable searches

01:08:16Corey made on her phone happened after Eric died.

01:08:20I imagine you're aware that all these searches were done after Ms. Richens knew she was under

01:08:24investigation, correct?

01:08:26Yes.

01:08:27Corey's former lawyer, Sky Lazaro.

01:08:29The timing of these searches, I think, are probably the most critical and important part

01:08:35of the analysis of them.

01:08:37These searches were done after she was served the search warrant for her home and for her

01:08:44electronics.

01:08:45She just found out her husband died of a lethal alpha dose of fentanyl.

01:08:47You might want to know what that means.

01:08:49Those searches, to me, were less of an issue than some other things in this case.

01:08:54How does the defense combat a lover?

01:08:58You know, Josh's mere existence in this.

01:09:01Sometimes the best way to combat things that are bad for your client or optically bad for

01:09:06your client is just to hit them head on from the beginning.

01:09:09There was no running away from Josh.

01:09:12The prosecution hammered the point that Corey wanted a new life.

01:09:16The defense argued it was an affair, nothing more.

01:09:19Would it be fair to say that the talk about a future together between you and Corey was

01:09:24really more a fantasy than a realistic expectation?

01:09:30My opinion?

01:09:32You want my opinion on it?

01:09:34Sure.

01:09:36I'd say yeah.

01:09:38Yeah.

01:09:40More of something that, that maybe I thought I wanted, but didn't necessarily, like I, I

01:09:48couldn't picture it in the future, you know?

01:09:52To counter witnesses who said Eric was scared about how sick he got after eating that Valentine's

01:09:57Day sandwich, Corey's old friend, Allie Staking, testified Eric thought the whole thing was funny.

01:10:03Was everyone laughing?

01:10:05Yes, we were all laughing and we jokingly said, don't eat what Corey featured here.

01:10:09When it came to the accusation that Eric's death would bring Corey an infusion of cash,

01:10:13the defense pointed out Eric made a lot of money and would continue making plenty more.

01:10:19He declared to the IRS that he made over $750,000.

01:10:24That was just in one year.

01:10:26I mean, if you accept that theory that she doesn't like him or she doesn't want to be married

01:10:30to him, you know, she's, she's better off, uh, with him if it's purely financial motivated.

01:10:37The money, the boyfriend, the sandwich, the Google searches were all problems for Corey.

01:10:45Good afternoon, Ms. Lovett.

01:10:46Good afternoon.

01:10:46But it was the cross-examination of Carmen the housekeeper that could make or break the defense's

01:10:51case.

01:10:52Reasonable doubt is one of the things that you don't always get in cases, but this case

01:10:57does have certain amounts of reasonable doubt.

01:11:01And that is, you know, the stuff with Carmen.

01:11:04There was Carmen's fuzzy memory when police first talked to her.

01:11:08You told them more than once over those days, you had a lot of memory problems, correct?

01:11:12My memory wasn't the best, yes.

01:11:14To underscore her credibility issues, the defense got Carmen to admit she had a history

01:11:19of lying in drug court to stay out of prison.

01:11:22It's what addicts do when you're using.

01:11:23That's true.

01:11:24Addicts lie.

01:11:25And the defense said with Carmen, it was always about staying out of prison.

01:11:29You are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself from getting kicked out of drug

01:11:34court and going to prison, correct?

01:11:36I'm willing to go forward with the truth, yes.

01:11:39And you're going to, you tell them, I'll do whatever it takes.

01:11:43Yes.

01:11:45Yes.

01:11:45The prosecution had given Carmen immunity in exchange for her testimony.

01:11:49And the bottom line, said the defense, was Corey never actually used the word fentanyl

01:11:54when talking to Carmen.

01:11:55You told authorities during the course of these interviews that Corey Richardson's never asked

01:12:02for fentanyl.

01:12:05Yes.

01:12:07Robert Crozier, who also received immunity for his testimony, said on the

01:12:11stand, he didn't have fentanyl to sell at the time Eric died.

01:12:14You had no access to it in January, February, March of 2022.

01:12:20No.

01:12:21Do you solemnly square this?

01:12:23With the lead detective, the defense drove home the point that law enforcement never found

01:12:27any fentanyl in the Richens' house.

01:12:29During that four years period of time, as recently as less than a month ago, you were still issuing

01:12:35search warrants.

01:12:36Is that right?

01:12:37Yes.

01:12:38And there were a total of at least 10 or 10 searches by law enforcement of Ms. Richens'

01:12:46home.

01:12:46Is that right?

01:12:48There were 10 search warrants issued.

01:12:49Yeah.

01:12:50We have no murder weapon.

01:12:51Like you haven't found anything that was connected to Eric's death.

01:12:57No fentanyl in the house.

01:12:58Correct.

01:13:00There was a boatload of fentanyl in his stomach that came out of the house with him.

01:13:03If the lead detective couldn't point to any fentanyl in the house, the defense argued

01:13:07maybe Eric kept a secret stash in this old pill bottle.

01:13:11What else do we find on that first day that Eric died?

01:13:14What else do they find?

01:13:16The hydrocodone bottle.

01:13:18Why wasn't it tested?

01:13:20What was kept in that bottle?

01:13:23The painkiller was prescribed to Eric six years earlier.

01:13:26The defense asked the first detective on the scene about it.

01:13:29Wasn't there an empty hydrocodone bottle seized from right next to Mr. Richens' bed?

01:13:34There was.

01:13:35You didn't put it in an evidence bag?

01:13:38No.

01:13:38You didn't swab it for the inside of it?

01:13:41No, it was empty.

01:13:43Do you know where it is to this day?

01:13:44No.

01:13:45When it was time for the defense to put on its own witnesses, Corey's attorneys asked

01:13:50for a break.

01:13:51We're all seated really on the edge of our seats in that courtroom.

01:13:56Anticipating that the defense will call witnesses.

01:14:00Then the jury heard this.

01:14:02Your Honor, after consulting with our client, the defense rushed.

01:14:07I saw a lot of mouths dropped and eyebrows shot up and they stared at that defense table.

01:14:12What did you make of the defense not calling any witnesses?

01:14:17When you're the defense in trial, everything is on the spot, kind of game day decision.

01:14:22How's it going and what do we do next?

01:14:25And you have to calculate the risks.

01:14:27Not putting on witnesses, is that going to hurt Corey?

01:14:30Are we leaving them on a high note?

01:14:32And have we been able to effectively cross-examine everyone in order to get the points we needed

01:14:38to make for her defense through the state's witnesses?

01:14:41Mr. Bloodworth, would you like to proceed?

01:14:43Yes, Your Honor, we may proceed.

01:14:44To a packed gallery, both sides made their closing arguments.

01:14:48All the evidence in this case proves that Corey Richens murdered her husband and the father

01:14:56of her three children, Eric Richens.

01:14:59Do not let them fool you.

01:15:01Do not fall for red herrings.

01:15:04Corey Richens did not kill Eric Richens.

01:15:06Count one.

01:15:07And with that, the case went to the jury.

01:15:10So I'm looking at Corey and I said to the lady next to me, I'm like, I said,

01:15:14she's shaking and she goes, she's trembling.

01:15:30After sitting side by side for three weeks, the jurors tasked with deciding Corey Richens'

01:15:35guilt or innocence began their deliberations.

01:15:38We spoke with two of them, Mark and Eric.

01:15:41Out of privacy concerns, they asked us not to use their last names.

01:15:45Take us into that jury room.

01:15:47I mean, as soon as we got in the jury room, we just all needed to sit down and take

01:15:52collective

01:15:53breaths.

01:15:53And then after that, we just started to say, hey, look, we each are going to talk for five

01:15:57minutes about what we saw.

01:15:59Not necessarily, is Corey innocent or guilty, but just what did your lens as a person see

01:16:05on this trial?

01:16:07Mark's front row seat in the jury box allowed him to keep close watch on the defense table.

01:16:11Did you keep an eye on Corey Richens' expressions throughout the trial and how she was reacting

01:16:18to things?

01:16:18I absolutely did.

01:16:20For the most part, I think there was a poker game that was being played.

01:16:26The jurors were also glued to the testimony of key witness Carmen Lauber.

01:16:31Carmen, the housekeeper, tricky witness, because she has this past with drugs.

01:16:36She's in trouble herself.

01:16:38And she's been given a bit of a lifeline here, you know, to help the prosecution.

01:16:42I saw a woman who was making genuine efforts to get on the right path and improve her life.

01:16:50And frankly, her testimony combined with the digital evidence of her travels really corroborated

01:16:57her testimony.

01:17:00They felt for Corey's former boyfriend, Josh, too.

01:17:03You know, my heart bled for him.

01:17:06He was having problems breathing.

01:17:07He needed water.

01:17:08I had such compassion for him, especially being a veteran.

01:17:12As for the defense, do you think that was a mistake to not put on a formal defense and,

01:17:17you know, just try the case through cross-examination?

01:17:20I don't think it was a mistake as much as it was their tactic and that was their right

01:17:24to do so.

01:17:25Juror Eric thinks, though, the defense could have made more of the fact that no one knows

01:17:29for sure how Eric Richens ingested that fentanyl.

01:17:32I think probably if they had focused on that, then they may have gotten to reasonable doubt.

01:17:38In the plus column for the defense, a closing argument that tugged on this juror's heartstrings.

01:17:44I was unexpectedly wittable and I was not much older than Corey and I had two wittables.

01:17:51How do you judge someone in that moment?

01:17:55They want you to look at a woman in the worst moment of her life and to judge her grief.

01:18:03There is no wrong way to grieve.

01:18:05It was a plea for not sending a mom to jail who has three children and I understand that.

01:18:11I was rooting that, but then I got back to deliberations and it was like, wait a minute,

01:18:16Mark, like, take a deep breath, stop focusing on the emotional element.

01:18:20And every time I tried to give her a lifeline or an off-ramp off, it just ended and it

01:18:25just

01:18:26pointed right back to her.

01:18:27After only three hours, the court was informed that the jury has reached a verdict.

01:18:34The speed at which the jury came back was shocking to everyone.

01:18:38We all quietly file into the courtroom and the judge makes it very clear that there is

01:18:44to be no outward reaction.

01:18:46If anybody in here can't follow these instructions, this is your chance to leave.

01:18:50I'm looking at Corey and I said to the lady next to me, I'm like, I said, she's shaking

01:18:55and she goes, she's trembling.

01:18:56And I looked down at her feet and they were shaking.

01:18:59Counsel, Ms. Richens, please stand.

01:19:07Count one, aggravated murder.

01:19:11We, the jury, unanimously find that the defendant, Corey Richens, is guilty of aggravated murder.

01:19:20Count two, attempted aggravated murder.

01:19:23We, the jury, unanimously find that the defendant, Corey Richens, is guilty of attempted aggravated

01:19:31murder.

01:19:32Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.

01:19:35And you just see Corey just, her head goes down.

01:19:39You can just read her face.

01:19:41Right.

01:19:42She did a pretty good job throughout the whole trial having that poker face on.

01:19:46But at that moment, she looked down and her world came crashing down inside her head.

01:19:51A look of defeat.

01:19:53Defeat.

01:19:54I saw a broken woman, but I think there's carnage everywhere.

01:19:58It was shock.

01:19:59I mean, it was literally just shock.

01:20:01You know, my mother said, Corey did a good job that she just didn't break down there.

01:20:05And I said, well, it's not a matter of breaking down.

01:20:07I said, it's just shock.

01:20:08You don't know what to do.

01:20:09I said, and I felt the same thing she did.

01:20:12For Eric's family, finally justice.

01:20:15Four years ago, our family lost the brightest light.

01:20:20Eric is deeply loved and missed every single day.

01:20:23We are grateful to everyone who has worked tirelessly to bring justice for Eric.

01:20:28Our focus is now on honoring Eric's life and supporting his boys as we all continue to heal.

01:20:34So thank you all for being here.

01:20:37Corey is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

01:20:39She faces the possibility of 25 years to life behind bars.

01:20:43She also has another criminal case pending with 26 additional financial charges.

01:20:49She has not yet entered a plea.

01:20:52Her three boys are living with Eric's family.

01:20:55Corey's book is out of print now, but we did find it on eBay, selling for more than $5,000.

01:21:07Back in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains, the Midway Mansion, once a symbol of everything

01:21:13Corey dreamed of, now has new owners, and renovations are well underway.

01:21:21At the Mirror Lake Diner, Gabe Morin thinks about Eric when someone orders his favorite,

01:21:26chicken fried steak, or sits in his usual seat.

01:21:31You know, I'm sad this whole situation happened, but I think it's the right outcome.

01:21:37He certainly never imagined the role his diner would play in Corey Richen's murder trial,

01:21:42or that his friend's three sons would be left without a father.

01:21:46Eric was just a simple, good guy, you know, and his kids don't have a dad, you know,

01:21:51and that's the part that hits me hard.

01:21:55And, you know, and those kids will be okay.

01:21:57Eric taught them right.

01:21:59They are smart, strong kids.

01:22:01They'll be okay, but it's not fair.

01:22:09That's all for this edition of Dateline.

01:22:12And don't forget to check out our Talking Dateline podcast,

01:22:16which will go behind the scenes of tonight's episode,

01:22:19available Wednesday in the Dateline feed, wherever you get your podcasts.

01:22:23We'll see you again next Friday at 9, 8 central.

01:22:27I'm Lester Holt.

01:22:28For all of us at NBC News, good night.

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