🏘️ Dateline NBC (1992) - Season 2026 Episode 11
Sometimes the truth comes when you least expect it. In Episode 11 "The Final Confession", a cold case takes a shocking turn when an unexpected admission reshapes everything investigators thought they knew. Through meticulous interviews, forensic re-analysis, and psychological insight, detectives must verify the confession's credibility and uncover what really happened that fateful night. Who finally told the truth... and why now?
🔹 Episode Highlights:
• Unexpected confession: a surprising admission reopens a stalled investigation
• Verification process: detectives cross-check details, alibis & forensic evidence
• Psychological deep dive: understanding motive, timing & the weight of silence
• Victim's story honored: giving voice to those who waited years for answers
• Signature Dateline resolution: thorough reporting + emotional closure + lasting impact
🔹 Series Info:
• Format: True Crime Documentary / Investigative Journalism / Mystery Serial
• Original Network: NBC (US) / Peacock / International Syndication
• Series Launch: 1992 | Season: 2026 | Episode: 11 | Title: "The Final Confession"
• Setting: United States (Various Locations) | Language: English
• Runtime: ~42-45 minutes (full) | Clip/Highlight version: ~10-15 min
🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to true crime recaps & investigative journalism podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
👉 Enjoying the series? Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and comment: "Did you see the confession coming? 👇" Turn on notifications 🔔 for Episode 12!
#ShowTVMovies #DatelineNBC #NBC #TheFinalConfession #S2026E11 #TrueCrime #InvestigativeJournalism #BingeWatch #CrimeDocumentary #ColdCase
⚠️ Copyright Disclaimer: This video is shared for promotional, review, and informational purposes only. All rights to "Dateline NBC" belong to NBCUniversal, NBC News, and associated producers. This upload complies with Fair Use guidelines (Section 107, U.S. Copyright Act). No copyright infringement intended.
Sometimes the truth comes when you least expect it. In Episode 11 "The Final Confession", a cold case takes a shocking turn when an unexpected admission reshapes everything investigators thought they knew. Through meticulous interviews, forensic re-analysis, and psychological insight, detectives must verify the confession's credibility and uncover what really happened that fateful night. Who finally told the truth... and why now?
🔹 Episode Highlights:
• Unexpected confession: a surprising admission reopens a stalled investigation
• Verification process: detectives cross-check details, alibis & forensic evidence
• Psychological deep dive: understanding motive, timing & the weight of silence
• Victim's story honored: giving voice to those who waited years for answers
• Signature Dateline resolution: thorough reporting + emotional closure + lasting impact
🔹 Series Info:
• Format: True Crime Documentary / Investigative Journalism / Mystery Serial
• Original Network: NBC (US) / Peacock / International Syndication
• Series Launch: 1992 | Season: 2026 | Episode: 11 | Title: "The Final Confession"
• Setting: United States (Various Locations) | Language: English
• Runtime: ~42-45 minutes (full) | Clip/Highlight version: ~10-15 min
🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to true crime recaps & investigative journalism podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
👉 Enjoying the series? Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and comment: "Did you see the confession coming? 👇" Turn on notifications 🔔 for Episode 12!
#ShowTVMovies #DatelineNBC #NBC #TheFinalConfession #S2026E11 #TrueCrime #InvestigativeJournalism #BingeWatch #CrimeDocumentary #ColdCase
⚠️ Copyright Disclaimer: This video is shared for promotional, review, and informational purposes only. All rights to "Dateline NBC" belong to NBCUniversal, NBC News, and associated producers. This upload complies with Fair Use guidelines (Section 107, U.S. Copyright Act). No copyright infringement intended.
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FunTranscript
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.
00:00:46They 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.
00:02:11Before that awful loss, it seemed Eric and Corey Richens led a charmed life.
00:02:15A beautiful couple.
00:02:17They 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 10 minutes later.
00:03:18What's your first name?
00:03:20That's what happened today.
00:03:22He 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.
00:03:37Reporter 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 9 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.
00:04:23She 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.
00:04:47When I sleep with my kids, I'll wake up and I go back to my own bed.
00:04:51And I just crawled over on his side.
00:04:56And he was laying in bed?
00:04:59He was on his back on the bed.
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.
00:05:16Mom.
00:05:17Mom.
00:05:18I'm in my house.
00:05:20I'm in my house.
00:05:23When Lisa got there, she wondered if Eric's recent allergy shots had something to do with his death.
00:05:48Soon, 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.
00:06:13Yeah.
00:06:13It's not normal.
00:06:14It's not.
00:06:15Oh my God, I've got to breathe.
00:06:17I just talked to him like a couple of hours ago.
00:06:21When Eric's sister Katie arrived, Corey told her what she had told deputies.
00:06:26And they just turned over to pedal and his body was just so cold.
00:06:31As Eric's family and friends struggled with his loss, they could not have known the saga of Eric and Corey
00:06:38Richens would take years to untangle.
00:06:41The betrayal here is remarkable and unique.
00:06:45Something was about to happen that would rock your family to its core.
00:06:50It did.
00:06:51I 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.
00:07:00Money.
00:07:01The first thing I thought about when I heard this story was, this 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.
00:07:14This is insane.
00:07:51My husband's active.
00:07:54It'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.
00:08:26That 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?
00:08:37Yeah.
00:08:37Healthy, 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.
00:08:56Yeah, and your heart is obviously breaking for Corey and for your three nephews.
00:09:03Yes.
00:09:03Yeah.
00:09:04I mean, and he was a good friend of mine, you know, so as soon as I got the news,
00:09:06I broke
00:09:07down.
00:09:09Eric and his two sisters were raised in a tight-knit family.
00:09:13He was particularly close with his father, Gene, who taught him the value of hard work at
00:09:18the family's cattle ranch.
00:09:20During college, Eric took on some masonry work.
00:09:22It 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, you know, you know how guys can get.
00:09:45Were the guys interested in Corey then?
00:09:47Almost every one of them were, yeah.
00:09:49Yeah, sometimes she'd get a little scared, you know, so I'd have to walk over there and
00:09:54tell them, come 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.
00:10:09He had the laugh.
00:10:13I'm going to go, aww.
00:10:16The laugh.
00:10:17Yeah.
00:10:18Corey liked him, too.
00:10:21She goes, I like him, you know, and it didn't take very long and they were going out on a
00:10:26date.
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 and 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?
00:10:45I didn't know that so much until she had her first son and that, that was her life calling
00:10:51was to be a mom.
00:10:52They eventually married and Eric started his own masonry business with his best friend.
00:10:58They did rock on these beautiful, beautiful homes here in Park City.
00:11:02I mean, gorgeous, 20,000 square foot homes.
00:11:05Yeah.
00:11:06I'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.
00:11:22A good thing, because soon the couple would welcome two more sons.
00:11:26Life was good for Corey and Eric and the boys.
00:11:30Yes.
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 say 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
00:12:04Park City'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.
00:13:02It was an unfinished house in the middle of this beautiful valley surrounded by our gorgeous
00:13:08snow-capped mountains.
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
00:13:44ate.
00:13:45After 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.
00:13:56Because 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
00:14:09to make sure that everything's 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.
00:14:24I 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 order.
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.
00:15:46She told Corey that Eric's other sister, Katie, was in charge of his estate and that the house
00:15:51didn'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.
00:16:11I got between them.
00:16:13And then once I was-
00:16:15I was there.
00:16:17Once I was between them, obviously they're both throwing over the top of me.
00:16:22How 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, Eric
00:16:53had 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 and then telling his family that, listen, you're going to be
00:17:19the owner of the trust, but don't tell her.
00:17:22However, if 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 before
00:17:41she 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.
00:17:50I 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,
00:17:56and well, here she is holding the baby at that point.
00:17:59Obviously, she's going to sign it.
00:18:01Now, with her world falling apart, Corey called Eric's best friend to vent.
00:18:06Her friend recorded the call.
00:18:09They're taking my f***ing house.
00:18:10Price is in 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.
00:18:26I 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 in 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
00:19:04his 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.
00:19:17There 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.
00:19:27Corey'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
00:19:35Corey.
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
00:19:45artery, an aneurysm.
00:19:47I don't know if he had an aneurysm or something with all the blood.
00:19:52Bummer.
00:19:53Pretty 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
00:20:07death at all.
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?
00:20:23You know, that's the last thing you'd expect with Eric.
00:20:47Eric Ritchin's death, nearly everyone who knew him asked the same question.
00:20:52How 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?
00:21:14He's massive active.
00:21:16He didn't just die in his sleep.
00:21:18This is insane.
00:21:19Any 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.
00:22:17Painkills, 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, he's a businessman, he 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 people go, uh, gummies before he goes to bed.
00:24:04Mm-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.
00:25:04They 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, or was
00:25:12it 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. Hey, 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. You'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?
00:25:59Not definitively. I mean, it seems like, you know, with what the amount that's there, that it probably was ingested,
00:26:06you know, probably taken by mouth.
00:26:07Okay, so the 15 NG, like, is that, like, a substantial amount? Is that, like, a trace?
00:26:14No, that's a lot. That's a lot of fentanyl in the blood.
00:26:16Then the conversation turned to the source of the fentanyl.
00:26:19It'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,
00:27:44a self-published children'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. How could they not be?
00:28:03Correct. That's correct. And she wanted to comfort them.
00:28:05And I thought it was a good thing. All she was trying to do was find a way that kind
00:28:10of 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, so 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, and as he's going through his life, going to school,
00:28:41going 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.
00:28:48In 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. Yes, 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, and I...
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.
00:30:04You are an amazing woman and mom, and we thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this
00:30:09and touching the lives 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?
00:30:18I did.
00:30:19I thought she did pretty good.
00:30:20Nervous.
00:30:22But, yeah, I mean, it's...
00:30:24If it helps one kid, it was well worth it.
00:30:26The co-host also sensed Corey's nerves.
00:30:29And something else.
00:30:30What I did notice was just reading body language.
00:30:35She 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.
00:30:52I get on my computer, checking my emails, and there is an anonymous message that's come
00:30:58in to the entire station.
00:31:00To every single person at the station?
00:31:03Yes.
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
00:31:12killed her husband.
00:31:13I mean, this is creepy.
00:31:16It was definitely creepy.
00:31:17It was definitely weird, but we didn't, we didn't really give it another thought after
00:31:22the initial, whoa.
00:31:24You don't think maybe she did kill her husband?
00:31:27No, because wild emails can come in.
00:31:30And we thought it was bizarre.
00:31:33We clocked it as being completely bizarre.
00:31:36Still, the email gave Dina pause.
00:31:39Then she remembered something Corey shared in the green room at the TV station about Eric's
00:31:43death.
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
00:31:55underlying.
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
00:32:10investigate your children's book, author, did you know that she is a suspect in the murder
00:32:15of 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.
00:32:24Investigators had been looking into Corey's past, and her story of a perfect life with
00:32:28her husband was about to unravel.
00:32:30It'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
00:33:10upset with that.
00:33:11While Eric's estate attorney says she assured Corey she could stay in the house, Corey wanted
00:33:16to 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
00:33:43death, to 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
00:33:51business or 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
00:34:01all 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
00:34:12from my family.
00:34:14The P.I. brought on a forensic accountant who found Corey was deep in the red.
00:34:18She'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
00:34:30and apply it to that.
00:34:31It's a house of cards.
00:34:33It 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
00:34:52lenders that were charging high interest rates.
00:34:54And there was something else.
00:34:56A year and a half before he died, Eric's family says he learned Corey had secretly borrowed
00:35:01against 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 and
00:35:34that 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
00:35:49about why he chose to stay?
00:35:50I 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.
00:36:03And then back here, the lipstick on a pig kind of classic scenario is what we stepped into here.
00:36:10Molly 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.
00:36:18Looked good, looked good, but was not a place that we were going to be proud or comfortable
00:36:23putting 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 and let
00:36:41them 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.
00:36:47Looks 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.
00:36:57I 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.
00:37:20Oh, and you saw it?
00:37:20And so we never noticed it before.
00:37:22Yeah, 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.
00:37:41I showed them 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, that in the sales contract,
00:37:57she 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.
00:38:17There 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.
00:38:25And more scandalous accusations were coming.
00:38:29You discover Corey Richens has a lover.
00:38:32A 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, so 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.
00:40:28The family was also troubled by Corey's initial story, that Eric died of a lung fungus,
00:40:34just like the one that killed his mother.
00:40:35She 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.
00:41:19They 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,
00:41:36if something were to happen to me, look at Corey.
00:41:40The 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.
00:41:48He'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.
00:42:00So my husband passed away unexpectedly last year.
00:42:03And as she sat under the TV lights on Good Things Utah,
00:42:07Corey may have believed the heat of the investigation 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.
00:42:25One 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.
00:42:37As they were looking for a connection between Corey and the drugs that killed Eric,
00:42:42investigators found something curious on her phone.
00:42:45They look at the frequency of communication, who she's communicating with the most,
00:42:50who 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.
00:43:08Detectives 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,
00:43:19they come to find out that she's got significant drug history,
00:43:22and that 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,
00:43:34that 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.
00:43:50They 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.
00:44:00I can tell you from experience,
00:44:02when a convicted felon is in possession of a firearm,
00:44:06those are real consequences.
00:44:08And they found something else up on a wall
00:44:11amongst inspirational quotes and family photos.
00:44:14Lo and behold, on the mirror is Eric Richens' obituary.
00:44:20This is telling.
00:44:23Carmen is close to Eric and the boys,
00:44:25and she is conspicuously absent from his funeral.
00:44:30Her absence is noticed by the family,
00:44:33and I consider that early on
00:44:35as possible evidence of consciousness of guilt.
00:44:39It was becoming clear to investigators that Carmen was connected to Eric's death.
00:44:44It's just not me.
00:44:46They arrested Carmen on that gun violation
00:44:48and sat her down in an interrogation room.
00:44:51That the details about everything we've been talking about are going to be important
00:44:55for homicide investigation.
00:44:58When they asked her if she had sold drugs to Corey,
00:45:01her memory was fuzzy.
00:45:03So I wanted to, oh, it's so abusing, but okay.
00:45:06So I want to say when she, she asked, but like I said, um,
00:45:13Oh, I hear a member of the music.
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
00:45:22car looks like.
00:45:23Soon enough, Carmen's memory seemed to get better,
00:45:26and she would have quite the story to tell.
00:45:29We need hard details.
00:45:31There's no more...
00:45:31I'm going to 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,
00:45:54who they believed was the key link between Corey and the fentanyl
00:45:58that killed 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...
00:46:10I'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.
00:46:21It 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,
00:46:41Corey directed Carmen to a house she had flipped.
00:46:44Carmen told investigators she went inside,
00:46:46took 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...
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.
00:47:38She 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, now we're eating something.
00:47:49I know one thing that when we got one, it wasn't dark enough.
00:47:55I don't even know how...
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 her man.
00:48:51But...
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 her
00:49:13husband.
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
00:50:29arrest?
00:50:30Um, yeah.
00:50:31She 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 Sky 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
00:51:06my family, but most importantly, for the lives of Eric's three sons.
00:51:12Our family has already suffered enough.
00:51:14Please do not let Corey out on bail, where she will be a 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
00:51:28to fight.
00:51:29She took a innocent mom away from her babies, and this means war.
00:51:49For nearly three years, Corey Richens called the Summit County Jail home.
00:51:55You 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.
00:52:36In February 2026, almost four years after her husband Eric's death, Corey at last got her
00:52:43chance to fight the charges against her first-degree murder and attempted murder, along with fraud
00:52:48and 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.
00:52:59My 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.
00:53:08The 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
00:53:23diner.
00:53:24The jury got a look at the to-go order that Corey called in.
00:53:27So at 8.55, 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, this 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
00:53:49in Eric's sandwich.
00:53:50Her first failed attempt to murder her husband.
00:53:53We know that Corey ordered it, Corey 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
00:54:07Day.
00:54:08Why 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
00:54:24the sandwich.
00:54:26You bite into that and you taste the sourness of that fentanyl pill.
00:54:32You do not get the full dosage of what has been put on that sandwich because you take a
00:54:37couple of bites and you put it down.
00:54:39Prosecutors argued her next try was something easier to ingest.
00:54:42The Moscow meal she made that night was ginger beer and fentanyl.
00:54:49The 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
00:55:04matter because it'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, but the prosecution said there was more to
00:55:23the 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?
00:55:37You can do it.
00:55:41You can do it.
00:55:42This sheriff's deputy was one of the first to the Richens house.
00:55:46He 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
00:56:05and I 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
00:56:26about closing the deal on the Midway Mansion.
00:56:29I was dumbfounded and I looked at Corey and said, you can't tell me you're going to close
00:56:37on that Midway Mansion when my 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
00:56:59Corey and the drugs that killed Eric.
00:57:01For that, they needed their star witness.
00:57:04The honor of the state calls Carmen Lauper.
00:57:07On 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
00:57:19for one of her investors.
00:57:21I had texted Corey back and told her that I had a friend that could get them, but they
00:57:29were 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
00:57:41Robert Crozier just days before the Valentine's incident and the week before Eric died.
00:57:46They're located in 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, so I don't really remember if I met her more than once.
00:58:17The prosecution presented even more digital evidence to the jury.
00:58:20The searches Corey made on her cell phone.
00:58:23Those searches were incriminating, the prosecutor told the jury.
00:58:28These 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?
00:59:30Is the state ready to proceed, Mr. Bloodwood?
00:59:33Prosecutors may not be legally required to provide motive in a murder case,
00:59:37but they also know it's human nature to want to know the why.
00:59:41Why would Corey Richens murder her husband, Eric?
00:59:44Reason number one, said prosecutor Brad Bloodworth?
00:59:47Money.
00:59:49More 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.
01:00:17On March the 5th, 2022, immediately after closing on the Midway Mansion,
01:00:23what was the amount of Corey Richens' liabilities?
01:00:29Right around $8 million.
01:00:31As her company tanked, the state argued, Corey homed 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.
01:01:14The 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.
01:01:30And she said that in many ways it would be better if he were dead.
01:01:38The prosecutor told the jury that book Corey supposedly wrote to help her children through their grief
01:01:43was in reality also 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,
01:02:55and sits Mr. Grossman down and tries to 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. We 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,
01:04:43Corey had even booked a trip with Josh to the 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 do with me.
01:05:40Do you need a minute or two?
01:05:41Sure, no, 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,
01:07:35and 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.
01:08:04The defense cross-examined 38 of them.
01:08:06Hoping to unravel it.
01:08:08Going back to the web searches.
01:08:11Corey's attorney, Alex Ramos, wanted the jury to understand
01:08:14that those questionable searches Corey made on her phone
01:08:17happened after Eric died.
01:08:20I imagine you're aware that all these searches were done
01:08:22after Ms. Ritten's knew she was under investigation, 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
01:08:34and important part of the analysis of them.
01:08:37These searches were done after she was served the search warrant
01:08:42for her home and for her electronics.
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
01:09:05or optically bad for your 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
01:09:23between you and Corey was really 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 maybe I thought I wanted, but didn't necessarily.
01:09:46Like, I couldn't picture it in the future, you know?
01:09:52To counter witnesses who said Eric was scared about how sick he got
01:09:56after eating that Valentine's Day sandwich,
01:09:58Corey'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,
01:10:07don't eat with Corey, future.
01:10:09When it came to the accusation that Eric's death would bring Corey an infusion of cash,
01:10:14the 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
01:10:30you know, she's better off 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. Lovlin.
01:10:46Good afternoon.
01:10:46But it was the cross-examination of Carmen the housekeeper that could make or break the defense's case.
01:10:52Reasonable doubt is one of the things that you don't always get in cases,
01:10:56but this case does 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?
01:11:12That my memory wasn't the best, yes.
01:11:14To underscore her credibility issues,
01:11:17the defense got Carmen to admit she had a history of lying in drug court to stay out of prison.
01:11:22That's what addicts do when you're using.
01:11:23That's true. Addicts lie.
01:11:25And the defense said with Carmen it was always about staying out of prison.
01:11:30You are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself from getting kicked out of drug court and going
01:11:35to prison, correct?
01:11:36I'm willing to go forward with the truth, yes.
01:11:39And you tell them, I'll do whatever it takes?
01:11:43Yes.
01:11:44The 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 when talking to Carmen.
01:11:55You told authorities during the course of these interviews that Corey Richardson's never asked for fentanyl?
01:12:05Yes.
01:12:07Robert Crozier, who also received immunity for his testimony, said on the stand he didn't have fentanyl to sell at
01:12:13the time Eric died.
01:12:14You had no access to it in January, February, March of 2022?
01:12:20No.
01:12:22With the lead detective, the defense drove home the point that law enforcement never found any fentanyl in the Richens'
01:12:29house.
01:12:29During that four years period of time, as recently as less than a month ago, you were still issuing search
01:12:35warrants.
01:12:36Is that right?
01:12:37Yes.
01:12:38And there were a total of at least ten, or ten searches by law enforcement of Ms. Richardson's home.
01:12:46Is that right?
01:12:48There were ten search warrants issued, yeah.
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, correct?
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 maybe Eric kept a secret
01:13:09stash 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. Richen's 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 for a break.
01:13:51We're all seated, really on the edge of our seats in that courtroom, anticipating 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?
01:14:33And have we been able to effectively cross-examine everyone in order to get the points we needed to make
01:14:38for her defense through the state's witnesses?
01:14:40Mr. 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 of her three children,
01:14:57Eric 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, she's shaking,
01:15:14and she goes, she's trembling.
01:15:30After sitting side-by-side for three weeks, the jurors tasked with deciding Corey Richens' guilt or innocence began their
01:15:37deliberations.
01:15:38We spoke with two of them, Mark and Eric, out of privacy concerns, they asked us not to use their
01:15:44last 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 breaths.
01:15:53And then after that, we just started to say, hey, look, we each are going to talk for five minutes
01:15:57about what we saw.
01:15:58Not necessarily, is Corey innocent or guilty, but just what did your lens as a person see on 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 to 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, she'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 her testimony.
01:17:00They felt for Corey's former boyfriend, Josh, too.
01:17:03You know, my heart bled for him. He was having problems breathing. He 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
01:17:17and, you 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 to
01:17:24do so.
01:17:25Juror Eric thinks, though, the defense could have made more of the fact that no one knows for sure
01:17:29how 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.
01:17:45I was unexpectedly wittable and I was not much older than McCory 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, that, but then I got back to deliberations and it was like,
01:18:16wait a minute, Mark, 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,
01:18:24it just ended and it just pointed right back to her.
01:18:27After only three hours, the court has 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 to be no
01:18:44outward 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 and
01:18:55she 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 murder.
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.
01:20:16Four years ago, our family lost the brightest light.
01:20:19Eric 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.
01:20:34Thank you all for being here.
01:20:36Corey 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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