A Summit County judge will decide in August whether there’s enough evidence against Kouri Richins for her to stand trial for murder.

The Kamas mother of three appeared in Third District Court on Friday afternoon for a scheduling conference to create a new timeline for her case after her defense team departed in May. Judge Richard Mrazik set the new preliminary hearing dates for Aug. 26 through 28.

Kouri was scheduled to appear in court earlier this spring, but the hearing was delayed after she had to be appointed a public defender. Attorney Skye Lazaro cited “an irreconcilable and nonwaivable situation” in the filing to withdraw from the case.

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Mrazik determined Kouri, who is charged with 11 felonies including distribution of a controlled substance and aggravated murder of husband Eric Richins, is unable to pay for private legal counsel. He appointed Salt Lake City-based law firm Nester Lewis, led by attorneys Wendy Lewis and Kathy Nester.

Lewis told the court in May they would need some time to sort through the documents and details about the case. Greg Skordas, a spokesperson for the Richins family, estimated it would take the new attorneys between four and six months to fortify their defense.

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The initial preliminary hearing was postponed after Lazaro made several eleventh-hour objections over evidentiary disagreements. 

She also filed to disqualify Summit County prosecutors from the case a few days later, accusing Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth of “severe violations that compromise the integrity of adversarial fairness.” Lazaro said the Attorney’s Office’s involvement could violate her client’s rights.

Lazaro also claimed the Attorney’s Office had been listening to jail calls between Kouri and one of her lawyers, and that the Sheriff’s Office and Bloodworth used “intimidation and interrogation” when interacting with the defense. Then she submitted her withdrawal.

County Attorney Margaret Olson has flatly denied all allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. She responded to the motion with a 26-page filing late last month. She argued the defense concocted a “wildly speculative conspiracy theory that has no place in a serious legal filing.”

“Ms. Lazaro intended the motion to be a hit piece from the outset. It is one thing to be distrustful of opposing counsel. … Here, Ms. Lazaro went a step farther. She knew that her accusations were untrue. She brought them anyhow and publicized them globally,” prosecutors said.

It’s unclear how the Nester Lewis law firm plans to proceed with the filings made by the previous defense.

A court date has not yet been scheduled to rule on those pending motions.

Kouri has been held without bail in the Summit County Jail since her arrest in May 2023. She’s charged with aggravated murder, attempted criminal homicide, distribution of a controlled substance, forgery, mortgage fraud and false insurance claims stemming from the death of her husband. 

Eric died of a fentanyl overdose in early March 2022. Prosecutors allege Kouri poisoned him with a Moscow Mule laced with fentanyl, and say she attempted to kill him a month earlier with a drug-laced sandwich. The County Attorney’s Office says Kouri felt trapped in her marriage and had a financial motive to kill her husband.

Kouri and her family have maintained her innocence. She’s also involved in a civil suit with the Richins family for custody of the couple’s three children as well as the family home.

Kouri faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. The case is not up for capital punishment.