Kouri Richins: How the Defense Gutted the State's Case Before Trial

The murder trial hasn't even started and the defense has already taken pieces off the board. Robert Crozier recanted. Detective O'Driscoll is accused of threatening witnesses. Two prosecution experts were barred. And the 26 financial crime charges the state wanted to use as motive evidence? Severed entirely.

Defense attorney and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down the defense's strongest pretrial wins in the Kouri Richins case. Crozier — the man prosecutors said supplied fentanyl through housekeeper Carmen Lauber — has signed a sworn affidavit saying the pills were OxyContin, not fentanyl. He says he was detoxing and disoriented during his 2023 police interview. The pills were never recovered. Never tested. The state dropped drug distribution charges after that affidavit, and Faddis explains why that creates a gap in the murder weapon theory the prosecution may struggle to close.

He walks through the witness intimidation allegations against the lead detective, the strategic impact of losing both expert witnesses, and how the defense can exploit the severed financial charges to keep the jury narrowly focused. With jury selection completing in just two days in a county where 85 percent of residents knew the case, Faddis identifies what he believes is the defense's single biggest advantage heading into February 23rd.

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