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Tonight's guest, Mike Tornincasa, started out as a paranormal investigator, but due to a series of experiences he had while doing field investigations in places with a history of paranormal events, he's now a paranormal/sasquatch investigator. The first experience he had that might have involved seeing a sasquatch happened about 4 years ago, in an old cemetery, in Ravenna, Ohio. To this day, Mike's not sure what it was that he saw. A few weeks ago, however, he had a clear sighting of a sasquatch. You see, he was doing a livestream for his podcast that night, in Cuyahoga Valley National Forest, in Summit County, Ohio, and wound up seeing an 8-plus-foot-tall sasquatch peek out at him from behind a tree. Mike got the impression the sasquatch wanted him to see it. Needless to say, the experience made quite the impression on Mike. He's officially caught the sasquatch bug now.If you'd like to check out Mike's podcast, MT Paranormal Life, which we hope you will, please visit…https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoq5ddP3YYqUgoezNkF-digIf you'd like to visit the MT Paranormal Life Facebook Page, please visit… If you've had at least one Sasquatch sighting and would like to be a guest on the show, please go to BigfootEyewitness.com and let me know. I'd love to hear from you.If you'd like to help support the show, by buying your own Bigfoot Eyewitness t-shirt or sweatshirt, please visit the Bigfoot Eyewitness Show Store, by going to https://Dogman-Encounters.MyShopify.comI produce 4 other shows that are available on your favorite podcast app. If you haven't checked them out, here are links to all 4 channels on the Spreaker App...My Bigfoot Sighting https://www.spreaker.com/show/my-bigfoot-sighting Dogman Tales https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dogman-tales--6640134Dogman Encounters https://www.spreaker.com/show/dogman-encounters-radio_2 My Paranormal Experience https://www.spreaker.com/show/my-paranormal-experience Thanks, as always, for listening!
Navigating short-term rental regulations in Summit County just got a whole lot easier. In this episode, Candice De unveils a brand-new interactive map tool — built with the help of AI — that consolidates STR licensing information from all seven jurisdictions and unincorporated Summit County into one searchable, parcel-level map.Candice walks through each basin and municipality — Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, Frisco, Copper Mountain, Blue River, and Breckenridge — breaking down where licenses are available, where waitlists exist, and where STRs are restricted altogether. She also shares a critical update on Blue River's 2026 license freeze and explains why understanding STR eligibility matters even if you never plan to rent your property.Find the map at amynakos.com/short-term-rentals.Note: This map covers jurisdictional rules and does not include HOA overlays.
Prosecutors privately begin questioning Adam Mosher's false peer review claims, while defense attorney Don Malarcik uncovers evidence that Cybercheck reports were manually edited—contradicting claims that the system was fully automated. As the critical Daubert hearing approaches, prosecutors abruptly withdraw Cybercheck as evidence rather than defend it in court, effectively ending its use in Summit County without admitting wrongdoing. National reporting and expert analysis further undermine the technology's credibility, comparing it to unsupported pseudoscience. But despite Cybercheck being abandoned locally and Mosher facing investigation, Don realizes the tool has silently continued to spread across the country and raises troubling questions about how easily unproven technology can influence the justice system.Binge all 9 episodes of this season on our YouTube page, or get them ad-free on CBC True Crime Premium on Apple Podcasts.A listener's guide to Uncover: Where to go next
Park City-area water providers unaffected by EPA's PFAS switch-up, Executive Director of Park Silly Sunday Market Kate McChesney previews this year's market that opens Sunday, Rental ‘compound' wins partial legal victory against Summit County, Park City Manager Adam Lenhard and Deputy City Manager Heather Sneddon preview this week's city council meeting, Summit County Stormwater Manager Kelsey Christensen has details on Saturday's Trails, Trash and Tunes event (38:29), New website sheds light on MIDA amid data center controversy, and Park City Ski and Snowboard taps longtime local as new director
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
A children's book called "Are You With Me?" with a father in angel wings on the cover. Published one year after Eric Richins' death. Promoted on local television by the woman convicted of killing him.The prosecution called it deflection. And it was. But this episode argues it was something far more psychologically complex: Kouri Richins building the version of reality she needed to inhabit. Not a mask over the truth — an alternate truth she constructed and moved into. And in that constructed reality, the grief was real.This is the second episode in a five-part breakdown of Kouri Richins' psychology. The 911 call that went from hysterical to composed in hours. The Google searches that read like a project manager's status report. The email she sent Summit County preemptively explaining away suspicion she could feel building. And the TV appearance that reveals the most disturbing thing about this kind of mind: the sincerity. She may have meant every word. And that's worse than if she'd been faking.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #Psychology #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #FentanylPoisoning #SummitCounty #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice
Summit County tax policy leaves some in affordable housing behind (3:34), Summit County Clerk Malena Stevens discusses what voters need to know prior to primary election ballots going out next week (7:05), Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute has announced that the upcoming season that starts in October will be his final season at Ballet West (24:35), PC/SC Arts Council Latino Arts Festival Manager Andrea Zavala and Julieta Gesualdo a member of the advisory committee have details on this year's Latino Arts Fest (38:27), and Park City woman one climb away from world record (48:17)
Park City Farmers Market celebrates 25 years this summer (3:25), Park City Council approves waste requirements for local businesses (3:35), Vice President of Summit Pride Foundation Kris Campbell has details on this year's Pride activities (5:56), Community gardeners can start planting in Summit County (18:07), Park City Chamber Bureau Senior Director of Partner Services Scott House has a monthly update and recap of the Wasatch Back Economic Summit (19:38), and Park City resident Jenn Drummond and her sons Joe and Jacob talk about climbing Mont Blanc as their mom attempts to become the first woman to climb all 7 Summits and all 2nd 7 Summits (37:31)
Coalville, Oakley to vote on renewable energy program, Wasatch County Health Department's Jonelle Fitzgerald on recent measles exposure in the county and a warning ahead of tick season, Summit County prepares for active fire season with siren, alerts, Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey has a recap of last night's meeting, Park City Opera's Lisl Wangermann previews the nonprofit's summer concerts, UDOT shares 3 potential revisions to Heber Valley bypass route, Park City High School memorial run honors 5 graduates who died in 2008, and LDS Church makes $25 million contribution matched by Bezos family.
ow do you share a vision that has never been seen before? Mark Schmitz shares how ZebraDog acted as a conduit for the vision of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture. Zebradog knew how to tell stories through a space and The Center team knew the stories of the Black community, and they came together to bring these stories to life. Dr. Gee and Mark discuss the importance of storytelling, especially right now, where history and storytelling are in danger. Mark works on projects all over the world but he has been changed by the this hometown project that is a part of his shared community. They explore together how we are the embodiment of our history and how you become the buildings that you inhabit. The space of The Center is a hopeful vision of what we want to see for the Madison community. Mark has been in the visual design and storytelling world since 1985. About 35 years ago, he started shaping what would become ZEBRADOG with a simple but bold idea: combine traditional visual communication design thinking with emerging technologies to create environments that engage all the senses. He wanted to build places that tell stories, connect people to brands in authentic ways, and invite them to linger a little longer—to learn, to touch, to feel. Today, that idea has grown into a world-class experiential design consortium that brings visual brands to life within built environments around the globe. The ZEBRADOG team is made up of exhibit architects, interior and graphic designers, producers, programmers, and software developers, all sharing one thing in common: they're passionate thinkers who love what they do. Mark travels across the country speaking about "Dynamic Environments" and "The Human Experience of a Brand." He's a frequent keynote speaker for groups like the American Institute of Architects, the International Interior Design Association, and the American Marketing Association. As a Certified Experience Economy Expert (CEEE), he helps clients understand how to design experiences that feel personal and memorable. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Taliesin Preservation, Inc., where he's helping shape design programs that elevate the industry and celebrate creative heritage. And when he's not deep in a ZEBRADOG project, you might find him rating golf courses for Golfweek Magazine, lending a hand at Taliesin, or tearing up the mogul fields in Summit County—still smiling on his 62 year-old knees. alexgee.com Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme Join the Black Like Me Listener Community Facebook Group
Summit County Manager Shayne Scott discusses the agenda for Wednesday's county council meeting, Park City prepares for long wildfire season following warm winter, South Summit Superintendent of Schools Greg Maughan has details on last night's board meeting, People's Health Clinic Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mairi Leining and Pediatrics Medical Director Dr. Zainab Kagen with an update, Expert: ‘New Utah' remains prosperous amid U.S. economic downturn, Summit County health officials prepare for hantavirus response
Summit County Sheriff spokesperson Skyler Talbot has an update on law enforcement issues, including ICE operations, the Summit County Attorney's Office investigation into the Wasatch County sheriff and how drones are being used in crime-fighting, Heber City Manager Matt Brower previews Tuesday's city council meeting, which includes at look at the budget for fiscal year 2027 and YMCA Director of Day Camps Ashley Ballew and Director of Overnight Camps Cali Gurnicki have details on this summer's day and overnight camp programs in Park City and Summit County.
In this episode of the OutThere Colorado Podcast, Spencer and Seth chat about the pros and cons of 'pay-to-play' in outdoor recreation, a 27-year-old turkey hunter who went missing in the area of a 14,000-foot peak, a potential expansion for Colorado Gators Reptile Park, changes that may impact access in Summit County, a hit new series that features Colorado, top 'apres ski spots,' and more.
Executive Director of Utah Housing Coalition Project Manager Zoe Newmann previews its annual awards, including two Summit County winners, Youth Sports Alliance Executive Director Emily Fisher and Programs Director Heather Sims recap the successful Olympic Parade with 80 local athletes and Snyderville Basin Recreation District Director Robert Parrish had details on a community meeting to give locals a look at designs for future recreation facilities.
What happens after you build a successful life?For some, it's more deals. More growth. More scale. For others, it's something different.In this episode of the Mountain Real Estate Podcast, Candice sits down with Greg Gaskell—a former builder who spent decades constructing homes and commercial projects—before shifting his focus to something far more impactful: people.From building structures… to building relationships… to ultimately creating a legacy home in Breckenridge, Greg shares the journey that led him to Summit County—and why this decision had less to do with real estate, and more to do with time, family, and purpose.We cover:The transition from building buildings to investing in peopleWhy “time” becomes the most valuable currency later in lifeWhat actually drives legacy-focused real estate decisionsHow a Breckenridge home became the foundation for future memoriesIf you're thinking about what comes next—not just financially, but personally—this conversation is worth your time.
We're visiting Echo, Utah, a place that held onto murderous secrets for over one-hundred years. I'm starting in the old cemetery near one of the most historic corridors in the American West, then walking into the strange and still unresolved story that seven human skeletons were discovered under a saloon after Echo's railroad boom faded. Summit County's own history page confirms that after the railroad moved on, seven skeletons were found under one saloon, and the surviving Echo Church and School still stands nearby as a witness to that era. Then we're coming forward to the present day where prosecutors in Summit County have now charged Reina Chavez-Sandobal and Francisco Santos-Morales with murder in the death of Juan Manuel Sanchez, whose body was found nearby. Investigators say the victim was drugged, beaten, transported, and dumped and the charging documents outline text messages, surveillance video, a hammer, a blood-stained blanket, and a body-disposal effort that looks far more rushed and disorganized than the alleged suspects are suggesting. What ties these stories together is not just geography. It's behavior. One case reflects how the dead could vanish in a frontier boomtown and stay hidden for generations. The other shows how hard it is to make a body disappear in the modern world of cameras, license plate readers, forensic pathology, and digital evidence. This case tells us something about offender planning, panic, concealment, and why dump sites are often more revealing than killers think.#ProfilingEvil #EchoUtah #EchoCanyon #SummitCounty #BrownsCanyon #JuanManuelSanchez #ReinaChavezSandobal #FranciscoSantosMorales #VictimsMatter #SurvivorsMatter #DomesticViolence #TrueCrime #ColdCase #WildWestHistory #RailroadHistory #UtahCrime #BodyDumping #CriminalBehavior #ForensicInvestigation #MissingPersons========================================CrimeCon Discount Code: https://crimecon.regfox.com/cctw3ntys1x (In Voucher/Coupon area, enter: PROFILINGEVIL========================================https://gamutpodcasts.com/show/gardensofevilinsidethezionsocietycult/========================================20% OFF Newspapers.comhttps://www.newspapers.com/go/podcast/?ref=profilingevil?xid=8877&utm_source=ProfilingEvilPodcast&utm_medium=podcst&utm_campaign=ProfilingEvil26========================================Email your questions to: ProfilingEvil@gmail.com========================================
*This is Part 2 of our series on the murder of Eric Richins. Start with Episode 1 if you haven't already. March 4th, 2022. Eric Richins, a 39-year-old husband and father, is found dead in his Kamas, Utah home. Toxicology reveals illicit fentanyl at five times the lethal concentration. He had no history of drug use. As the official investigation stalled, Kouri Richins — Eric's wife — quietly began filing claims on his life insurance policies. His family, unconvinced by the narrative she was spinning, hired a private investigator. What he uncovered changed everything. A pattern of financial fraud. Evidence of infidelity. A motive that had been building for years inside what looked, from the outside, like an ordinary Utah marriage. And then the friends started talking. The people Kouri had confided in, leaned on, and counted on to stand beside her, began telling Summit County authorities a very different story. In Part 2 of Are You With Me? — The Poisoned Marriage and Murder of Eric Richins — we follow the private investigation, the witness accounts, and the moment the case shifted from a stalled inquiry to a homicide prosecution. Chapters 00:00 — Introduction 05:26 — P.I. Todd Gabler finds Carmen Lauber connection 11:08 — Jeff O'Driscoll is the new detective on the case 14:16 — Police talk to Carmen Lauber who sings like a canary 23:43 — The Walk the Dog letter is discovered 35:20 — Meet Summit Co. Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth 36:52 — Kouri Richins trial begins 42:10 — The Orange Notebook 47:02 — Witnesses for the prosecution take the stand 49:16 — Kouri Richins ex-lover Josh Grossman takes the stand 52:15 — The defense rests without calling a single witness 53:40 — Kouri Richins found guilty 56:25 — Bless Your Heart Listen & Follow YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts FB Group The In-laws & Outlaws Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram @hitched2homicide Follow us on X @H2H_Podcast Watch H2H on Youtube @hitched2homicidepodcast Send Kris & Rob a Message Sources used for this podcast Follow and Read Books by Kris Calvert or get a FREE BOOK HERE Instagram: @kriscalvertauthor X: @kriscalvert Facebook Follow and listen to music by Rob Pottorf iTunes Spotify Pandora Instagram @robpottorfmusic X @RobPottorfMusic Facebook All information contained in this audio podcast is provided for entertainment purposes only. The authors leave any and all conclusions to individual members of the audience. The author offers no statements of fact beyond those available through diligent private research or through information freely available in the public record. To the extent that pending or settled criminal matters or crime or possible crimes, are discussed in this audio podcast, all parties or defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. To the extent that any pending or settled civil matters are discussed in this podcast, all parties or defendants are presumed not liable unless proven liable in a court of law. Copyright for material incorporated and presented under Fair Use is retained by the original author or copyright holder where applicable. Our cases are researched using open source and archive materials, and the subjects are real crimes and people. We strive to produce each episode with respect to the victims, their families and loved ones. At Hitched 2 Homicide we are committed to always discussing how victims lived, and not just how they died. All podcast information is gleaned from sources given. All opinions in the podcast are solely of Hitched 2 Homicide. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Investigators arrested a woman who they believe killed her husband and dumped his body along a rural county road. We learned this morning that the woman's boyfriend has also been arrested. Greg and Holly discuss the details of this ongoing investigation.
2nd person arrested in connection with body found dumped in Summit County Are Younger Adults Returning to Faith? US Fighter Jet Reportedly Shot Down Over Iran Legal Trouble for 'The Life of a Showgirl' by Taylor Swift General Conference Weekend in SLC: Weather, Parking, and Inside the Tabernacle Choir Movies That Should Be Video Games
A Summit County jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict against Kouri Richins on charges of murdering her husband Eric with a lethal dose of fentanyl. No murder weapon was physically recovered. The state's star witness sustained credibility damage on cross-examination. The defense presented zero witnesses. The jury, by its own public account, walked into deliberations hoping to find innocence — and deliberated for three hours before returning a verdict they could not avoid.This week on True Crime Today, we examine the full legal record of what produced that verdict and what comes after it.The prosecution's case was built on pattern evidence rather than a single dispositive piece of physical proof. Eric Richins executed a full estate restructuring approximately eighteen months before his death, documenting for his attorney that his purpose was to protect his children from his wife. That legally formalized, pre-mortem expression of fear was before the jury alongside a financial pattern: undisclosed debt, insurance policies Eric reportedly had no knowledge of, and alleged signature forgeries across multiple documents. Taken individually, no element closes the case. As a pattern, it held against a jury that was actively looking for an alternative.The appeal record has substance. Defense attorneys have documented grounds including a denied venue change motion, multiple mistrial motions rejected throughout trial, a coaching video, and contested evidentiary rulings. Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer assesses each ground against what Judge Mrazik built into the record — including his on-the-record confirmation of Kouri's waiver of her right to testify and the defense's decision to call no witnesses, both of which appear specifically designed to limit appellate exposure. Former prosecutors reviewing this case have described it as an extraordinarily difficult appeal to win.Separate from the murder conviction: twenty-six pending financial felony charges involving mortgage fraud, money laundering, and bad checks have not yet gone to trial. Sentencing on the murder conviction is scheduled for May 13th.The verdict is rendered. The legal exposure continues.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsVerdict #TrueCrimeLaw #FentanylMurder #KouriRichinsAppeal #JenniferCoffindaffer #TrueCrimeToday #MurderTrial #JusticeForEric
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
A Summit County jury found Kouri Richins guilty of murdering her husband Eric with a lethal dose of fentanyl. No murder weapon recovered. The star witness credibility-damaged on the stand. The defense offering zero witnesses in response. A jury that walked in, by their own public account, hoping to acquit her — and came back unanimous anyway.This week on Hidden Killers, Tony Brueski and retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer examine what this verdict was actually built on and what the road ahead looks like for a case that is nowhere near finished.The evidentiary core was never one single piece. It was a pattern. Eric Richins quietly restructured his estate roughly eighteen months before his death, telling his attorney the explicit reason was to protect his children from his wife. That documented fear — formalized in legal paperwork before the fact — sat in front of the jury alongside undisclosed debt, insurance policies Eric reportedly had no knowledge of, and alleged signature forgeries. No single element closes the case. Together, they constructed something a jury of eight people who wanted to find innocence still could not dismantle in three hours of deliberation.Kouri Richins will appeal. Her attorneys have material: a denied venue change request, multiple mistrial motions that were rejected, evidentiary rulings contested throughout trial, and a coaching video. Jennifer Coffindaffer breaks down whether any of it has a realistic path to moving the verdict — and why Judge Mrazik's methodical approach of confirming Kouri's waiver of testimony and the defense's decision to call no witnesses directly on the record may have already foreclosed the most viable arguments.Still pending: twenty-six financial felony charges in a separate case involving mortgage fraud, money laundering, and bad checks. Sentencing on the murder conviction is scheduled for May 13th — what would have been Eric's 44th birthday.The verdict is in. The legal exposure is not close to over.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #GuiltyVerdict #FentanylMurder #JenniferCoffindaffer #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #KouriRichinsAppeal #MurderTrial #JusticeForEric
The spring snow risk forecast from the Utah Avalanche Center forecast, Summit County Councilmember Megan McKenna recaps Wednesday's meeting including the sheriff's office expansion and Cline Dahle development's zoning issues, Weilenmann School of Discovery Principal Elizabeth Phillips details the new PEAK program designed to help young athletes balance school and training and the Arts Council of Park City and Summit County's Jocelyn Scudder and Mountain Town Music's Brian Richards talk about this month's musical gallery stroll.
In this episode of the Mountain Real Estate Podcast, Candice sits down with Lauren Hitchell, a local Summit County business owner, to talk about what it really looks like to build a life—and a business—in the mountains.Lauren shares her journey from moving to Summit County with just a few dollars and a broken Jeep, planning to stay for one ski season… to building a successful, family-focused home watch and property service business years later.This is a conversation about more than real estate—it's about lifestyle, relationships, and what homeowners actually need when they aren't here full-time.In this episode, we cover:What home watch services are and why they matter for second homeownersHow Lauren built her business almost entirely through word of mouthThe difference between high-touch local service vs. large property management companiesWhat to look for when hiring someone to care for your mountain homeWhy flexibility and transparency matter more than flat-fee modelsWhether you own a second home in Summit County, are thinking about buying one, or just love hearing real stories from locals who made it work—this episode is packed with insight.Like, subscribe, and share with anyone shopping in Summit County—or thinking about it. #SummitCounty #Breckenridge #Keystone #FriscoColorado #Silverthorne #DillonColorado #BlueRiver #ColoradoRealEstate #STRInvesting #MountainRealEstatePodcast #WhereToBuyInSummitCounty
Kouri Richins has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of her husband Eric Richins following a Summit County trial in which the prosecution established he died from a lethal dose of fentanyl administered without his knowledge. The jury reached its verdict despite the absence of a physically recovered murder weapon and credibility challenges to the prosecution's star witness — a combination that in many cases is sufficient to support a reasonable doubt defense.The documentary record proved central. Approximately 18 months before his death, Eric Richins executed a formal estate restructuring with communications to his attorney explicitly stating his purpose was to protect his children from Kouri Richins. That prior legal act — memorialized in attorney-client correspondence by the victim himself before his death — provided the jury with a pre-mortem account of the domestic circumstances that no trial witness could have independently provided or undermined.The financial evidence amplified that foundation: undisclosed debts attributed to Kouri Richins, insurance policies Eric Richins allegedly had no knowledge of, and alleged signature forgeries. No individual element was independently dispositive. As a cumulative pattern, they constructed a motive framework the defense chose not to address through testimony.The appellate record carries material worth evaluating. A coaching video connected to the prosecution's star witness raised procedural concerns. That witness sustained public credibility damage during cross-examination. The lead detective's sworn testimony included an acknowledgment that fentanyl was not physically recovered from the crime scene. Whether those issues satisfy the threshold for reversible error requires analysis of whether they individually or cumulatively affected the verdict in a way an appellate court would deem prejudicial.Sentencing follows conviction. The position Kouri Richins takes at that proceeding — continued assertion of innocence or expression of remorse — carries both legal and strategic implications for the appeal timeline.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #TrueCrimeLaw #FentanylMurder #GuiltyVerdict #AppealAnalysis #TrueCrimeToday #JenniferCoffindaffer #CriminalJustice #MurderConviction
Day 5 of the Kouri Richins trial, and the courtroom in Summit County is packed. The Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, is facing aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Scott breaks down the opening salvos: the state's poison-and-profit theory, the defense's "sensational media vs. real evidence" spin, the fight over hunting photos, and why people were lining up before 5 a.m. just to get a wristband. We'll walk through what the jury heard, how the judge is running this courtroom, and what today's moves tell us about the battle that's coming. #KouriRichins #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #CourtroomCoverage #CrimeTalk #EricRichins
Day 3 of the Kouri Richins trial, and the courtroom in Summit County is packed. The Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, is facing aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Scott breaks down the opening salvos: the state's poison-and-profit theory, the defense's "sensational media vs. real evidence" spin, the fight over hunting photos, and why people were lining up before 5 a.m. just to get a wristband. We'll walk through what the jury heard, how the judge is running this courtroom, and what today's moves tell us about the battle that's coming. #KouriRichins #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #CourtroomCoverage #CrimeTalk #EricRichins
Day 4 of the Kouri Richins trial, and the courtroom in Summit County is packed. The Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, is facing aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Scott breaks down the opening salvos: the state's poison-and-profit theory, the defense's "sensational media vs. real evidence" spin, the fight over hunting photos, and why people were lining up before 5 a.m. just to get a wristband. We'll walk through what the jury heard, how the judge is running this courtroom, and what today's moves tell us about the battle that's coming. #KouriRichins #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #CourtroomCoverage #CrimeTalk #EricRichins
Day 1 of the Kouri Richins trial is finally here, and the courtroom in Summit County is packed. The Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, is facing aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Scott breaks down the opening salvos: the state's poison-and-profit theory, the defense's "sensational media vs. real evidence" spin, the fight over hunting photos, and why people were lining up before 5 a.m. just to get a wristband. We'll walk through what the jury heard, how the judge is running this courtroom, and what today's moves tell us about the battle that's coming. #KouriRichins #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #CourtroomCoverage #CrimeTalk #EricRichins
Day 2 of the Kouri Richins trial, and the courtroom in Summit County is packed. The Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, is facing aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Scott breaks down the opening salvos: the state's poison-and-profit theory, the defense's "sensational media vs. real evidence" spin, the fight over hunting photos, and why people were lining up before 5 a.m. just to get a wristband. We'll walk through what the jury heard, how the judge is running this courtroom, and what today's moves tell us about the battle that's coming. #KouriRichins #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #CourtroomCoverage #CrimeTalk #EricRichins
Brad Bloodworth, chief prosecutor for Summit County, serves up closing arguments in the Kouri Richins trial.The Kouri Richins murder trial continues in Utah as the state prosecutes the children's book author for allegedly poisoning her husband Eric Richins with fentanyl. Prosecutors allege she killed him for insurance money after secretly increasing his policy to $1.9 million. The defense maintains Eric died from accidental drug use.True Crime Today delivers real-time trial coverage as it happens—key testimony, critical cross-examinations, and the moments that matter. No waiting for nightly recaps. Watch the case unfold live.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #LiveTrial #EricRichins #UtahCourt #TrueCrimeNews #CourtTV #TrialWatch #BreakingCrime
Brad Bloodworth, chief prosecutor for Summit County, serves up closing arguments in the Kouri Richins trial.The Kouri Richins murder trial continues in Utah as the state prosecutes the children's book author for allegedly poisoning her husband Eric Richins with fentanyl. Prosecutors allege she killed him for insurance money after secretly increasing his policy to $1.9 million. The defense maintains Eric died from accidental drug use.True Crime Today delivers real-time trial coverage as it happens—key testimony, critical cross-examinations, and the moments that matter. No waiting for nightly recaps. Watch the case unfold live.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #LiveTrial #EricRichins #UtahCourt #TrueCrimeNews #CourtTV #TrialWatch #BreakingCrime
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Brad Bloodworth, chief prosecutor for Summit County, serves up closing arguments in the Kouri Richins trial.Kouri Richins stands accused of poisoning her husband Eric Richins with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022—allegedly to collect on a $1.9 million life insurance policy she secretly increased just weeks before his death. What prosecutors describe as a calculated murder-for-profit scheme, the defense calls a tragic accident involving a man who, they claim, had a hidden drug problem.This is gavel-to-gavel coverage of one of the most closely watched trials in Utah history. A children's book author. A grieving widow who wrote about "heaven" for kids while allegedly researching untraceable poisons. A husband who may have been killed in his own bed.Hidden Killers brings you complete trial coverage with expert analysis—no sensationalism, just the facts as they unfold.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #EricRichins #UtahTrial #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #FentanylPoisoning #MurderTrial #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Brad Bloodworth, chief prosecutor for Summit County, serves up closing arguments in the Kouri Richins trial.Kouri Richins stands accused of poisoning her husband Eric Richins with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022—allegedly to collect on a $1.9 million life insurance policy she secretly increased just weeks before his death. What prosecutors describe as a calculated murder-for-profit scheme, the defense calls a tragic accident involving a man who, they claim, had a hidden drug problem.This is gavel-to-gavel coverage of one of the most closely watched trials in Utah history. A children's book author. A grieving widow who wrote about "heaven" for kids while allegedly researching untraceable poisons. A husband who may have been killed in his own bed.Hidden Killers brings you complete trial coverage with expert analysis—no sensationalism, just the facts as they unfold.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #EricRichins #UtahTrial #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #FentanylPoisoning #MurderTrial #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice
When the Summit County Sheriff's Office investigation into Eric Richins' death stalled, his family hired their own investigator. That investigator just finished testifying — and the defense had no answer for him.Todd Gabler spent roughly a year building an independent case before Kouri Richins was arrested. Without a warrant, he obtained phone billing records through Eric's business and discovered that between January and May 2022, Carmen Lauber — the housekeeper who has testified she procured drugs for Kouri on multiple occasions — was Kouri's third most frequent phone contact. Her mother was first. Eric was second. The woman allegedly at the center of the drug supply chain was third. Gabler noticed Lauber's extensive criminal history and drug court violations and alerted the Sheriff's Office before detectives had made that connection themselves.He placed covert GPS trackers on Kouri's car and her mother's vehicle. He conducted nearly 50 interviews — Kouri's family refused every request. He searched the Richins home, found apparent attorney-client documents, placed them in a manila envelope unread, and delivered them untouched. He handed prosecutors two hard drives containing audio, video, photographs, computer forensics, and a cloned copy of Eric's iPhone. When asked on cross whether he had considered other fentanyl sources in Summit County as a possible explanation for Eric's death, he said he had — and found no connection.His testimony was the final civilian witness in the prosecution's case, arriving on a day that already featured a celebration video from the day after Eric died, a likely forged insurance signature, a chilling 911 call, and a detective who said Eric's own sister pointed toward Kouri at the scene.The prosecution rests after one more witness. Then the defense has to explain all of it.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #CarmenLauber #EricRichins #TrueCrime #FentanylMurder #UtahMurderTrial #TrueCrimeToday #HiddenKillers #MurderTrial
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The defense in the Kouri Richins murder trial has built its case around one central argument: Eric Richins had a history of substance use, and his death was a tragic accident. On the tenth day of testimony, a private investigator hired by Eric's own family took the stand and systematically dismantled that theory from every angle.Todd Gabler spent roughly a year investigating Eric's death independently before Kouri was arrested. Operating under rules that gave him access law enforcement couldn't get without a warrant, he pulled phone billing records and found that Carmen Lauber — the housekeeper prosecutors say sourced the fentanyl — was Kouri's third most frequent contact in the months surrounding Eric's death. He flagged Lauber's criminal history and drug court violations to the Sheriff's Office before detectives had identified her as a key figure. He placed GPS trackers on Kouri's car and her mother's vehicle. He conducted nearly 50 interviews. He handed over two hard drives of evidence. And when the defense asked whether other fentanyl sources in Summit County could explain Eric's death, Gabler said he looked into it and found no connection to this case.The defense noted he is not law enforcement. He agreed. He also made clear he doesn't need to be.That testimony came on a day when the jury also watched video of Kouri celebrating the day after Eric died, heard a forensic examiner say Eric's signature on a life insurance application was likely forged, listened to the full 911 call in which Kouri describes her husband as cold and dead weight, and heard a detective testify that Eric's sister flagged Kouri's potential involvement from the moment she arrived at the scene.The prosecution is nearly done. One witness remains.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #EricRichins #911Call #TrueCrime #UtahTrueCrime #FentanylMurder #HiddenKillers #MurderTrial #TrueCrimePodcast
Eric Richins didn't just die. According to testimony in his wife's murder trial, he saw it coming — and said so. He told his family to look at Kouri if anything happened to him. He met secretly with a divorce attorney and instructed her not to communicate by email because he was afraid Kouri would read it. He went to an estate planning attorney with concerns about his sons.He was found dead on March 4th, 2022, with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty. But two weeks of testimony in Summit County, Utah have produced a case built on her own words — texts to her boyfriend weeks before Eric died, a message to a friend saying "if I die, Eric did it," a text after his death saying "they will not take from me what is mine," and body cam footage of her telling a deputy the night Eric died that everything had been fine.Prosecutors also allege she attempted to poison him on Valentine's Day, three weeks before his death. A friend testified Eric told the story himself — like it was funny.The defense has genuine ammunition: a meth-positive immunized witness whose story changed, a drug supplier who walked back his account, and a cause of death the medical examiner listed as undetermined. This episode covers all of it.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinstrial #EricRichins #TrueCrimeUtah #FentanylMurder #UtahMurderTrial #CarmenLauber #TrueCrime2026 #TrueCrimeToday #SummitCountyTrial
WhoSusan Cross, Vice President of Operations at Aspen Skiing Company (and former Mountain Manager of Snowmass)Recorded onNovember 14, 2025 - which was well before I traveled to Snowmass and chased Cross around a bit in the pow. There she is tiny in the distance:About Aspen Skiing CompanyAspen Skiing Company (Skico) is part of something called Aspen One. Don't ask me what that is because even though they rolled it out two years ago I still have no idea what they're talking about. All I know or care about is that they own four ski areas and here is what I know about them:Don't be fooled by the scale of the map above - at 3,342 acres, Snowmass is larger than Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, and Aspen Highlands combined. The monster 4,400-foot vert means these lifts are massively shrunken to fit the map - Snowmass operates three of the 10 longest chairlifts in America, and seven chairlifts over one mile long:You can't ski or ride a lift between the four mountains, but free shuttles connect them all. Aspen Mountain, Highlands, and Buttermilk are all bunched together near town, and Snowmass is a short drive (15 to 20 minutes if traffic is clear and dependent upon which base area you want to hit):Why I interviewed herAmerican ski areas will often re-use chairlifts or snowcats that other operators have outgrown. Aspen Mountain re-used a whole town.In 1879, Aspen the city didn't exist, and by 1890 more than 5,000 people lived there. They came for silver, not snow. In less than a decade they laid out the Victorian street grid of brick and wood-framed buildings using hand tools and horses, with the Roaring Fork River as their supply road.Aspen's population collapsed in the economic depressions of the 1890s and didn't rebound to 5,000 for 100 years. The 1940 Census counted 777 residents. That was 16 years before the first chairlift rose up Ajax, a perfect ski mountain above an intact but semi-abandoned town made pointless by history.It was an amazing coincidence, really. Americans would never build a ski town on purpose. That's where the parking lots go. But hey it all worked out: Aspen evolved into a ski town that offset its European walk-to-the-chairlifts sensibility with a hard-coded American refusal to expand the historic street grid in favor of protectionism and mansion-building. The contemporary result is one of the world's most expensive real estate markets cosplaying as a quaint ski town, a lively and walkable mixed-use community of the sort that we idealize but refuse to build more of. Aspen's population is now around 7,000, most of whom live there by benefit of longevity, subsidy, inheritance, or extreme wealth. The city's median household income is just over $50,000. The median home price is $9.5 million. Anyone clinging to the illusion that Aspen is an actual ski town should consider that it took 25 years to approve and build the Hero's chairlift. Imagine what the fellows who built this whole city in half a decade without the benefit of electricity or cement trucks or paved roads would make of that.The illusory city, however, is a dynamic separate from the skiing. Aspen, despite its somewhat dated lift fleet, remains one of America's best small ski mountains. But it is small, and, with no green terrain and barely any blues, the ski area lacks the substance and scale to draw tourists west of Summit County and Vail.Sister mountain Snowmass does that. And while Snowmass did not benefit from an already-built town at its base, it did benefit from not having one, in that the mountain could evolve with a purpose and speed that Ajax, boxed in by geography and politics, never could. Snowmass has built 13 new aerial lifts this century, including the two-station, mountain-redefining Elk Camp Gondola; the Village Express six-pack, which is the fourth-longest chairlift in America; and, in just the past two years, a considerably lengthened Coney high-speed quad and a new six-pack to replace the Elk Camp chairlift.I've focused on Aspen's story a bit over the years (including this 2021 podcast with former Skico CEO Mike Kaplan), but probably not enough. The four Aspen mountains are some of the most important in American skiing, even if visitation doesn't quite match their status as skiing word-association champion among non-skiers (more on that below). Aspen, a leader not just in skiing but in housing, the environment, and culture, carries narrative heft, and the company's status as favored property of Alterra part-owner Henry Crown hints at deeper influence than Skico likely takes credit for. Aspen, like Big Sky and Deer Valley and Sun Valley, is rapidly emerging as one of the new titans of American skiing, unleashing a modernization drive that should lead, as Cross says in our conversation, to an average of at least one new lift per year across the portfolio. Snowmass' 2023 U.S. Forest Service masterplan envisions a fully modern mountain with snowmaking to the summit. Necessary and exciting as that all is, forthcoming updates to the dated masterplans at Aspen Highlands (2013) and Buttermilk (2008), could, Skico officials tell me, offer a complete rethinking of what Aspen-Snowmass is and how the ski areas orbit one another as a unit.And they do need to rethink the whole package. Challenging Skico's pre-eminence in the Circle of American Ski Gods are many obstacles, including but not limited to: an address that's just a bit remote for Denver to bother with or tourists to comprehend; a rinky-dink airport that can't land a paper plane; an only-come-if-you-have-nine-houses rap on the affordability matrix; a toxic combination of one of America's most expensive season passes and most expensive walk-up lift tickets; and national pass partners who do a poor job making it clear that Aspen is not one ski area but four.A lot to overcome, but I think they'll figure it out. The skiing is too good not to. What we talked about“I thought I had found Heaven” upon arrival in Aspen; Aspen in the 1990s; $200 a month to live in Carbondale; “as soon as you go up on the lifts, the mountain hasn't changed”; when Skico purchased formerly independent Aspen Highlands; Highlands pre-detachable lifts; four ski areas working (and not), as one ski resort; why there is “minimal sharing” of employees between the four mountains; why “two winter seasons, and then I was going back to Boston” didn't quite work out; why “total guilt sets in” if Cross misses a day of skiing and how she “deliberately” makes “at least a couple of runs” happen every day of the winter and encourages everyone else to do the same; Long Shot in the morning; the four pods of Snowmass; why tourists tend to lock onto one section of the mountain; “a lot of people don't realize their lift ticket is good for the four mountains”; “there's plenty of room to spread out and have a blast” even at busy Snowmass; defining the four mountains without typecasting them; no seriously there are no green runs on Aspen Mountain; the new Elk Camp six-pack; why Elk Camp doesn't terminate at the top of Burnt Mountain; why Elk Camp doesn't have the fancy carriers that came with 2024's new Coney Express lift; why Snowmass opted not to add bubbles to its six-packs; how Coney Express changed how skiers use Snowmass; why Coney is a quad rather than a six; why skiers can't unload at the Coney Express mid-station (and couldn't load last season); how Coney ended up with a mid-station and two bends along the liftline; the hazards of bending chairlifts and lessons learned from Alta's Supreme debacle; why Snowmass replaced the Cirque Poma with a T-bar (and not a chairlift); which mountain purchased the old Poma; Aspen's history of selling lifts and how the old Elk Camp wound up at Powderhorn ski area; where Skico had considered moving the Elk Camp quad; “we want everybody to stay in business”; why Snowmass didn't sell or relocate the Coney Glade lift; prioritizing future chairlift upgrades; the debate over whether to replace Elk Camp or Alpine Springs first, and why Elk Camp won; “what we're trying to do is at least one lift a year across the four mountains”; a photobomb from my cat; why the relatively new Village Express lift is a replacement candidate and where that lift could move; why we're unlikely to see the proposed Burnt Mountain chairlift anytime soon; and the new megalift that could rise on Aspen Mountain this summer.What I got wrong* I said that Breck had “T-bars serving their high peaks,” which is incorrect. In fact, Breck runs chairlifts close to the summits of Peak 8 (Imperial Superchair, the highest chairlift in North America), and Peak 6 (Kensho Superchair). I was thinking, however, of the Horseshoe T-Bar, an incredible high-alpine machine that I rode recently (it lands below Imperial Superchair on Peak 8).* I said that Maverick Mountain, Montana, was running a “1960-something” Riblet double. The lift dates to 1969, and is slated for replacement by Aspen Mountain's old Gent's Ridge fixed-grip quad, which Skico removed in 2024.* I referred to the Sheer Bliss chairlift as “Super Bliss,” which I think was fallout from over-exposure to Breck, where 12 of the chairlifts are named [SOMETHING] Superchair or some similar name.Why you should ski Aspen-SnowmassWhy do we ski Colorado? In some ways, it's a dumb question. We ski Colorado because everyone skis Colorado: the state's resorts account for 20 to 25 percent of annual U.S. skier visits, inbounds skiable acreage, and detachable chairlifts. Colorado is so synonymous with skiing that the state basically is skiing from the point of view of the outside world, especially to non-skiers who, challenged to name a ski resort, would probably come up with Vail or Aspen.But among well-traveled skiers, Colorado is Taylor Swift. Talented, yes, but a bit too obvious and sell-your-kidneys expensive. There's a lot more music out there: Utah gets more snow, Idaho and Montana have fewer people, B.C.'s Powder Highway has both of those things. Europe is cheaper (well, everywhere is cheaper). Colorado is only home to 26 public, lift-served ski areas, and only two of the 10 largest in America. Only seven Colorado ski areas rank among the nation's 50 snowiest by average annual snowfall. Getting there is a hassle. That awful airport. That stupid road. So many Texans. So many New Yorkers. Alternate, Man!But we all go anyway. And here's why: Colorado ski areas claim 14 of the 20 highest base areas in North America, and 16 of the 20 highest summits. What that means is that, unlike in Tahoe or Park City or Idaho, it never rains. Temperatures rarely top freezing. That means the snow that falls stays, and stays nice. Even in a mediocre Rocky Mountain winter – like this one – Colorado is able to deliver a consistent and predictable trail footprint in a way that no other U.S. ski state can match. Add in an abundance of approachable, intermediate-oriented ski terrain, and it's clear why America's two largest ski area operators center their multi-mountain pass empires in Colorado.Which brings us back to the thing most skiers hate the most about Colorado skiing: other skiers. There are just so many of them. And they all planned the same vacation. For the same time.But there is a back door. Around half of Colorado's 12 to 14 million annual skier visits occur at just five ski areas: Vail Mountain, Breck, Keystone, Copper, and Steamboat – often but not always strictly in that order. Next comes Winter Park, then Beaver Creek. And all the way down at number eight for Colorado annual skier visits is Snowmass.Snowmass' 771,259 skier visits is still a lot of skier visits. But consider some additional stats: Snowmass is the third-largest ski area in Colorado and the 11th-largest in America. From a skier visits-to-skiable-acreage ratio, it comes in way below the state's other 2,000-plus-acre ski areas (save Telluride, which is even more remote than Aspen):Why is that? The map explains it: Snowmass, and Aspen in general, lost the I-70 sweepstakes. They're too far west, too far off the interstate (so is Steamboat, but at least they have a real airport).Snowmass is worth the extra drive time. I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is slow-going but gorgeous, and the 40 miles of Colorado 82 after the interstate turnoff barely qualify as mountain driving – four lanes most of the way, no tight turns, some congestion but only if you're arriving in the morning. A roundabout or two and there you are at Snowmass.And here's what that extra two hours of driving gets you: all the benefits of Colorado skiing absent most of its drawbacks. Goldilocks Mountain. Here you'll find the fourth-highest lift-served summit in American skiing, the second-tallest vertical drop, and a dizzying, dazzling modern lift fleet spinning 20 lifts, including 9 detachables and a gondola. You'll find glorious ever-cruisers, tree-dotted and infinite; long bumpers twisting off High Alpine; comically approachable green zones at the village and mid-mountain. If Campground double is open, you can sample Colorado skiing circa 1975, alone in the big empty lapping the long, slow lift. And since the Brobots hate Snowmass, the high-altitude Hanging Valley and Cirque Headwall expert zones are always empty.That's one of four mountains. Towering, no-greens-for-real Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands are as rugged and wicked as anything a Colorado chairlift can drop you onto. And Buttermilk is just delightful – 2,000 vertical feet of no-stress-with-the-9-year-old, with fast lifts back to the top all day long.Podcast NotesOn Sugarbush and Mad River GlenI always like to make this point for western partisans: there is eastern skiing that stacks up well against the average western ski experience. Most of it is in northern Vermont, and two of the best, terrain-wise, are Alterra-owned Sugarbush - home of the longest chairlift in the world - and co-op-owned Mad River Glen, which still spins the only single chair in the lower 48. Here's Sugarbush:Mad River Glen is right next door. Just keep going looker's right off Mt. Ellen:On pre-Skico HighlandsWhoa that's a lot of lifts. And they're almost all doubles and Pomas.On Joe HessionHession is founder and CEO of Snow Partners, which owns Mountain Creek ski area, the Big Snow indoor ski ramp in New Jersey, Snow Cloud resort-management software, the Snow Triple Play Pass, and the Terrain Based Learning concept that you see in beginner areas all over America. He's been on the pod a few times, and he's a huge fan of Susan's.On Timberline's wonky vertMeasuring vertical drop is a somewhat hazardous game. Potential asterisks include the clandestine inclusion of hike-up terrain (Aspen Highlands), ski-down terrain with no return lift access (Sunlight), or both (Arapahoe Basin). Generally, I refer to lift-served vert, meaning what you can ski down and ride back up without walking. But even that gets tricky, as in the case of Timberline Lodge, Oregon, home to the tallest vertical drop in American lift-served skiing. We have to get mighty creative with the definition of “lift” however, since Timberline includes a 557-vertical-foot lift-served gap between the top of the Summit chairlift (4,290 feet) and the bottom of the Jeff Flood high-speed quad (4,847 feet). This is the result of two historically separate ski areas combining in 2018:Timberline's masterplan calls for a gondola from the base of Summit up to the top of Jeff Flood:For now, skiers can ski all the way down, but have to ride back up to Timberline from the Summit base via shuttle. To further complicate the calculus here, the hyper-exposed Palmer high-speed summit quad rarely runs in winter, acting mostly as a summer workhorse for camp kids. When Palmer's not running, a snowcat will sometimes shuttle skiers close to the unload point.Anyway, that's the fine print annotating our biggest lift-served vertical drop list:On Big Sky's new lifts and pod-stickingSnowmass' recent lift upgrade splurges are impressive, but Big Sky has built an incredible 12 aerial lifts in the past decade, 11 of them brand-new. These are some of the most sophisticated lifts in the world and include two six-packs, two eight-packs, a tram, and two gondolas. This reverse chronology of Big Sky's active lifts doubles as a neat history of the mountain's evolution from striver importing other resorts' leftovers to one of the top ski areas on the continent:Big Sky still has some older chairs spinning along its margins, but plenty of tourists spend their entire vacation just lapping the out-of-base super lifts (according to on-the-ground staff). The only peer Big Sky has in the recent American lift upgrade game is Deer Valley, which has erected nearly a dozen aerial lifts in just the past two years to feed its mega-expansion.On the Ikon Pass site being confusing as to mountain accessI just find the classification of four separate and distinct ski areas as one “destination” confusing, especially for skiers who aren't familiar with the place:On the new Elk Camp chairliftThe upside of taking nine years to distribute this podcast is that I was able to go ride Snowmass' gorgeous new Elk Camp sixer:On my Superstar lift discussion with KillingtonOn Aspen's history of selling liftsI somewhat overstated Aspen's history of selling lifts to smaller mountains. It seemed like a lot, though these are the only ones I can find records of:However, given Skico's enormous number of retired Riblets (28, all but two of which were doubles), and the durability and ubiquity of these machines, I suspect that pieces – and perhaps wholes – of Aspen's retired chairlifts are scattered in boneyards across the West.On the small number of relocated detachable lifts Given that the world's first modern detachable chairlift debuted at Breckenridge 45 years ago, it's astonishing how few have been relocated. Only 19 U.S. detaches that started life within the U.S. are now operating elsewhere in the country, and only nine moved to a different ski area:On Powderhorn's West End chairThe number of relocated detachables is set to increase to 10 next year, when Powderhorn, Colorado repurposes Snowmass' old Elk Camp quad to replace this amazing, 7,000-foot-long double chair, a 1972 Heron-Poma machine:Elk Camp is already sitting in a pile beside the load station (Powderhorn officials tell me the carriers are also onsite, but elsewhere):Powderhorn's existing high-speed quad, the Flat Top Flyer, also came used, from Marble Mountain in Canada.On Snowmass' masterplan and the proposed Burnt Mountain liftSnowmass' most recent U.S. Forest Service masterplan, released in 2022, shows the approximate location of a future hypothetical Burnt Mountain chairlift (the left-most red dotted line below):Unfortunately, Cross and the rest of Skico's leadership seem fairly unenthusiastic about actually building this lift. Right now, skiers can hike from the top of Elk Camp chair to access this terrain.On Aspen's Nell-Bell ProposalOh man how freaking cool would it be to ride one chairlift from Aspen's base to the top of Bell? Cross and I discuss Aspen Mountain's Forest Service application to do exactly that, with a machine along roughly this line parallel to the gondola:The new detachable would replace two rarely-used chairs: the Nell fixed-grip quad and the Bell Mountain double chair, which, incredibly, dates to 1957 (with heavy modifications in the 1980s), making it the fourth-oldest standing chairlift in the nation (after Mt. Spokane's 1956 Vista Cruiser Riblet, Mad River Glen's 1946 American Steel & Wire single chair, and Boyne Mountain's Hemlock Riblet double, moved to Michigan in 1948 after starting life circa 1936 as America's first chairlift – a single standing at Sun Valley).I lucked out with a gondola wind hold when I was in Aspen a few weeks back, meaning Nell was spinning:Sadly, Bell was idle, but I skied the liftline and loaded up on photos:On the original Lift 1 at AspenBehold Lift 1 on Aspen Mountain, a 1946 American Steel & Wire single chair that rose 2,574 vertical feet along an 8,480-foot line in something like 35 or 40 minutes. Details on this lift's origin story and history vary, but commenters on Lift Blog suggest that towers from this lift ended up as part of Sunlight's Segundo double following its removal from Ajax in 1971. That Franken-lift, which also contained parts from Aspen's Lift 3 – which dated to 1954 and may have been a Poma or American Steel & Wire machine, but lived its 52-year Sunlight tenure as a Riblet – came down last summer to make way for a new-used triple – A-Basin's old Lenawee chair.On the Hero's expansionAt just 826 acres, Aspen Mountain is the most famous small ski area in the West. The reason, in part, for this notoriety: a quirky, lively treasure chest of a ski area that rockets straight up, hiding odd little terrain pockets in its fingers and folds. The 153-acre Hero's terrain, a byzantine scramble of high-altitude tree skiing opened just two years ago, fits into this Rocky Mountain minefield like a thousand-dollar bill in a millionaire's wallet. An obscene boost to an already near-perfect ski mountain, so good it's hard to believe the ski area existed so long without it.Here's a mellow section of Hero's:And a less-mellow one (adding to the challenge, this terrain is at 11,000 feet):The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe
The Tim Conway Jr. Show Hour 1 (3.4) Tonight’s show kicks off with a full-on rant about parking elitists—the people who treat every curb like their personal VIP spot. Then Tim and the crew side-eye the “we just took the whole family skiing” humblebrags from TV anchors… while half the audience is living paycheck-to-paycheck. We’ve also got a straight-up feel-good survival story: Rocky, a dog missing for 43 days in Summit County, Colorado, is found alive—and the rescue team finally gets him back using a trap baited with peanut butter after weeks of setbacks. Plus: a dashcam nightmare as a boat comes loose on the 91 Freeway in Bellflower and darts across lanes like it’s trying to start its own insurance claim. Then it’s travel etiquette warfare: United may boot passengers who refuse to use headphones. And Starbucks is officially in spring mode with a fresh March 3 menu drop featuring new/returning chai, coconut, ube, and lavender flavors. We wrap with a local reset: the Sepulveda Basin cleanup push ramps up as the area preps to host multiple LA 2028 events See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Five days of testimony in the Kouri Richins murder trial have produced a credibility war. The prosecution's star witness claims she bought fentanyl for Kouri four times. The defense has exposed her meth use, her immunity deals, and her supplier's reversal. Kouri has maintained composure through it all. Former FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke breaks down who's telling the truth — and how to know.Dreeke served 21 years with the Bureau, including as Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. Reading people in high-stakes environments was his specialty. He understands what behavioral signals indicate reliability despite credibility problems — and what signals indicate performance.Carmen Lauber is the prosecution's key witness. She testified she obtained fentanyl for Kouri multiple times before Eric Richins died. But she was using methamphetamine during the relevant period. She received immunity from Summit County, Salt Lake County, and the federal government. Her own supplier, Robert Crozier, originally told detectives he sold fentanyl — but testified Friday it was oxycodone, blaming his original statement on being "detoxing and out of it."The defense is hammering every inconsistency. The prosecution needs the jury to believe her anyway. Dreeke explains how to assess whether a witness like Lauber is telling the truth despite the baggage — versus constructing a narrative that serves her immunity deal.He also reads Kouri's behavior. Nearly four years of maintaining innocence through investigation, arrest, hearings, and now trial. Sustained composure through testimony describing how she allegedly murdered her husband. What does that level of performance require psychologically — and where do the cracks show?Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #RobinDreeke #TrueCrimeToday #FBI #CarmenLauber #RobertCrozier #MurderTrial #BehavioralAnalysis #HiddenKillers
The Kouri Richins murder trial is three days in, and the defense is already drawing blood.Untested Moscow mule cups. An unsecured crime scene. White specks on the nightstand that nobody analyzed. A medical examiner who testified the manner of death is still "undetermined." Ten searches of the Richins home over four years—and prosecutors still can't tell the jury how fentanyl got into Eric Richins' body.Defense attorney Eric Faddis joins Hidden Killers Live to break down the defense strategy emerging in real time from the Summit County courtroom. Faddis has prosecuted cases like this and defended them. He knows what jurors see when evidence is missing, when chain of custody fails, and when the prosecution's theory depends on cups that were washed before anyone thought to test them.The prosecution has motive. They have circumstantial evidence. But do they have enough?We're taking your questions and analyzing the trial developments as they happen.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #EricRichins #HiddenKillersLive #FentanylPoisoning #UtahTrial #TrueCrime #EricFaddis #ReasonableDoubt #LiveTrial
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Eighteen days before Eric Richins died, he called two friends and said, "I think my wife tried to poison me." One friend says he heard fear in Eric's voice. That statement goes directly to the attempted murder charge against Kouri Richins—and it may be the most damaging evidence prosecutors have.Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down the first week of the Kouri Richins trial in Summit County, analyzing what we learned from opening statements and where this five-week case is most likely to be won or lost.The prosecution painted Kouri as a calculated killer who poisoned her husband for nearly $2 million in life insurance she allegedly took out without his knowledge. The defense promised to show the state's case is built on compromised witnesses and circumstantial evidence. Bob explains where those narratives will collide hardest.The Valentine's Day call is powerful—but it's secondhand testimony. Bob walks through how the defense will try to neutralize it without looking like they're attacking a dead man's friends. The strategy matters as much as the facts.Carmen Lauber—the housekeeper who claims she sold Kouri fentanyl—is the prosecution's key link between Kouri and the murder weapon. She's been granted immunity. Her supplier has recanted. No pills were ever recovered or tested. Bob explains how he'd approach cross-examining a witness whose credibility has already been undermined by her own source.The 15-minute gap before the 911 call. The orange notebook with Kouri's "firsthand account." The insurance fraud charges bundled with the murder. Bob analyzes each pressure point and explains where the defense has the best opportunity to create reasonable doubt.This is trial strategy broken down in real time—by someone who knows how cases are won and lost.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #ValentinesDay #FentanylPoisoning #KouriRichinsTrial #BobMotta #UtahMurder #DefenseAttorney #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Opening statements are done. The Kouri Richins murder trial is underway in Summit County. Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta joins us live to break down what we learned from week one and where this five-week trial is heading.Prosecutors painted Kouri as a calculated killer who poisoned her husband Eric with fentanyl for nearly $2 million in life insurance money. The defense promised to show the case is built on compromised witnesses and circumstantial evidence. Bob analyzes where those competing narratives will collide—and where the defense has the best opportunity to create doubt.The prosecution's key witness is Carmen Lauber—the housekeeper who claims she sold Kouri fentanyl. She's been granted immunity. Her supplier, Robert Crozier, has recanted and now says whatever he sold wasn't fentanyl. No pills were ever recovered or tested. Bob explains how a defense attorney would approach cross-examining a witness whose credibility has already been undermined.The 15-minute gap before Kouri called 911 is central to the state's theory. Her phone was unlocked six times during those minutes. First responders noted Eric "seemed like he had been dead a while." Bob walks through how the defense will try to explain that gap—and whether the explanation holds up.Two of Eric's friends will testify that eighteen days before his death, he called them and said "I think my wife tried to poison me." That statement is devastating for the defense. Bob explains the best strategy for neutralizing secondhand testimony.With over 1,000 exhibits and a hard deadline from Judge Mrazik, the defense says this case won't finish on time. Bob explains whether timeline pressure helps or hurts the prosecution.Join us live for real-time trial analysis from a defense attorney who knows how cases are won and lost.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #EricRichins #BobMotta #LiveTrial #FentanylPoisoning #UtahMurder #DefenseAttorney #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Two major case developments this week. FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke provides analysis on both.Kouri Richins' murder trial opens February 23rd in Summit County, Utah. Prosecutors have laid out years of alleged preparation: nearly $2 million in insurance policies taken out without Eric's knowledge, financial fraud discovered in 2020, and a compressed timeline in February 2022 between fentanyl procurement and his death. Robin applies his behavioral frameworks to ask what jury members should watch for—and examines Kouri's post-death behavior from the 911 call to the children's book tour to the "Walk the Dog" letter found in her cell.Nancy Guthrie remains missing while the FBI intensifies its investigation. This week: eighteen to twenty-four names with photographs shown to a Tucson gun shop owner. FBI outreach to Mexican federal law enforcement. Investigators canvassing shops to match a distinctive holster. Tech companies attempting to recover overwritten Nest footage. And CeCe Moore's assessment that the mixed DNA is "extremely hopeful" for genetic genealogy.Robin reads the investigative tempo across both cases. For Richins: What does sustained deception followed by public performance reveal about psychology? What separates genuine emotion from performance in a five-week trial? For Guthrie: What does FBI international outreach signal? What do the physical evidence details—ring visible through glove, unusual holster position, dropped glove—reveal about someone who showed forensic awareness?One case entering trial. One case building toward identification. The behavioral patterns and evidence that connect them.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RobinDreeke #KouriRichins #NancyGuthrie #TrueCrimeToday #FBIAnalysis #MurderTrial #Kidnapping #BehavioralProfiling #GeneticGenealogy #Investigation
Two of the most significant criminal trials in the country are unfolding simultaneously — and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis is here to break down both. The Kouri Richins murder trial begins February 23rd in Summit County, Utah, where prosecutors say she poisoned her husband Eric with a lethal dose of fentanyl mixed into a Moscow Mule. In Georgia, Colin Gray faces 29 felony counts including second-degree murder after prosecutors allege he armed his 14-year-old son with an AR-style rifle despite years of alleged warnings from the FBI, law enforcement, and child welfare officials.In this comprehensive interview, Faddis dismantles both cases from both sides — starting with the Richins defense's strongest pretrial wins and ending with why Colin Gray may be facing an unwinnable fight.The Richins case has been bleeding evidence for months. Robert Crozier, the man prosecutors called their key link in the fentanyl supply chain, has signed a sworn affidavit recanting his police statement — now saying the pills were OxyContin, not fentanyl. They were never recovered or tested. Lead Detective Jeff O'Driscoll faces witness intimidation allegations after text messages allegedly showed him threatening a witness with arrest. Judge Mrazik excluded the prosecution's domestic violence expert, limited FBI profiler Molly Amman's testimony, and twice denied bringing Kouri's 26 financial crime charges into the murder trial.But the prosecution's hand is loaded. They allege a prior Valentine's Day 2022 poisoning attempt where two friends reportedly say Eric called them saying his wife tried to kill him. Housekeeper Carmen Lauber is expected to testify that Kouri directly asked her to buy fentanyl twice — and after the first alleged attempt, requested "the Michael Jackson stuff." Google searches allegedly found on Kouri's phone include queries about lethal fentanyl doses, luxury prisons, insurance payouts, and deleting digital records. A letter found in her jail cell allegedly outlines false testimony for family members. A handwriting expert is prepared to testify that insurance document signatures were forged. And the medical examiner found more than five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in Eric's system.In the Colin Gray trial, prosecutors presented what they allege is years of warning signs: Colt's alleged 2021 search for "how to kill your dad," an FBI visit in 2023 over school shooting threats with instructions to reportedly restrict gun access, the alleged Christmas gift of the rifle seven months later, and by August 2024, Colt allegedly texting his father, "Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands," and asking him to buy 150 rounds of ammunition. Prosecutors allege Colt had a shrine to the Parkland shooter in his bedroom, was reportedly hearing voices, allegedly shoved his mother when she tried to take the gun, and was taking her prescription Zoloft without medical oversight. When officers arrived at the Gray home, Colin allegedly said two words: "I knew it."The defense argues Colt hid his plans. But the prosecution says the evidence was visible inside the home Colin controlled. Faddis explains the Georgia legal framework that charges cruelty to children as the basis for second-degree murder — a higher bar than the Crumbley manslaughter convictions — and gives his honest assessment of both cases as they head toward their most critical phases.#KouriRichins #ColinGray #EricRichins #ColtGray #FentanylMurder #SchoolShooting #ParentAccountability #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcastJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Two of the most significant criminal trials in the country are unfolding simultaneously — and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis is here to break down both. The Kouri Richins murder trial begins February 23rd in Summit County, Utah, where prosecutors say she poisoned her husband Eric with a lethal dose of fentanyl mixed into a Moscow Mule. In Georgia, Colin Gray faces 29 felony counts including second-degree murder after prosecutors allege he armed his 14-year-old son with an AR-style rifle despite years of alleged warnings from the FBI, law enforcement, and child welfare officials.In this comprehensive interview, Faddis dismantles both cases from both sides — starting with the Richins defense's strongest pretrial wins and ending with why Colin Gray may be facing an unwinnable fight.The Richins case has been bleeding evidence for months. Robert Crozier, the man prosecutors called their key link in the fentanyl supply chain, has signed a sworn affidavit recanting his police statement — now saying the pills were OxyContin, not fentanyl. They were never recovered or tested. Lead Detective Jeff O'Driscoll faces witness intimidation allegations after text messages allegedly showed him threatening a witness with arrest. Judge Mrazik excluded the prosecution's domestic violence expert, limited FBI profiler Molly Amman's testimony, and twice denied bringing Kouri's 26 financial crime charges into the murder trial.But the prosecution's hand is loaded. They allege a prior Valentine's Day 2022 poisoning attempt where two friends reportedly say Eric called them saying his wife tried to kill him. Housekeeper Carmen Lauber is expected to testify that Kouri directly asked her to buy fentanyl twice — and after the first alleged attempt, requested "the Michael Jackson stuff." Google searches allegedly found on Kouri's phone include queries about lethal fentanyl doses, luxury prisons, insurance payouts, and deleting digital records. A letter found in her jail cell allegedly outlines false testimony for family members. A handwriting expert is prepared to testify that insurance document signatures were forged. And the medical examiner found more than five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in Eric's system.In the Colin Gray trial, prosecutors presented what they allege is years of warning signs: Colt's alleged 2021 search for "how to kill your dad," an FBI visit in 2023 over school shooting threats with instructions to reportedly restrict gun access, the alleged Christmas gift of the rifle seven months later, and by August 2024, Colt allegedly texting his father, "Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands," and asking him to buy 150 rounds of ammunition. Prosecutors allege Colt had a shrine to the Parkland shooter in his bedroom, was reportedly hearing voices, allegedly shoved his mother when she tried to take the gun, and was taking her prescription Zoloft without medical oversight. When officers arrived at the Gray home, Colin allegedly said two words: "I knew it."The defense argues Colt hid his plans. But the prosecution says the evidence was visible inside the home Colin controlled. Faddis explains the Georgia legal framework that charges cruelty to children as the basis for second-degree murder — a higher bar than the Crumbley manslaughter convictions — and gives his honest assessment of both cases as they head toward their most critical phases.#KouriRichins #ColinGray #EricRichins #ColtGray #FentanylMurder #SchoolShooting #ParentAccountability #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcastJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Kouri Richins' defense says publicity has poisoned her jury pool beyond repair. But there's a detail the headlines missed — the judge already denied that motion days before the story even broke.Judge Richard Mrazik rejected the defense's second attempt to move the trial out of Summit County, finding that a fair and impartial jury can still be seated despite widespread awareness of the case. Prosecutors pointed to 830 potential jurors who said they hadn't heard of the case or hadn't followed it — nearly half the questionnaire pool. The defense's argument that only 72 viable jurors remain didn't hold up.What makes this case so well-known isn't reckless media coverage. It's the nature of the allegations themselves. A children's book about grief — written after her husband's death and before her arrest. A six-page jailhouse letter allegedly laying out fabricated testimony. Nearly $2 million in life insurance policies. And a drug source who now says under oath he never sold fentanyl at all.Richins is charged with aggravated murder in the 2022 fentanyl death of her husband Eric in Kamas, Utah. Prosecutors allege she spiked his cocktail with a fatal dose — five times the lethal amount found in his blood — after a failed attempt on Valentine's Day two weeks earlier. Her realty company allegedly owed at least $1.8 million while Eric's estate was worth roughly $5 million.Her case also appeared in a January 2026 DHS intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement about domestic partners using chemical and biological toxins to kill — seventeen documented cases since 2014 with at least eleven deaths.The defense wants this to be a story about an unfair system. But trace the notoriety back to its source and every thread leads to the same place. Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent. Trial begins February 23rd.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #TrueCrimeToday #VenueChangeDenied #SummitCountyTrial #FentanylPoisoning #WalkTheDogLetter #JurySelection #RobertCrozier #UtahMurderTrialJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Three collisions are happening at once in the Kouri Richins case, and they're all converging just as jury selection begins.First, the venue fight is done. Judge Mrazik denied the defense's second motion to move the trial out of Summit County on February 2nd. The defense said only 72 viable jurors remained from a pool where 85 percent recognized the case. Prosecutors said 830 potential jurors were unfamiliar with it or hadn't followed it. The judge wasn't persuaded by the defense math — for the second time.Second, Robert Crozier's recantation is hanging over the entire prosecution theory. The man who prosecutors say supplied fentanyl to Kouri's housekeeper Carmen Lauber now says under oath he sold OxyContin, not fentanyl. He says he was detoxing when he first told detectives otherwise. The defense says prosecutors knew about this since April 2025 and never disclosed it. The prosecution says the broader evidence still holds regardless of Crozier's credibility issues.Third, allegations of witness intimidation are creating new problems. Text messages filed with the court show lead detective Jeff O'Driscoll allegedly threatening a witness with arrest and a "catch pole for the dog" after she declined to be prepped for testimony. A second witness says investigator Travis Hopper warned that their immunity deal could be pulled. The defense calls it blatant intimidation. Prosecutors say it was proper.All of this lands in a courtroom with a hard March 27th deadline, over a thousand exhibits, and a defense team that says there's no scenario where this trial finishes on time.Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #TrueCrimeToday #RobertCrozier #JeffODriscoll #WitnessIntimidation #FentanylPoisoning #JurySelection #SummitCountyTrial #WalkTheDogLetterJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
The trial of Kouri Richins, the Utah mother and children's book author accused of poisoning her husband with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule, is officially underway in Summit County, Utah. Court TV Co-Anchor Ted Rowlands joins Chanley Painter to explain the high-stakes jury selection, the testimony from the victim's family, and the infamous "Walk the Dog" letter. They examine the motives, a previous attempted poisoning, and the potential strategy of the defense team. Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno If you have a story or topic we should feature on the FOX True Crime Podcast, send us an email at: truecrimepodcast@fox.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Kouri Richins murder trial begins February 23rd—and the prosecution has taken major hits before opening statements.Robert Crozier, the man who allegedly sold fentanyl to Kouri's housekeeper Carmen Lauber, has signed a sworn affidavit recanting his original statement. He now claims he sold OxyContin, not fentanyl, and says he was detoxing and "out of it" when he spoke to detectives in 2023.The defense argues this destroys the state's theory. If Crozier didn't provide fentanyl, Lauber couldn't have sold fentanyl to Kouri, and prosecutors can't place the murder weapon in her hands. Judge Richard Mrazik acknowledged this could "poke holes" in the case but denied bail anyway, saying substantial evidence remains.Now a new defense motion alleges prosecutors are intimidating witnesses—threatening arrest and suggesting immunity could be revoked if witnesses don't cooperate with additional preparation meetings.True Crime Today examines every pretrial ruling and what they mean for trial. The 26 financial fraud charges severed from the murder case. The domestic violence expert blocked entirely. The FBI profiler limited to rebuttal testimony only. The statements suppressed after detectives failed to Mirandize Kouri during a 2022 search.We also break down what prosecutors still have: Carmen Lauber's testimony, Eric's toxicology showing five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, the orange notebook allegedly detailing the night he died, and the "Walk the Dog" letter found in Kouri's jail cell that prosecutors call witness tampering. The defense says it was fiction.No fentanyl was ever recovered. No pills. No forensic link. 80% of Summit County residents recognize this case—and eight jurors from that county will decide Kouri's fate.This is everything you need to know before testimony begins.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #WitnessRecants #FentanylMurder #WalkTheDogLetter #UtahMurderTrial #PretrialRulings #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Eric Richins had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system. But no fentanyl was ever recovered. No pills. No forensic link tying Kouri Richins directly to the drugs. And now the witness who was supposed to prove where the fentanyl came from has recanted.Robert Crozier originally told investigators he sold fentanyl to the housekeeper in the alleged drug chain. Now he's signed a sworn affidavit saying it was OxyContin, not fentanyl—and that he was detoxing and "out of it" during the original interview.The defense says this eviscerates the prosecution's sourcing theory. If Crozier didn't provide fentanyl, the chain that supposedly put the murder weapon in Kouri's hands falls apart.But that's not the only bomb dropped before trial. A new motion alleges prosecutors are intimidating witnesses—threatening arrest and suggesting immunity could be revoked if witnesses don't cooperate with additional meetings.Defense attorney Eric Faddis breaks down what these developments mean. Is witness intimidation a legitimate concern or standard trial prep? Can prosecutors pivot on the drug sourcing without destroying their credibility? And what happens when your case depends on proving a poisoning you can't forensically connect to the defendant?We examine every pretrial ruling: the 26 financial fraud charges severed from the murder trial, the FBI profiler limited to rebuttal, the domestic violence expert blocked entirely, and the "Walk the Dog" letter allegedly found in Kouri's jail cell—prosecutors say it instructed her mother how to lie on the stand. The defense says it was fiction.80% of Summit County residents recognize this case. Eight jurors from that county will decide Kouri's fate.Trial begins February 23rd.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #FentanylMurder #WitnessRecants #WalkTheDogLetter #NoForensicLink #EricFaddis #UtahMurderTrial #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
(00:00:00) Welcome (00:00:36) Kouri Richins (00:08:50) Michael McKee Kouri Richins Defense Filings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vddTk82bnA Michael McKee booking video - https://youtu.be/l_E_H86QM3A?si=FaKfvcbaZLO_y10Z Michael McKee arraignment - https://youtu.be/_A5H7_V7L5o?si=qVBhUKQYImzjDlveThe episode opens with brief housekeeping notes before shifting into new developments in the Kouri Richins case. Jury selection is approaching, and defense attorneys have renewed their push to move the trial out of Summit County after survey data showed that more than 85% of respondents recognized the case, with about 60% following it closely.The state has filed a response, arguing it satisfied its Giglio disclosure obligations and accusing the defense of mischaracterizing witness-communication issues and creating unnecessary publicity shortly before trial.Michael McKee, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder and burglary in the killings of Spencer and Monique Tepe. We read through the probable-cause affidavit, including welfare-check discoveries, prior abuse allegations, surveillance footage linking a distinctive vehicle to the scene, and phone-location data showing long gaps in activity during the time of the homicidesAdditional details include alleged stalking weeks earlier, license-plate swaps, and the seizure of an SUV at McKee's workplace.Links: Kouri Richins Defense FilingMichael McKee booking videoMichael McKee arraignmentBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/pretty-lies-and-alibis--4447192/support.ALL MERCH 10% off with code Sherlock10 at checkout - NEW STYLES Donate: (Thank you for your support! Couldn't do what I love without all y'all) PayPal - paypal.com/paypalme/prettyliesandalibisVenmo - @prettyliesalibisBuy Me A Coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/prettyliesrCash App- PrettyliesandalibisAll links: https://linktr.ee/prettyliesandalibisMerch: prettyliesandalibis.myshopify.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/PrettyLiesAndAlibis(Weekly lives and private message board)