SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A petition to sanction the attorneys representing Eric Richins’ family obtained by 2News Investigates, accuses the family of being the driving force behind the decision to bring a murder charge against his widow, Kouri Richins.
Eric Richins died of a fentanyl overdose on March 3, 2022. Summit County prosecutors allege that Kouri poisoned her husband with fentanyl and she was arrested and formally charged in May of 2023.
The accusations stem from a case filed in New York, where a member of Kouri’s defense team resides and was served a subpoena by attorneys working for Eric’s family. The filing claims this action demonstrates “sneaky behavior.”
MORE | Kouri Richins Murder Case:
Kouri has been in the Summit County Jail for over two years awaiting trial on aggravated murder charges. Initially, Eric’s death was ruled an overdose with no foul play involved. However, the filing in New York alleges that the murder charge, filed 14 months after Eric’s death, has to do with power and money.
Andrew Bourke is the Director of Cadence Communications International LLC, a communications firm based in New York City. He is the expert witness who wrote an affidavit for Richins motion for a “Change of Venue” which sought to move the murder trial out of Summit County. Bourke’s affidavit dated March 17, 2025, stated that it was his expert opinion that a fair trial in Summit County is “impossible.”
Bourke was hired by Kouri’s criminal defense team, comprised of attorneys Kathy Nester, Wendy Lewis and Alex Ramos, to assist with the case.
Justin Mungai, an attorney with Chaudhry Law PLLC in New York City filed the petition to sanction the Salt Lake City attorneys representing Eric Richins’ family. “The basis for our sanctions petition was the issuance of a frivolous subpoena upon Andrew,” Mungai said.
Mungai represents Bourke in this legal matter.
In their petition asking for sanctions against the Richins’ family attorneys, Mungai claims the family has a “vendetta” against Kouri, and is funding the murder investigation and, “the prosecution’s case was built entirely on the work done by the Richins’ private investigator.”
In the filing Mungai says, “Ms. Richins was not like the rest of the Richins family, and they never accepted her. The Richins viewed Kouri as a “gold digger” who married Eric for his money. Because of Eric’s accidental overdose–as ruled by official police investigation–the Richins family feared that Ms. Richins would inherit Eric’s estate. The powerful Richins would never allow such a thing. So the private investigator hired by the Richins family built a homicide case against Ms. Richins, positing the theory that she poisoned Eric. The Richins’ plan worked.”
The petition goes on to say, “On May 8, 2023, fourteen months after Eric’s death, and after much coaxing by the powerful Richins family, the prosecutors in Summit County charged Kouri with the murder of her husband.”
On June 24, 2025, a subpoena was served on Bourke in New York by attorneys for the Richins family from Salt Lake City law firm Bennett Tueller Johnson & Deere for personal representative Katie Richins-Benson, Eric’s sister in the matter of the Estate of Eric Richins.
2News Investigates has a copy of the subpoena commanding Bourke to copy documents and mail or deliver the copies to James Tracy at the Salt Lake City law firm. Randall Jeffs and Ryan Morley, Kouri’s attorneys located in Provo are representing her in the civil cases and are listed on the subpoena as her attorneys.
There are 22 different records listed on the subpoena to Bourke. Here are some of them.
All documents and communications exchanged between Bourke and Kouri from 2022-present.All documents and communications exchanged between Cadence and Kouri from 2022-present.All contracts between Bourke and Kouri.All contracts between Cadence and Kouri.All contracts between Bourke and Lisa Darden, Kouri’s mother that in any way relate or pertain to Kouri, the Murder Case, or the Civil Case.All contracts between Cadence and Lisa Darden that in any way relate or pertain to Kouri, the Murder Case, or the Civil Case.All documents and communications in Bourke’s custody, possession, or control concerning, relating, or pertaining to Kouri, the Murder Case, or the Civil Case.All documents and communications in Cadence’s custody, possession, or control concerning, relating, or pertaining to Kouri, the Murder Case, or the Civil Case.2News Investigates interviewed Mungai from New York City.
He says, “The subpoena requests – asking specifically for communications between Andrew and the lawyers – the contracts that he signed as part of becoming part of the defense team tells me they were going on a fishing expedition to try and see if they could get additional information that could help their case.”
”There’s absolutely no way that the attorneys representing the Estate did not know Mr. Bourke, his relationship with Kouri Richins was in his capacity as an expert witness,” he said.
In Bourke’s petition for sanctions an engagement agreement is one of the exhibits. Bourke has what is called a “Kovel Agreement” sometimes referred to as a “Kovel Letter,” which is an agreement where an attorney hires an expert witness to provide legal advice. That agreement Mungai says extends attorney client privilege to the expert’s communications and work papers. Put simply, he says, this sensitive information remains protected from disclosure to third parties.
Mungai contends, “They were aware that Mr. Bourke had this engagement agreement with Kouri Richins defense team, and that all of the work that he did – for Kouri Richins, which largely was his expertise in a motion to change venue, they knew that all of that work was enshrined in attorney work product.”
He further said, “Nevertheless, they issued the subpoena using a very complicated process for issuing foreign subpoena’s on a foreign citizen here – a resident of New York – trying to seek this privileged information.”
The subpoena was asked for and issued in New York under an exception in the probate case in Utah seeking to disinherit Kouri from the estate of her deceased husband.
Additionally, Mungai accused the Richins family attorneys of violating procedural law in Utah and New York.
He further told 2News Investigates, “Under New York law, if you’re being issued with a subpoena including a foreign subpoena you have to explain why the subpoena is necessary and what the reasons for that subpoena are. Here they did no such thing. I suspect because the subpoena one: is certainly unnecessary and there are no good reasons for the subpoena to begin with.”
While the Utah case has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case, Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik, the judge presiding over Kouri’s aggravated murder case, carved out an exception allowing Katie Richins-Benson, Eric’s sister to continue some discovery.
In his order on the motion to stay all matters and proceedings, Judge Mrazik wrote, “In addition, out of this case, Katie, in her capacity as personal representative, may conduct third-party discovery to the extent it is proportional to potential claims that the Estate may have against others, and the Estate’s efforts to identify, characterize, and recover Estate assets.”
Mungai told 2News Investigates that seeking privileged information in a pending murder case “very obviously” does not fall into the exception.
“In fact, that is perhaps the most egregious violation here,” he said.
The petition for sanctions further states, “No one is above the law; not even the wealthy and powerful. The Richins family does not agree; they believe and act as though they are not only above the law, but own the courts. In fact, they have used their wealth, power, and influence to manipulate the legal system in Utah for years. Now, they seek to add the New York courts to their collection of toys by frivolously dragging a peripheral non-party—-Cadence, via Mr. Bourke—-into their vendetta against the widow of one of their family members.”
Mungai says this has come at a hefty cost for his client and the subpoena was issued to “harass” Bourke.
“Andrew’s a human being. He is involved in a case in a professional capacity in which he was hired as an expert and all the work that he’s doing is privileged. Because this was a Utah case and the subpoena was served in New York, Andrew had to hire an attorney in Utah and hire an attorney in New York, that’s very expensive. So, this was already an emotionally heart stopping event for him.”
Mungai told 2News Investigates that he told the attorneys they would move to quash the subpoena and move for sanctions against them.
“I got on the phone with the attorney who represents the Estate. I explained this to them. I also explained the subpoena sought irrelevant information and information protected by privilege under the Attorney Work Product Doctrine.”
Mungai says, “Once Andrew started fighting back – once he incurred extreme expense to fight back – they then were like, ‘ok we’ll walk away now.’
The petition further stated, “New York courts are no one’s playthings. The seal of our courts cannot be purchased for petty, personal harassment of our citizens—-which is exactly what the Richins family tried to get away with by serving Mr. Bourke with their frivolous subpoena. This Court must hold them accountable for their egregious actions of forcing Mr. Bourke to pay legal fees in defending against the now-withdrawn subpoena issued to him, and for filing this Petition.”
He is asking the New York Court to grant Bourke’s petition and order the Estate to reimburse him for the fees associated with defending against this “now-withdrawn (always-unauthorized) subpoena, including the fees and costs for this petition.”
2News Investigates contacted all of the attorneys for the Estate of Eric Richins and requested an on-camera interview and a response to the allegations in the petition. Initially we got no response. We emailed again asking them to acknowledge if they were in receipt of our email request. We heard back from one of the attorneys, James Tracy. In an email Tracy wrote, “We will not be making any comment on any of the pending matters.”
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