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Mom of Utah grief author accused of poisoning her husband also possibly involved in his death, affidavit says
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The mother of a Utah grief author awaiting trial for allegedly poisoning her husband was also possibly involved in the man’s death, a newly released court affidavit revealed.
The Summit County Sheriff’s investigator wrote in the affidavit it is “possible” that Lisa Darden, the mother of Kouri Richins, was “involved in planning and orchestrating” Eric Richins’ death.
Investigators discovered Darden had been living with a female romantic partner who died suddenly in 2006. An autopsy determined the woman died of an overdose of oxycodone, the affidavit said. The woman struggled with drug abuse, but at the time of her death she wasn’t in recovery, which the investigator said would “likely rule out the possibility of an accidental overdose.” Darden had become the recipient of the partner’s estate shortly before her death, the affidavit said.
Skye Lazaro
The affidavit also said conversations “have been found on Kouri’s phone showing disdain for Eric on Lisa’s part.”
“Based on Lisa Darden’s proximity to her partner’s suspicious overdose death, and her relationship with Kouri, it is possible she was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric’s death,” the affidavit states.
No charges have been filed against Lisa Darden.
Eric Richins was found unresponsive in his bed after he, his wife and her mother had been celebrating after Kouri Richins closed on a real estate transaction for her business, investigators said.
Investigators determined Eric Richins died from fentanyl poisoning, with a medical examiner finding he had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system. The fentanyl was determined to be “illicit” and not pharmaceutical grade, the affidavit said.
Eric Richins’ family believes Kouri Richins spiked his drink the night he died, according to “48 Hours.”
A year after her husband’s death, Kouri Richins wrote a children’s book on coping with grief, which she promoted on a local TV show caled “Good Things Utah.” She was arrested a month later.
Darden previously spoke with “48 Hours” about her daughter’s arrest, saying she was “shocked” when it happened.
She said her daughter and son-in-law had a great marriage, but one that was not without problems. The couple had three sons. Eric Richins owned a successful masonry business in Utah while Kouri Richins worked on her real estate business selling houses. But prosecutors say Kouri Richins began stealing funds from Eric Richins’ account in 2019. Her family denies she ever stole from her husband.
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Vatican excommunicates ex-ambassador to U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, declares him guilty of schism
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A firebrand conservative who became one of Pope Francis’ most ardent critics has been excommunicated by the Vatican.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who once served as the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S., was found guilty of schism. The Vatican’s doctrine office imposed the penalty after a meeting of its members on Thursday, a press statement said Friday.
The office cited Viganò’s “refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his rejection of communion with the members of the church subject to him and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Council,” as its reasoning for the ruling.
Viganò, who retired in 2016 at age 75 and was the papal envoy in Washington from 2011-2026, convulsed the Holy See with accusations of sex abuse in 2018, calling on Francis to resign.
Patrick Semansky/AP
In an 11-page letter, Viganò claimed that in 2013 he told Francis of the allegations of sex abuse against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. But, he wrote, the pontiff ignored that, and allowed McCarrick to continue to serve the church for another five years publicly. He said the pope should resign and subsequently branded him a “false prophet” and a “servant of Satan.”
In the letter, Viganò also made a number of ideological claims and was critical of homosexuals within Church ranks. He did not offer any proof for his statements.
The Vatican rejected the accusation of a cover-up of sexual misconduct and last month summoned Viganò to answer charges of schism and denying the pope’s legitimacy.
Viganò, who regarded the accusations “as an honor,” said he refused to take part in the disciplinary proceedings because he did not accept the legitimacy of the institutions behind it.
“I do not recognize the authority of the tribunal that claims to judge me, nor of its Prefect, nor of the one who appointed him,” he said in a statement issued last week, referring to the head of the doctrinal office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, and to Francis.
Viganò restated his rejection of Vatican Council II, calling it “the ideological, theological, moral and liturgical cancer of which the (Francis’) ‘synod church’ is the necessary metastasis.”
He had not yet commented on the Vatican’s ruling on Friday.
McCarrick, the ex-archbishop of Washington, D.C., was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after an internal Vatican investigation found he sexually molested adults as well as children.
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Israel says it’s restarting stalled negotiations for a cease-fire deal in Gaza
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Hiring in the U.S. slowed in June, raising hopes for interest rate cuts
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The U.S. jobs market cooled in June but remains solid, raising the odds that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by year-end.
The economy added 206,00 jobs last month, in line with analyst forecasts, and unemployment edged up to 4.1%. The data follows a surprisingly strong 272,000 increase in May.
A modest slowdown in hiring and wage growth could increase the Fed’s confidence that inflation is trending closer to its 2% annual target, opening the door for policymakers to trim borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.
—This is a developing story.