Defense attorneys for the Kamas mother of three had called into question Summit County Det. Jeff O’Driscoll’s truthfulness on the stand during a January hearing to decide what evidence a jury can hear.
They claimed he lied about not knowing Richins had retained an attorney when he interviewed her in April 2023.
But 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik said it doesn’t matter.
“Ms. Richins’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel had not yet attached because judicial proceedings had not yet begun,” the judge ruled Feb. 21. “The state had not yet filed an information or otherwise committed itself to prosecute Ms. Richins. The case had simply not changed from investigation of Ms. Richins to accusation of Ms. Richins.”
The ruling settles one of numerous evidentiary battles still being fought ahead of the highly-anticipated April 2025 murder trial.
Richins is accused of fatally poisoning her husband in March 2022. She later wrote a children’s book about grieving and has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, attempted murder and financial crimes.
Her defense is expected to make other challenges to law enforcement testimony. They’ve asked the court to order prosecutors to hand over statements pertaining to investigators’ credibility as witnesses.
Mrazik is waiting for more briefings from either side before ruling on that. And the defense is also expected to claim other missteps by investigators, including whether Richins was informed of her Miranda rights in some interviews.
He may take up some of those issues at the next court hearing March 4. That was initially when he planned to decide which evidence can be used in the trial. The judge pushed those hearings back to March 17 and 18.
