Kouri Richins Trial: Cody Wright — Unapproved Insurance Changes Exposed

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2:04He was an acquaintance of my brother, met him through him, became good friends through the hunting world. He was a rancher. I liked hard work. He loved hard work and we became friends almost immediately through that. That led to a lifelong of events together and fun together and work together. We had a lot of good times. Shortly after I met him, he came to work for a family business as a hot tender. I had to teach him what hot tender is all about and hard work that way, which was fun. We both served LDS missions shortly after that, came home, continued to work together through that family business. In 2010, we decided it was time to separate from that business and start our own.

3:05We started our own Masonry company together. That was another journey in and of itself, it was fun. Is that Masonry company, CNN? Yes, CNN, he's still Masonry. Is that for Cody and Eric? Yes. We worked in that Masonry company together for almost 12 years, 11 and a half years or so. How often would you see him running your company together? See him a couple of times a week probably. We ate lunch fairly often. In the fall, I saw him a lot as we were out in the hills and doing fun stuff, whether it be on the ranch or up in the mountains. We spent a lot of time together in the fall. We spent a lot of lunch together while we worked and things like that, but talked to him pretty much every day on the phone if I didn't see him.

4:09When you talk about spending a lot of time together in the fall, is that hunting? Yes, we spend a lot of time. About how many days each fall would the two of you hunt together? We would spend the end of August and most of September and sometimes October and sometimes November and sometimes I've led into December January and February. But quite a few days. Would you travel together to hunt? Yes. Yes, we went on different trips as well. What was Eric's personality? Eric's feisty. Eric's hardworking. Eric's the life of the party. Eric's funny. It depends where he's at and what he's doing. He can be very fun to be around, very comforting at times and also he can tell you what you've

5:12done wrong and make sure that you knew that it was wrong and that that should have been done differently. And so, good personality. What was he like, personality-wise in business? Business he was serious, he took that very serious, that was one of the things that he was very passionate about. He wanted to grow C&E, he wanted to be successful, he wanted to do the best he could with that. He came from a background of hard work and business as well and saw that and wanted to replicate that from his parents, I'm sure. He was very serious when it came to business, wanted to make sure that things were done right and wanted to grow that business. Were you able to interact with Eric and his boys? Yes. What are some examples of that?

6:13One that comes to mind was he asked me, I did a lot of baseball growing up, I pitched in particular and he asked me to work with Carter with some pitching lessons, went over and worked with Carter and helped him learn how to pitch, that was one, it comes to mind. What was Eric like as a father? Competitive, dedicated, he wanted to know what my kids were up to so he could tell me what his kids were up to and how well they were doing as well. He wanted his kids to be the best on the team, he wanted them to succeed, he wanted to make sure that I knew that how well they'd done over the weekend and how good they were doing in all their sports. What was your business relationship in C&E?

7:16We were 50-50 partners, so we were, I ran half the business, I ran half the business, although that wasn't like a perfectly straight line, right? We did paper stone tile work, I took care of tile and paper work Eric took care of the stone work side, so we did have a split to where he took care of his projects, I took care of mine, we overlapped in the book work end of things or in the administration side of things, but as far as work went, he had relationships with people that I didn't, and so he would take care of those clients and I would take care of others. How many people did C&E employ in early 2022? Approximately 90. And about how many projects at any given time was C&E running? Eric asked, I obviously stepped into a full-time role in that whole business, I remember

8:22counting 47 projects. What was C&E's business outlook in early 2022? Good, it was great. This was good and business continued to be good and was projecting upward, each year we'd done a little bit more and it was definitely on its way up. Did you and Eric have any plans for the business before he passed? We had, I'm more conservative than Eric was and so my plan was always to just be okay with where we were at. Eric's plan was let's grow this thing and keep going and I was like good with where we were at a lot of the time. He definitely was very motivated to continue to do more and more and be better and bigger and better.

9:23Did C&E have an office? It had my house and a small office at Eric's house, we both had home offices and so we ran the business from his office and my office at our residential home. Did Eric use a C&E computer? Yes. Did he keep that at his home office? Yes. Did you and Eric have a C&E email account? Yes. How did that work? It was a joint email. If you know him or I, you know that we're not technology people and so one email was enough to handle so we had one email that we both would look into that all of our emails would come through that way. We could make sure that we were taking care of each other as well. That seemed to work and so that's what we did.

10:25Did C&E receive its America First Credit Union bank statements by email? Yes. Are you generally familiar with Cambridge's Realty? Generally familiar. Did there come a time when C&E assisted Cambridge's Realty? Yes. How did that come about? Did Eric called me, was distraught, said that some things had happened in their home that... Jack, do you hear us say? Just say it, please, refritz. Poor, just keep moving. You're on a clear branch? Sure. So did there come a time when C&E assisted Cambridge's business? Yes.

11:25How did C&E, without saying anything that Eric told you, how did C&E assist Corey Rich's business? There was a loan that was needed to be had for that business that was asked for, where C&E would provide the funds to fund a project and C&E did provide those funds. Was that a loan rather than an investment? It was a loan. Was it an extraordinary circumstances that caused C&E to loan Corey Rich's money? There was a need for that loan, there was a need for that money to make sure that financial things were going to happen for reimbursement.

12:32And was that related to a C&E Rich's Realty project on Fanson Lane? Yes. And was that in October of 2020? Yes. Please. And was that approximately $200,000? Approximately. Are you familiar with a bicell agreement that you and Eric had in place? Should anything happen to either of you? Yes. Are you familiar with a New York, New York life insurance policy, a set of New York life insurance policies that were associated with that bicell agreement? Yes. Are you familiar with a series of beneficiary changes to the New York life policy on your life in January of 2022?

13:32I was told those happened. Did you make those beneficiary changes to your New York life policy in January of 2022? I did not. Did you ever make any beneficiary changes to that New York life policy? No. Did you ever observe Eric Richens make any beneficiary changes to that New York life policy? No. Of course. I'm approaching the witness with Exhibit 8-49. It's some handwriting examples, exemplars, I think everyone's familiar with. Then I need to lay some foundation on it. So can you please turn to tab 2? It's 8-49, exemplars.

14:37So did you collect those business and haircut receipts from C&E's records? Yes. Can you turn to page tab 3? Did you recover those documents from integrated solutions? I'm looking at an IRSE file signature authorization form 8-8-79, is that? Would you repeat the tab number, Mr. Bloodworth? Tab 3. Maybe just take a look to make sure you and the witness are on the same page.

15:48Okay. Okay. Okay. So did you collect those documents from integrated solutions? We requested any signatures that they might have to be sent. And did they then provide those to you? Yes.

16:49Sir, can you turn to tab 7, please? Yes. Did you request and obtain from big deconstruction those documents containing Eric Rich in signature? Same thing. We asked if they had any signatures and if they could send those over if they did. Provide those for us. And then sir, tab 13. Did you request and retrieve those documents from the Ford dealership?

17:51I did not request the loans from labor in Ford. Okay. The documents, tabs 23 and 7, did you then provide those to Katie Richens? Yes. I'll get that from him. Thank you. Scott, if you can bring up 10-89, please. That's exhibit 10-89. He has. You know what I'm sorry, we don't have it. You should. Mr. Wright, can you see that photograph on your screen? I can see it on the up. Miss Nester, can you see it on your screen? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. Your Honor, can the court publish a defense admitted this in evidence with mistaking?

19:00We just confirm that that's correct. I don't recall. Yeah. Defended. Yeah. Defended. 1910. Trust in verify. Okay, there you go. There you go. Sir, are you married to Ali Wright? Yes. Is Ali Wright in this photograph? No. Thank you. Sir, have you ever observed Eric, sick or injured? Yes. Can you give some examples, please? Eric had Lyme disease at one point.

20:00So I'm winning at COVID. So I'm winning at a cold. I saw him when he had the flu. Yeah. I saw him when he had back pain, punched over from lifting the rock and tweaking his back to where he could barely walk. Yeah. How did Eric react to illness or injury? He's a cowboy. Eric is a go-getum. He's not going to sit at home because he's sick. He's not going to stay home because he has COVID. He's not going to not show up because he's feeling under the weather. He's very tough-spirited, rough-hearted, and as far as not being a wimp goes. Other than allergy medication, have you ever seen Eric use over the counter drugs? No. Have you ever seen Eric use prescription drugs? No. Have you seen ever seen Eric use illicit drugs?

21:02I have never seen a misalicit drug. So do you recall receiving a phone call from Eric at approximately 2 p.m. on Valentine's Day 2022? Yes. Without saying what Eric said to you, why is it you remember that phone call? The fear in his voice, the urgency of the situation, the seriousness of what was going on. Have you ever heard Eric sound like that before? The only other time I heard that urgency in that fear, when he called me telling me that his mother had passed away in the hospital.

22:02I also heard that urgency or that fear when he had been rear-ended in an accident, and feared that the person that had hit him had passed away as well, or had hit him hard enough that he was scared of what had just happened. Thank you, sir. I don't have any further questions. Here's more water. Miss Nester, please proceed. Thank you, Your Honor. May I please the court? Good morning, sir. You and I've met before, but just to remind you, I'm Kathy Nester, and I'm one of Corey's attorneys. I want to talk to you about C&E a little bit. You mentioned that the company was growing about the time Eric passed away, right?

23:05Yes. Yes, it was slowly growing. Okay. You guys split everything 50-50. Financially, and in the administration part of the business, yes. So whatever you made any year, he made any year. Yes. So in 2022, how much did you earn that year? Of Jackson, I kind of rel- Relatively. Few thresholds. You restate the same question. Yes, sir. So how much did you earn, let's say 2021, a few months before Eric died, how much did you clear that year? Income. Are you talking personally or in the business? Personally. Personally. I don't have those numbers in front of me. I'm not positive what that number would be. Was it more than $500,000? Personally, no. Okay. Do you know that, do you know what Eric made in 2021?

24:12Is your blood worth going? Objective foundation. It's a yes or no question. So if you would start there, it's over. Do you know what Eric made in 2021? No. Not a tough man. All right. So if there's tax returns that have already come in, that indicate that came in through an expert, that indicate he declared around 900, $709,000. Would that be way off base for that year? Keep pause there for Mr. Bloodworth. Objection foundation. Yeah. It's sustained. Miss Nester. All right. Did you at the time that Eric died, did you project that your company was going to continue to increase in value in resulting in increased income to both of you over the years? Before he passed your asking. Yes.

25:12Yes, we would have projected that our company would continue to grow. And fair to say that you both would be financially secure as long as that continued to happen. As long as that continued to happen, yes. All right. At one point before Eric passed, you actually had Corey Richens on your payroll. Is that right? Correct. And she would get monthly income from your company. Correct. And do you remember how much she would get? Miss Nester, I apologize for interrupting. Mr. Redney needs you to answer just a little bit louder. But for him, he's listening on the mic and we're not picking it up. Go ahead. So you had Corey on the payroll, right? Yes. How much was she making every month? Do you remember? I don't recall. Right. When Eric passed, isn't it true that Corey has to be removed from the payroll?

26:14I do not believe she asked to be removed from the payroll. We continue to pay her for some time after he passed. Like a week. I recall it being longer than a week. How long do you recall it being? A couple of months. Okay. You also had as part of your company, a business called Fox Lake investments, right? Correct. And Fox Lakes was separate from C&E. Correct? Jackson, you're on our scope. It's sustained. Okay. Did you at one point engage in house flipping like Corey Richens had through your C&E business? It's through C&E. Not through C&E, through Fox Lake, through anything. Yes. You're on our scope.

27:14It's sustained. Okay. All right. Let's talk about the Fransom Lane property. The Fransom Lane property, you just testified that you gave a loan or invested or whatever word you want to call it, about $200,000, right? Approximately. And do you know what that money was used for? The money was used for fixing up that home. Rehab costs. Rehab costs. Right. And you got all of your money back plus interest. Is that correct? I believe we did, yes. And do you know how much interest or profit you made on that? I don't recall. All right. And you talked about a buy sell agreement that you guys had and you just discussed that with Mr. Bloodworth. The buy sell agreement is basically when partners in a business buy insurance policy on each other, right?

28:20Correct. If Eric died, you would get money. If you died, Eric would get money, right? Correct. And the idea of that policy is that you pay the family member to divest from your business and say, look, here's the $2 million. Please don't be a partner with me. I don't want to be partners with you. I just want to pay you $2 million and you go away and you're done with this business, right? The idea of it is to do whatever the contract states. Whatever is in that contract, that contract would be followed. And was it your understanding that your buy sell agreement would allow whichever person survived the other partner to pay that money to the family and then the family would not be involved in the business from there forward? In our buy sell agreement, we had it so that are the proceeds that we go to the family. Right. And Mr. Bloodworth talked to you about a beneficiary change on a buy sell on the buy sell agreement, right? Yes. And that occurred on January 1st of the 20th.

29:22Just foundation. The beneficiary change is on the life insurance policy not to buy sell it. I think that's what is nesterman. That's what I mentioned. I appreciate the clarification. Thank you. So the beneficiary to the life insurance that backed up the buy sell agreement was changed on January 1st of 2022, is that right? I was told that. Okay. And were you in fact told when you learned about this that the policy that was changed was your policy, not Eric's? So the way that I understood that is that policy is on the person who is still alive. And I don't recall exactly the words that they used to tell me that it had been switched. They told me that someone had logged in and switched that beneficiary. And that was to your policy. Yeah. I don't recall the exact words that he used in that moment.

30:24Well, think about it. You remember everything else. You don't remember if it was your policy or Eric's policy that it was changed? I don't know. I'm just asking. Your honor, I'd like him to have a chance to answer it. Overruled. Please answer Ms. Nestor's question. So it's tricky because when you, it's a flip-flop. So I'm trying to think about that in this setting. Give me just one second. It's okay. Take your time. So what I was told was that there was a change made to the beneficiary. As somebody had gone in and changed that and then switched it back. I do not recall him telling me whose name was changed or anything like that.

31:24So it's possible it was your policy. There's a possibility. Okay. And if it was your policy, that means if you died, the beneficiary would be somebody different. Not if Eric died. Right? Correct. Okay. And then it was changed back. Right? That's what I was told. So at the time that Eric passed, Cory Richens was not a beneficiary of your policy, right? He said that again. At the time Eric died, Cory Richens was not a beneficiary of your personal policy, correct? Not of my policy. And she was not a beneficiary of Eric's policy, correct? The policy stated that if he were to die, I would pay his family the money. And that's what you did. You paid Katie Benson and the trust the money. I did not pay Katie Benson. I paid the trust. You paid the trust. And I put it into the court. Okay. Which was instructed by intercutor needs. Okay.

32:24So none of that money went to Cory, right? I have no clue where that money sits today. You didn't give it to Cory. I gave it to the court because I was instructed through my attorney. On the behalf of the trust. I believe so, yes. Okay. All right. I want to talk about the times that you saw Eric in pain. So fair to say Eric had back pain. He had back problems. He would pinch an Arab once a while and have back pain, yes. And he'd be unable to work? He would work through that. Sometimes he'd be unable to work? He would still probably drive around in his truck, which is considered work. I mean, he was not lifting another stone if that's what worked, yes. So it might have impacted the type of work he could do.

33:25All right. And he also had knee pain, right? Yeah, I believe so. And he even had knee surgery at some point? I don't want to call that. And then he had Lyme's disease. Yes. And did he complain to you about pain and his muscles from Lyme's disease? He would tell me how painful that was, correct. Okay. Now, Mr. Bloodworth asked you if you had ever seen Eric take drugs, right? Correct. And Eric, you mentioned you guys went on a mission together, right? Correct. So it's fair to assume that you subscribed to the faith of the Church of the Latter-day Saints. I am LDS. Okay. And as part of that faith, you all subscribe that it is not proper to drink or take drugs, right?

34:29If you are an active only member and you believe that, then that is correct. And Eric knew that you were of this faith, correct? Correct. And he did not share with you when he drank alcohol, did he? I would hear about it. He didn't share with you. I have never been offered a drink from Eric. And I'm sure that is a sign of respect to you and your faith, yes? I believe so. To me as a person. And he never shared with you that he used marijuana gummies. He himself? No, he never told me. Okay. Did you ever see him do that around you? No. Okay. And again, he knew that you would not approve of that, right? Under your faith. Eric would be okay telling me some of those things. He would tell me, but in the light that I am his good friend, that he would tell me things, right?

35:35But not be brought out of that by any means. So he did share with you that he used drugs? No. Objection, you're out of them. It's not a question cause, but he was there. Oh, oh. Sustain. Just ask your next question. Did you just testify that he did tell you about things? He just wasn't proud of it? He is nester. Yes, sir. Sustain. If you'd ask a different question, please. So when Mr. Bloodworth asked you the question, if you would ever seen Eric use drugs, your answer was no. Correct. Correct. But you have knowledge that he did. People have told me that. I'll leave it. Here's it. It's out. What do you want me to do now, Mr. Bloodworth? It's out. What did people told you?

36:35You could follow up. Okay. Ms. Nester, please keep her moving. You mentioned that you and Eric used to go hunting together. Is that right? Yes. At some point, did you provide information to hunting law enforcement officials about violations that Eric had done when he was hunting? Yes. And was he placed in jail for that? Yes. And you provided that information in testimony against him? No. Okay. But you told the police that he did what they thought he did, right? I was in... I was brought in and asked questions that I answered to.

37:37And those in questions incriminated Eric? Yes. Okay. Some of them. And you and Eric kind of had a falling out after that? Is that fair? Falling out in what sense? You stopped going on vacations together with your families? We didn't go on vacation with our families very often as it was. So I would say that that was not something that immediately happened after that. A relationship became more tense, more difficult between the two of you? He didn't like it. Okay. Yeah, he was upset about that. So I want to talk about the Valentine's Day call that you had with Eric. To your knowledge, did Eric work that day? Again, work is everywhere we go. We have our cell phone and we are working.

38:38Did you know whether he worked that day? I would assume that he had worked that day, having received a phone call or two or done some sort of management style of work. If I were to show you photographs of projects that he visited that morning, would you be able to recognize the project by looking at the house? I may be able to recognize a project, but I don't know if he showed up there or not, or if he would have worked there that day. Okay. Can we put up for the witness state's exhibit 3-13D? All right. You're on. I'm sorry. We still don't have it. You're welcome to use the look of yours. Okay. Do you see that photograph in front of you? Yes. All right. And that is a photograph and Eric. Your eyes are on moment.

39:38It's next. Mr. Bloodwater. Objection on our foundation. He hasn't even let me get it out of my mouth yet, Judge. Are you about to lay some kind of... Yes, I am. Okay. So if you lay it before you represent what it is. I will. Thank you. Do you recognize what that home is, the aerial view? Do you know who's home that is? Yes. Who's home is that? Eric's. Okay. And can you go to the next photograph, Katie? Do you recognize that overhead view of a home? I don't. So you don't know if that's one of the homes Eric was working on or when it was projects at the time? Doesn't look familiar to me. Okay. Can you go to the next one, Katie? What about this very large home? Do you recognize that one?

40:40I don't. You don't know if you guys were doing a project on that house? I don't. Okay. You can take it down. On the day that you spoke to Eric Richens on Valentine's Day, he didn't... You weren't aware that he went to a doctor that day. Did you ever know if he'd been going to the doctor taking time off? He told me that he had gone with Carter that morning. To get allergy shots. Something with allergies. Okay. But after you spoke to him, were you ever aware that he went to a doctor to follow up on how he felt that day? You got an objection because I think for here said there's no foundation otherwise. If he had personal knowledge if Eric took time off to go to the doctor... Please. Did you give Eric a ride to the doctor that day? No. Did you give Eric a ride to the hospital that day? No. Did you go visit him at a hospital that day? I did not. Okay. Did he make any calls to you where you could hear in the background?

41:42There was hospital noises or ambulances or anything like that? No. Did he come to work the next day? Yes. He would have been working. All right. The day that Eric died on March the... Well, the day before he died, the third. You guys went to lunch that day, didn't you? Yes. And you went to lunch at the Marolate Cafe? I believe that's where it was, yes. And you kind of spent part of the day with him that day, didn't you? Did you? Didn't you? Just that at that launch appointment. All right. And then you got noticed that he had passed, correct? The next morning. And did you send Becky Lloyd to Eric's house to pick up all of his computers?

42:48At a certain point. Yes. I don't remember when, but yes, she went and picked the computer up. And was that within a day or two of his death? Yes, it would have been within a couple of days. And you didn't clear that with any law enforcement? Didn't know. So you picked up his computer or Becky picked up his computer and brought it into Y'all's custody, right? Yeah. It was a C&E-owned computer that we needed. Did? Company stuff from. Did you get into the computer? Did you open it? Did you look for documents in it? I don't know how to turn a computer on half the time. Okay. All right. What about Miss Becky? Did she go into the computer? Your Honor, Jackson here says go. Do you know whether Becky went into it? I sustained if you could ask her. I will. Not hearsay inducing questions. Did you see Becky go into the computer at all? I did not see Becky. Okay. And then at some point a private investigator came to talk to you about that computer, correct?

43:50Correct. That would be Mr. Todd Gabler. Correct. And Todd worked for the Richens family or the trust? I don't know who he worked for, but I assume that's correct. And you told him that Becky had the computer? Correct. And you sent him to get it from Becky? I don't remember sending him. You authorized Becky to give it to him? You would have in that instance, yes. Okay. And in all that time no law enforcement had gotten the computer first. Correct. All right. And then isn't it true that shortly after Eric died you also sent somebody to pick up his work truck? Correct. And explain to me what the work truck looked like. Brown, 455D flatbed truck. And I noticed you said earlier that work a lot of times involved driving around in that truck, right? Correct. So he spent a lot of time in that truck. And the truck was parked generally in the garage in the back of his house.

44:51Is that fair? I don't know where he parked it. But you sent someone named, what was the person's name that you sent to go get the truck? I don't recall who I sent. Okay. Somebody named Victor? I don't recall. Okay. And he went to pick the truck up and took it out of the garage, right? But if it was in the garage, then he would have taken it out of the garage. I don't know where it was parked. Okay. And if the police testified that that truck was not searched when Mr. Richens died, to your knowledge had anybody sought your permission to search it at all prior to you picking it up? No. Okay. And he took it into your custody. Yes. And you kept that truck? Yes. You still have it? Yes. All right. He also drove a red truck. Is that right? But like a personal truck? Yes. And did the C&E own the red truck?

45:52Yes. All right. And at some point, you found out that the red truck was being serviced. Is that right? Yes. How'd you find that out? The Ford dealership called me and told me that it was ready to be picked up. Right. And you knew that that truck was being driven by Cory Richens at the time? It should not have been being driven at all. Okay. But she had custody of it. It was sitting at her house with instruction that it shouldn't be driven. Okay. And when you found out- I'm sorry. I mean interrupt you. I thought you were done. You found out the truck was ready and you went and picked it up. Right? We went and got it, yes. You did? Because it had been driven. You didn't talk to Cory about it. No. You didn't discuss it with her at all. No. You just took it from the dealership. Is a C&E owned vehicle? There is ramifications for an accident.

46:54For somebody that's not working with C&E. And so it felt that it would be proper to make sure that the truck wasn't being driven. Where's the truck now? In somebody's yard or house or I don't know exactly where it's at. Did you give it to Katie? I did. You gave it to her for it. I did not give it to her no. You sold it to her? It is owned by C&E. So did C&E sell the truck to Katie or did they just give it to her? No. It's sitting at their home or their yard or their place. They had it. So the people who had access to the truck before any law enforcement ever looked at it. Were you, Katie, anyone in Katie's family, anyone at the dealership? Is that all right? See that again. The people who had access to that red truck before there was any search executed. Were you, Katie, anyone in Katie's family and anyone at C&E that picked it up?

47:54Jackson, Foundays. Overworld. You got it. Yeah. I mean, many people had access to that truck if access is... Okay. They would have to be given the key and given permission to drive it. So when Eric passed and his bisel agreement was executed and he gave the money to the court for the trust, then the company 100% became yours, correct? Correct. And is it fair to say that your personal network basically doubled at that point? You could say that. Since Eric's death, you've remained close with his family, is that fair?

49:03Yes. And you've actually, you and your wife have accompanied Eric's family to court and sat with them during court hearings? Yeah. Court's indulgence for just... One question I did forget. The New York life, that was who had your insurance for your bisel, correct? Correct. Were you aware of whether Cory and Eric had personal New York life policies as well? I don't know. Okay. That's fine. Court's indulgence for just one minute, Your Honor. Court's indulgence for just one minute.

50:05Court's indulgence for just one minute. Court's indulgence for just one minute. Court's indulgence for just one minute. Court's indulgence for just one minute. Only if you know, but were you aware with C&E paying for a personal life insurance policy for Eric through a company called Auto Owners or Integrated Insurance Solutions?

51:13I'm not aware. Okay, that's fine. You mentioned that Eric loved hunting, right? Correct. And after you gave your testimony to the Department of Wildlife and Natural Resources, Eric couldn't hunt for a while in the United States, is that right? Correct. But he still could hunt in Mexico. Correct. And are you aware that shortly before his death, he went hunting in Mexico? Right. Do you know when? It would have been in February sometime, I believe. Right. And how often did he hunt in Mexico? In Mexico, were you aware? Sorry about that. How often did Eric go hunting in Mexico? He went down there for a trip, so I would assume he was hunting every day that he was there. Okay. Are you aware of more than one time that he went to Mexico to go hunting? Yes. Were you aware of them more than five times? I don't, I couldn't say I don't remember.

52:13Did you ever go with him to Mexico? Could I? Did you? Did I know? Do you know where in Mexico Eric went hunting? A general area, I don't know exactly where. Is a general area? Typically, the hunting takes place in somewhere around Sonora. Around Sonora? Somewhere. Okay. I think that's all I have. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. Mr. Blood. Thank you, Your Honor. Sir, from your perspective, was the loan to K-Richard's Reality in connection with the France and Lane property out of necessity? Yes. You testified that generally people had told you that Eric did drugs. I want to be specific. Did people generally tell you that Eric would use THC addibles? Jack, do you hear us say?

53:14You open the door, overruled me. Can you repeat that? Did people tell you that Eric would use THC addibles? People would tell me that, I guess. Did anyone ever tell you that Eric Richens used illicit street drugs? No. You testified that you provided some inculpatory information to DNR officers in connection with their investigation of Eric. Do you recall that? Yes. Why did you provide them with information? Eric was being investigated for a wildlife incident. Somebody else had turned him in and they brought me in to answer some questions that they had. Did the incident involve not having a tag in killing an elk?

54:16Yes. Why did you provide incriminating evidence as opposed to cover for Eric? Eric knew what he had done wasn't right and he was okay to be a big boy and take care of his own stuff. And I was okay to be honest and tell them the truth and allow him to do what he needed to do on his end. Was that hard for you to do? It was extremely hard. I knew what those ramifications were going to be. Did you do it because it was the right thing to do? I did. March the 7th, 2022.

55:18Sound like about the right day when you dispatch somebody to pick up the ground truck from Eric's residence. Sounds right. Why have you sat with Eric Richens' family at various court proceedings? I'd like to relevance your honor. It's within the scope of your cross overruled. I love the Richens. I love Eric. He was one of my best friends. And I want to be a support where I can. Can we approach your honor? Of course. Mr. Wright, thank you for your patience. If you'd take the stand for him. If you'd like a glass of water, you can have a courier yourself.

56:20Thank you. You are still under oath. Ms. Nester has a few extra questions for you and then we'll see where we go from there. May I please the court? Please. Thank you, Your Honor. Welcome back. So we want to just dig in a little bit to the question that you were asked on redirect. When Mr. Bloodworth asked you if anyone had ever told you that Eric used illicit drugs. Could I believe he said illicit street drugs? Does that sound right? Or do you recall? Did he say illicit street drugs? What was your understanding of the question that he asked you at the very end about whether you'd ever heard about Eric using drugs? Illicit street drugs. Right. What was your understanding of that question? If anyone had ever told me about him using an illicit street drug. Okay. Now I'm not in the drug world. I have no clue what most drugs are categorized as.

57:25Did you talk to anyone outside in the hallway while you were waiting? I did not. Okay. Just checking. Okay. So at the preliminary hearing we asked you some questions about whether you were aware that Eric used pain pills in high school. Do you remember that? Yes. And are you aware of that? I was told that that had happened. And were you ever told about where he got those pain pills? I have no idea where he got those pain pills from. So when Mr. Bloodworth asked you earlier today, if you're ever aware of Mr. Richens using prescription drugs, you said no. Your Honor, that's not the question I had. It was. Mr. Wright, if you would just object to foundation and restate the question for him? Your Honor, objection foundation. Let me ask you this way. Distant. Go ahead.

58:25Do you... Was it your understanding in high school when you had this knowledge that Mr. Richens was using these drugs illicitly, in other words, not with the prescription of a pharmacist? I meet you to be more precise in that question. Which drugs are you referring to? The pain pills, sorry. And if you would re-ask it, please. Was it your understanding in high school when you knew about this that Mr. Richens was using his own prescription for pain pills or someone else's? I learned about this later on in life, not in high school. Okay. And what did you learn? And I learned that he had taken pain pills in high school. That's what I had been told. Without a prescription. I didn't even get asked. There was a prescription or not. I don't know. And then I think you said in the prelim that you thought they were called red devils. Is that right? That's what I was told. And was it your understanding that red devils were an illicit street drug?

59:29I don't know what an illicit street drug entails. But I assume that the red devils were being abused as that's what high school kids were doing. So people were doing that in your school? I heard that, yes. And did you know what red... Later on in life. What did you know what red devils were? I learned later on what those were, yes. What are those? I believe it's suit of it. Oh, it's suit of it? I think. I'm not a drug person. I'm sorry. Okay. Could be suit of a fedron, maybe. I have no idea. Okay. But that's what I think it is as suit of it being abused. Okay. So when you testified at the preliminary hearing that you were aware in high school that Eric... Or you became aware later that in high school, Eric abused red devils and pain pills.

1:00:30Do you still stand by that today? Yes. Okay. All right. Your honor, do you need more than that? I understand Mr. Wright's testimony on the record. Okay. Okay. Let me just think for one second, there's anything else. When you answered Mr. Bloodworth's question in front of the jury that you... That you had not heard from anyone that Eric used illicit street drugs. That's except for what you heard about in high school. Objects in your honor that the foundation... I can ask him what his intention of his answer was, your honor. Did you intend to carve that out? That's a fair question. Can you restate that? I'm sorry. You intend to carve out from that answer what you knew about high school?

1:01:32What answer? Sorry. Okay. From the answer that Mr. Bloodworth asked you in front of the jury, if anyone had ever told you or if you had ever heard that Eric used illicit street drugs. Did you intend to not include what you knew in high school? Are you carving that out? I... If I said that it was in high school, what I've been told about Eric is throughout my life. I don't know if it was exactly in high school. I don't know if it was in my early 20s or now. What I've been told over the years is that he had to use those in high school. And that's what I know. Right. And so if I were to ask you the question again, that Mr. Bloodworth asked you, has anyone ever told you that Eric used illicit street drugs? And you included all the knowledge you have all the way back through what he did in high school? What would your answer be now? I don't know what illicit street drugs intel.

1:02:33Okay. I've been told some drugs that he used. And that's what I would testify to is that I know that he used some drugs, or I'm up drugs. I don't know what they are. Exactly. I don't know if they're illicit street drugs or not. But that he had used drugs at some point. Take it out. Okay. Mr. Bloodworth, anything else from Mr. Wright at this point? In terms of order? Sir, is the only drug that you've been told he used in high school? The Red Devils? In high school, yes. You haven't heard of them using any other drug in high school other than marijuana. Let's just accept marijuana from this whole discussion, okay? Yeah. So in high school, I was told that people were using red devils. I had heard that Eric had popped pills. Okay.

1:03:33And is your understanding was the pills that he popped were the red devils, or was it red devils and something else? Understanding that a red devil is a pill, he popped pills, and I don't really know much more than that. Okay. I don't know what pills they were popping or anything to that extent. Can I just a little later on? So you mentioned in high school, like maybe there was after high school as well, did I misread what you just said? I have learned of these things through people over the years. I don't know this exact times and days that people have told me this knowledge. They're Eric popped pills in high school is what I've been told.

1:04:33Beyond high school, do you have any knowledge if he popped pills? I don't have any knowledge of sure knowledge that he popped pills after high school. Not sure knowledge, but if people told you that? I have knowledge that he took THC gummies. Okay. Anything else? No. Okay. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure because I heard that clarification and I wanted to make sure we followed all the way through with it. As far as you said here today, other than what you heard about what he did in high school and other than knowing about the THC gummies, have you heard any other, from any other person that Eric used drugs in his lifetime? No. Okay. Thank you. I just wanted to clarify that. I need to make you take a walk again. Okay. Please don't speak to anybody in the lot. Okay.

1:05:45Miss Nester any further argument? Well, Your Honor. I mean, I think that this witness has now clarified that, if you would ask, answer the question now. He would include that he was aware Eric popped pills in high school. He also heard that people in his high school were doing red doubles. He said he assumed that's what Eric was doing, but he doesn't know. But he has knowledge that Eric was popping pills. This whole case is about a pill addiction. This whole case is about whether or not Eric Richens voluntarily ingested that, or if he was given it by his wife. This is a critical piece of the defense. He's been allowed to make statement in front of the jury that we have now found out through Vordire is not 100% accurate on one of the core issues in this case. I am only asking to impeach him. I can limit it to what he said in the prelim. We can go farther if you want us to, or we can limit it to what he said in the prelim. I'll do it either way.

1:06:45But I think to deny Miss Richens the right to impeach him on something this critical to the defense and the prosecution when the door was absolutely opened by the prosecution would be reversible error. And we're asking that the court allow us to do that now. Mr. Clerk. You honor the state disagrees with all of that, including the veracity of some of that. The state reverts back to what we had briefed in motion, sir. By the way, any relevancy to what happened in high school has decayed to zero, 40 or 20 plus years later. The testimony at issue was, is Mr. Wright's response to the question of, did anyone ever tell you that Eric Richens used illicit street drugs to which he responded?

1:07:50No. I think in his wild ear, impeaches that testimony. Therefore, bringing in the preliminary hearing transcript or any further questioning on this. The preliminary hearing transcript or any further questioning on this is inadmissible. All right. The case has to be tried based upon admissible evidence. And on both sides of the V, there are pieces of evidence that either the state or the defense has sought to admit that the court has ruled are not admissible. I'm required to apply the rules of evidence. We instruct the jury that the rules of evidence developed over hundreds of years to make sure that trials are tried in a fair and impartial way.

1:08:55This issue developed in a way where, the defense counsel asked a question that elicited hearsay testimony regarding what Mr. Wright had heard about Mr. Richens prior drug use generally. Whether or not that's what the defendant intended, that's what happened. So then, on redirect, the state asked two very specific questions to characterize that volunteering of hearsay by Mr. Wright. Whether they heard that Mr. Richens had used THC products and whether he had ever heard that Mr. Wright used illicit street drugs. Nothing in his prior preliminary hearing testimony or during his war dire outside the presence of the jury on the stand is admissible evidence contrary to his sworn testimony on the stand in front of the jury.

1:10:06He's prior reference to Red Devils, he's now clarified a suit of it, which is not painful to begin with. Moreover, he doesn't have any admissible testimony that Eric Richens used illicit drugs of any kind. This is hearsay, it is speculation, it's not admissible. Your Honor, may I just make a record? Of course. Your Honor, I saw a position that first of all when I asked the question that was not objected to by the state. Second of all, I'd like to make the record that this would be for purposes of impeachment. To deny us this opportunity is a violation of Crawford, it is a violation of our six amendment right across examine. It is a violation of a due process rate to a fair trial. We would be able to call in our case an expert who would testify that Red Devils were in fact PCP. In that period of time, they were not suit of fed. The DEA has a pamphlet on that. We're being denied that option. We're being denied the ability to attack the credibility of someone who has changed.

1:11:07Respectfully, we disagree with your Honor's position on this. We think he absolutely changed his testimony. And we're being prohibited the right to impeach him on the fact he changed his testimony. And I believe that the question I would ask him if I were allowed to go forward would be, did you learn that Eric popped pills in high school? And that would impeach what he said to Mr. Bloodworth, unrebutted and not allowed to be rebutted by me when we know that I can rebut it. And we just, on our strongest way possible, we object to this. We would like a continuing objection. We moved to strike all of Cody Wright's testimony. All of the issues that Mr. You lost me. On redirect. Unredirect. The redirect testimony. Which ways? Where he answered the question that I'm not now being allowed to impeach him on. We're asking to strike it at the very minimum. The all of the things that Mr. Bloodworth just brought up all go to wait, not a missibility.

1:12:12And what is the non hearsay route for this witness to testify regarding what he heard if it's coming in for the truth of the matter. It's not. It's coming into impeach that once the court allowed him to answer that question with hearsay to rebut the hearsay that we elisted. And what's the evidence that he heard prior to today testifying today that Eric Richens used elisted street trucks. He just testified to it all the stand. That is not true. Okay. Well, we agreed to disagree on that, Your Honor. Have you disclosed that expert that would provide a non speculative basis that red devils are an elisted street truck? We have disclosed that expert. His name is Mr. Kearney. He is on our list. He's been available. We did not know the red devil stuff was coming in until 10 minutes ago. Because we were told, well, okay, well, that's, that's obvious. I mean, we did the best we could. We gave him our drug expert that as soon as the red devils comes in,

1:13:15we can let them talk to him about that because we sure would go into that with our expert that we're now being denied the ability to do that. There is a key question here, Your Honor, if Eric Richens had a drug problem. And if he did, Ms. Richens is innocent. And we are being prohibited from going into that with the one person who knows. And I just think that the, the, the veracity of this witness on this topic cannot be underestimated for purposes of the defense. I know you disagree with us. I believe I made my record. Yes, he's changed his story. He's now saying he's never heard that Eric used drugs when he knows in the pre-limb that he did. And I just think this is just a huge, huge impediment to us to put on a fair trial in this case. And I believe I've made my record. I can't think of anything else I need to say on the record. Thank you for letting me make a proper. Are you asking me to strike Mr. Wright's answer that he's never heard that Eric used Alyssa's future?

1:14:18Yes. On which basis? On what basis? On the fact I'm not allowed to impeach him on it and we all know it's not a correct answer. You certainly can impeach him on it if you have any evidence that it's impeachable. No, any other way to show it to the court other than what we've already done. Can... I want to be clear, there's just no evidence that Cody Wright believes that red doubles are Alyssa's street drugs. But he separated the red doubles from the popping pills. He separated that. No, I would respect. He didn't. Okay. I think the transcript will reflect on you. All right. We pause. Anything further? We have a mystery.

1:15:31I have nothing further to add, Your Honor. Mr. Bloodworth, the direct question. I need to exercise a measure of humility here. Thank you. Please proceed. Your Honor, this state is comfortable with the courts rolling into record. Okay. Very good. Court stands on its ruling. Anything else before we invite Mr. Wright back in and the jury? Mr. Bloodworth? No, Your Honor. Ms. Nestor. Can't remember. Did we...? I'm not persuaded that you provided a basis to strike Mr. Wright's statement that he's never been told that Eric Richens used Alyssa's street drugs. I just can't remember how he ended it with the witness because so much has happened.

1:16:31So... I think you had the witness on recross. I approached before I rebrested. Okay. Thank you. Hope for help in your event. Do you have any recross questions within the scope of redirect? Can you give me just one minute? Of course. I'm going to press my recollection because Alyssa has gone under the bridge and I'm just having to get back to where we were. I think I do have a quick recross on within the scope of his redirect. Very good. If we couldn't bite the jury back in, please. Please have a seat as you command. All right. Folks have a seat. Mr. Wright, if you would take the stand again, I appreciate it.

1:17:36Mr. Wright, you're still under a... Ms. Nestor, please proceed. Thank you, Your Honor. We're almost done. You mentioned just now to Mr. Bloodworth a few minutes ago. It's been a minute now. That you were aware that Eric used THC gummies, right? I heard that he did that, yes. Okay. Do you have any personal knowledge just how often he would use THC gummies? No idea. Do you know why he used them? I couldn't tell you that. I don't know why he would have used them. And do you have any personal knowledge about where he obtained his gummies from? Zero. Okay. So that was just a part of his life he didn't share with you. Correct. And on the truck, when you sent whoever, I know you said you don't remember, Mr. Bloodworth just talked to you about a date. The work truck, not the red one, but the work truck, you guys got that just within a day or two after he passed, correct?

1:18:36A work truck was baked up within a few days. Okay. And then the truck that you took from the dealership was about a month later. Or so, yeah, months later. I just wanted to make that clarification. Thank you. That's all I have. We tend to have the winnest shot. No, you're on it. Thank you. Okay. Are we releasing this witness council? Yes, sir. Okay. So you are free to go. You are released from the subpoena. You can talk to anybody you'd like. Thank you. Thank you for your time. More continuous coverage from the trial of Corey Richards from the Hidden Killer's podcast and troop crime today is coming up. Press subscribe now so you don't miss a moment. Press flagged for possible identity fraud, but it's not all grim news.

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