ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Jeffrey Cook, Meredith Deliso
Current Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby and former Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds have been charged with obstruction of justice related to the Kouri Richins murder case in Utah. Rigby faces one felony count of obstruction and a misdemeanor for allegedly using false information to hinder prosecution, while Edmunds is charged with a felony count of obstruction for providing false information intended to impede an investigation. Both charges stem from an anonymous letter postmarked January 10, 2026, though details about the letter's content are redacted in court filings.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Sheriff, former sheriff charged with obstruction of justice related to Kouri Richins case: Filings
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Sheriff → charge → case
Kouri Richins was found guilty of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl.
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Richins → find → fentanyl
A current sheriff and a former sheriff of two Utah counties have been charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the Kouri Richins murder case, according to court filings related to heavily redacted, newly unsealed indictments.
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sheriff → charge → indictments
Kouri Richins was found guilty of murdering her husband in March.
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Richins → find → March
The high-profile weekslong trial in Summit County followed a yearslong investigation that garnered national attention.
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that → follow → attention
A former Summit County sheriff and the sheriff of neighboring Wasatch County face charges related to Kouri Richins' prosecution, according to defense motions seeking that the indictments be redacted upon release due to the highly publicized murder trial.
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indictments → neighbor → trial
Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby was charged with one count of obstruction of justice in a criminal proceeding, a second-degree felony, and one count of making a written false statement, a misdemeanor.
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Rigby → charge → misdemeanor
The indictment alleges that he made, presented or used a knowingly false item in January "with intent to hinder" a prosecution.
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he → allege → prosecution
David Edmunds, who served as the sheriff of Summit County from 2003 to 2014, was charged with one count of obstruction of justice in a criminal investigation, a third-degree felony, according to the indictment.
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who → serve → indictment
The indictment alleges that he provided false information "with intent to hinder" an investigation on March 13.
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he → allege → March
Both indictments, which were filed last month, were unsealed Wednesday with significant redactions.
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which → file → redactions
According to Rigby's motion, the charges against him "allege interference" in the Kouri Richins case over an anonymous letter postmarked Jan. 10, 2026.
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charges → accord → letter
The filing does not detail the contents of the letter, who wrote it or to whom it was addressed.
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it → detail → whom
According to Edmunds' motion, the language in his indictment "names the Richins prosecution and connects the anonymous letter to alleged misconduct by a Summit County sheriff's deputy."
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language → accord → deputy
The indictment accuses Edmunds of making a false statement "intended to hinder identification of the letter's author," the filing states.
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filing → accuse → author
Both men have pleaded not guilty, according to ABC Salt Lake City affiliate KTVX.
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men → plead → affiliate
ABC News has reached out to their attorneys and the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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News → reach → response
Rigby has previously said he acted lawfully.
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he → say → ?
A Summit County jury found Kouri Richins guilty of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March.
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Richins → find → March
Judge Richard Mrazik, who presided over the murder trial, sentenced her to life without parole.
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who → preside → parole
The 36-year-old mother of three, who self-published a children's book on grieving following her husband's death in 2022, is currently seeking a new criminal trial.
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who → publish → trial
This week, Judge Mrazik ordered that she pay more than $55 million in damages to the estate and family members of her late husband in a wrongful death claim.
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she → order → claim
In his order, Mrazik noted that Kouri Richins did not dispute any of the factual statements in the motion for judgment, which sought an order concluding that she "wrongfully caused" her husband's death.
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she → note → death
The judge stated in his order that he concluded from the guilty verdict and the "undisputed record evidence" that Kouri Richins caused her husband's death by poisoning him.
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Richins → state → him
The order includes $10,780,129 in economic damages and $3 million in non-economic damages -- $1 million for each Richins child -- that "seek to compensate wrongful death victims for loss of society, love, companionship, protection, guidance, and affection."
"Eric shared deep, emotional connections with his three minor children, who are the Estate’s only heirs," the order stated.
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order → include → children
"His death has caused them severe trauma, and it will have permanent effects on each.
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it → cause → each
In addition, by killing Eric, which resulted in her imprisonment, Kouri deprived the minor children of being with their father or their mother.
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Kouri → kill → father
"
The order also included $41,340,387 in punitive damages, which were determined by multiplying the economic and non-economic damages by three.
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which → include → three
The Aporia
