Summit County jurors on Monday heard from an expert witness who testified that cellphone data appears to link Kouri Richins to two key witnesses in her husband’s overdose death, days after hearing sharply conflicting testimony from the pair about whether the Kamas mother knowingly purchased fenta nyl weeks before Eric Richins died on March 4, 2022. Prosecutors called Chris Kotrodimos, a former lieutenant who now works in digital forensic analytics, as their final witness of day six in the trial. Kotrodimos was retained by the Summit County Attorney’s Office in May 2023, after Kouri’s arrest, to help analyze call detail records and phone downloads.  Kotrodimos testified to data recovered from multiple cellphones, including the Richins couple. He said the download report on Eric’s phone didn’t show any mass deletions, while Kouri’s devices showed hundreds of text messages, web history and calls that were erased.  The report showed evidence of deletion from January to March 2022, largely during the month Eric died. That includes three GIF memes — someone wiping their eyes with cash, a man in a suit with the text “Idiots. Idiots everywhere,” and President Trump saying “I’m really rich” — accessed at 8:29 a.m. on March 4, 2022. Kotrodimos also explained how cell tower mapping connects Kouri with her former housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, on the days prosecutors said the pair orchestrated drug deals with Robert Crozier. The first meeting was Feb. 11, 2022. According to the data presented by Kotrodimos, Kouri and Lauber communicated 34 times via text between 3:42 p.m. and 9:02 p.m., while Lauber and Crozier spoke 50 times via text and six times via voice call during that same period. Kotrodimos showed jurors a map indicating the location of Lauber and Crozier as they traveled to a gas station in Draper.  Lauber and Crozier testified last week that they had only been to that location to meet with each other, which Kotrodimos affirmed during his testimony. Subsequent pick-ups took place on Feb. 26 and March 9, which had similar communication and mapping data between Crozier and Lauber; the former of which was in frequent communication with Kouri throughout the day during those dates.  Lauber testified last week to the details of four alleged drug deals orchestrated by Kouri. Lauber said she purchased the pills from Robert Crozier three of those times, who testified on Friday that he did not sell fentanyl in early 2022 after previously telling Summit County investigators he did.  Kotrodimos also said Lauber and Kouri exchanged 800 text messages between January and March 2022, and then the number dropped to about 650 between March 2022 and December 2022. However, he couldn’t say what the texts said as they were deleted on both devices. The data also showed near-daily text messages between Kouri and her “paramour” beginning in November 2021. The pair communicated on Feb., 14, 2022, the same day prosecutors allege Kouri attempted to poison Eric with a drug-laced sandwich.  Kotrodimos also showed the jury text messages between Eric and Kouri from that day, in which Eric said he didn’t feel well and considered going to the hospital. Call records indicate Eric had a brief phone call on the evening of March 3, 2022. He received a text message at 10 p.m., after Kouri said she last saw him alive, but it’s unclear if Eric opened the message. Data shows activity on Kouri’s phone starting at 3:06 a.m. the next morning, before a 911 call is ultimately made about 20 minutes later. Kouri acquired a second phone in April 2022, which also showed some items had been erased, such as internet searches.  Kotrodimos said that included looking up how to change account passwords or delete iCloud information remotely; whether law enforcement could recover deleted messages; if cops can force a lie detector test; what it means when the FBI becomes involved in a case and why; how long it takes for life insurance payments to be paid out; how much a lethal dose of fentanyl is; if the manner of death on a death certificate can be changed; the definition of white collar crime; and Kouri Richins’ net worth. The data also recovered websites accessed on the iPhone, including an inmate roster, things to know about the Utah State Prison, information about delayed payments for life insurance and how law enforcement forensic analysts recover data. Alexander Ramos, a defense attorney for Kouri, was critical of Kotrodimos’ analysis and said it was speculation and it’s unclear what settings Kouri had on her devices. Kotrodimos replied that he was relying on the data. Ramos argued context is important and noted that Kouri recently learned she was being investigated in Eric’s death, and that Kotrodimos cannot say for sure why those searches were made. The defense attorney countered suggestions regarding phone data showing Kouri called the IRS leading up to Eric’s death — amidst the prosecutor’s claims that she was millions of dollars in debt — by noting it was right around tax season. Ramos also questioned the digital forensic analyst about whether anyone else had access to Kouri’s phone during that time. Kotrodimos said he wasn’t sure. The other witnesses called to the stand during the first day of the trial’s second week: Dr. Erick Christensen, former Utah chief medical examiner, testified about speaking with Kouri after supplemental reports of Eric’s autopsy were released. Chistensen testified that he’s familiar with illicit fentanyl pills being counterfeit as opiates like 30mg oxycodone pills.   Molly Crosswhite, who purchased a home in Midway from Kouri Richins, which prosecutors say was the location of some of the drug drop-offs. Crosswhite said she closed on the home on Jan. 26, 2022, but that it remained unoccupied until March 30, 2022, with a key near the front door for contractors to access the building. Allison Wright, who is married to Eric’s business partner, Cody, and also works at the business, described how she met Eric in junior high school. She detailed a moment alone she shared with Kouri during the couple’s joint vacation in Costa Rica in February 2019. Wright testified that Kouri confided that her marriage wasn’t in a good place, and Kouri said she felt trapped but feared a divorce because of a prenuptial agreement that was in place. Wright said she thought Kouri pursued a master’s degree and started her own business because Kouri was “motivated to become financially independent.” Kouri Richins, the Kamas mother of three charged with poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022, listens to testimony during the second week of her trial. Credit: Court TV/Pool Kouri is charged with several felonies in connection with Eric’s death, including aggravated murder, attempted homicide and fraudulent insurance claims. Prosecutors allege she poisoned her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl in March 2022, while her defense maintains she is innocent. She has pleaded not guilty. Her five-week trial is expected to end on March 27. 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