Two women who have known Kouri Richins for more than 20 years took the stand on Thursday to testify about her marriage to Eric Richins, as well as events before and after his death on March 4, 2022.

Chelsea Barney and Ali Staking each said they met Kouri in junior high and have been best friends, staying in regular contact. The women did not speculate about whether the Kamas mother of three poisoned her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl as Summit County prosecutors allege, but spoke about events in the Richins’ relationship and how they perceived Kouri’s emotional state.

Chief Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth first asked Barney if she knew about a $250,000 Home Equity Line of Credit loan Kouri took out on the Richins’ home in 2019 by using Eric’s power of attorney without his knowledge to help fund her real estate business. The loan caused tension in their marriage, leading Eric to consult with a divorce attorney when he found out about it and ultimately create a trust for his estate.

Barney found out about it when a group of friends was vacationing in Sun Valley, Idaho, in October 2020. Barney testified that Kouri said Eric was upset and froze her credit cards. Kouri allegedly asked the group to help her pay for the trip, and she would reimburse them.

Text messages between Barney and Kouri from the same month were presented to the jury, with Kouri noting how Eric felt upset and the possibility of separating.

Additional exchanges between the friends from March, May, June and November 2022 were shown. Those included a conversation about Kouri hiring a lawyer after Eric’s death when she learned about the trust, civil disputes with the Richins family, specifically Eric’s sisters Amy Richins and Katie Richins-Benson, and Kouri’s reaction to being investigated as a suspect.

Barney testified she was present at an argument with Amy on March 6, 2022, when Kouri wanted access to Eric’s safe to see the will. Barney said Amy told Kouri the couple’s home was not hers because it fell under the estate in Eric’s trust, of which Katie was the trustee. She witnessed Kouri as upset and hysterical.

Staking provided a similar account of those events when she was called to the stand later that afternoon. She said Kouri’s reaction was “pure frustration and rage,” but Staking thought Kouri was valid and not out of control.

Prosecutors also played the jury a phone call between Kouri and Bryce Knudsen, Eric’s best friend, a few weeks after Eric died.

Kouri explained the ongoing civil dispute with the Richins family regarding the couple’s home. She explained that she took out the HELOC loan because Eric didn’t trust her business acumen — witnesses earlier in the week also testified that Eric thought Kouri was inexperienced — with Kouri saying that her husband “never gave me a chance because he didn’t believe in me.”

Kouri also told Knudsen that the Richins family refused to make arrangements with Kouri regarding Eric’s trust until the autopsy was finished because they suspected she may have had a role in his death.

Prosecutors also asked about a celebration of life for Eric held the night or so after he died that Barney, Staking and Knudsen attended. They planned to publish a redacted version of the video to the jury to protect minors’ identities, but it was suggested that the atmosphere was more party-like than grief-stricken.

Staking said their goal was to remember Eric’s life and keep the atmosphere happy and positive for the children. Staking recalled Kouri was distraught and seemed like she was grieving after Eric died, and that she was the most traumatized Staking had ever seen her.

Staking also testified about a conversation she had with Eric, Kouri and some of their friends in February 2022, in which Eric spoke about becoming ill on Valentine’s Day, saying Kouri tried to poison him. Staking recalled it was told as a funny story, with Kouri clarifying that’s not what happened and everyone teasing, “Don’t eat what Kouri feeds you.”

Prosecutors allege that Kouri attempted to kill Eric with a drug-laced sandwich that day, while the defense argues it was an allergic reaction.

Josh Kaze, who used to hunt and camp with Eric, testified earlier on Thursday that Eric called him after he fell ill from eating the sandwich. Kaze said it was unlike any conversation he’d had with Eric, and Eric seemed somber and sincere, which was out of the ordinary for two friends who often bantered.

Prosecutors also called Becky Lloyd, who works for C&E Stone Masonry, which Eric owned with his business partner, Cody Wright, to the stand. Lloyd described a conversation she had with Kouri in mid-December 2021, when they discussed their personal lives.

Lloyd said she was recently divorced, and Kouri and Eric had a fight earlier that day related to a scheduling conflict. She recalled Kouri said she felt “trapped” in her marriage without a way out.

“She said in many ways it would be better if he were dead,” Llyod testified, adding that the tone of the conversation was very serious, honest and heartfelt. “(It) signified how far their marriage was off track and how serious the situation was. I felt bad for both of them.”

Lloyd said she empathized with Kouri about experiencing marital strife and not having nice thoughts, but that Lloyd would never voice a sentiment like that aloud.

Defense attorney Kathy Nester questioned Lloyd about whether she was certain she remembered Kouri saying that, and said Lloyd never asked Kouri what she meant.

Nester said if Kouri planned to kill Eric, “it wouldn’t be a smart thing to tell someone.”

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. She has been held in the Summit County Jail without bail since her arrest in May 2023.

Her five-week trial is expected to end on March 27.