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The same defense attorney representing the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination is involved in the Utah murder case against Kouri Richins, where the case just suffered a major blow: the star witness is now recanting key testimony.
On Sept. 24, Utah County officials contracted Kathryn Nester to represent Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect charged in the fatal shooting of Kirk during a Utah Valley University appearance.
Nester, through a prior appointment, is also working on Richins’ case, in which prosecutors allege she poisoned her husband, 39-year-old Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022.
The shared defense connection comes amid a new development in Richins’ trial as the state’s main witness, Robert Crozier, has walked back his statement that he supplied the fentanyl prosecutors claim was used to kill Eric Richins.
Kathryn Nester arrives at Utah County District Court in Provo, Utah, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Nester is representing Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. (Alec Thornock for Fox News Digital)
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The original case against Richins hinges on Crozier’s statement that he sold fentanyl to a housekeeper, who allegedly delivered it to Richins.
Now, Crozier claims he never sold fentanyl, only OxyContin, and says he does not recall ever making the previous claim. If the State cannot reliably place fentanyl in Richins’ hands, Nester argues, the prosecution’s case unravels.
“If the state cannot place fentanyl in the hands of (Richins), the state has no case,” she wrote in her motion for bail reconsideration, which was obtained by PEOPLE.
“Mr. Crozier’s statement doesn’t just poke holes in their case, it throws a grenade into the middle of it, leaving them nothing but speculation and conjecture, getting them nowhere near the realm of (proving their case) beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Kouri Richins, left, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, speaks to her attorney, Kathy Nester, during a hearing, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP Photo via Pool)
Authorities in 2023 charged Richins, now 35, with her husband’s poisoning death as a means to collect millions in life insurance funds.
The night Eric died on March 3, 2022, authorities say the couple was celebrating Kouri’s recent closure of a $2 million mansion under construction that she wanted to flip and sell for a profit as part of her real-estate business, a warrant states. She then allegedly spiked Eric’s cocktail with fentanyl, killing him in their bed.
Kouri Richins, the Utah mom of three and children’s book author accused of poisoning her husband to death in March 2022. (Rick Bowmer/AP Photo | Pool/ Facebook)
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Richins is facing numerous charges, which include attempted aggravated murder, aggravated murder, distribution of a controlled substance, mortgage fraud, fraudulent insurance claim and forgery.
Previous court filings allege Kouri purchased four different life insurance policies on Eric’s life totaling more than $1.9 million between 2015 and 2017.
On Jan. 1, 2022, months before Eric’s death, Kouri “surreptitiously and without authorization changed the beneficiary for his $2 million life insurance policy to herself,” documents state. Eric received a notification about the change and switched the beneficiary back to his business partner.
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Utah prosecutors are accusing Kouri Richins of poisoning her husband Eric Richins, 39, with fentanyl at their home in Kamas outside of Park City while their three young sons were sleeping. (Kouri Richins/Facebook)
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Richins has pleaded not guilty to all charges and continues to deny her involvement in her husband’s death. Her trial is currently set to start in February 2026.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Nester for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.