A private investigator employed by Eric Richins’ family testified on Monday at the start of the third week of his wife’s murder trial about what he learned while looking into Eric’s death.

Todd Gabler told the Summit County jury that he was initially contacted shortly after Eric’s death in March 2022 by Kristal Bowman Carter, the estate planning attorney Eric had hired to create a trust that did not directly benefit Kouri Richins.

Gabler was then connected in April 2022 with Eric’s sister, Katie Richins Benson, whom Eric had designated as trustee, and explained the role of a private investigator and the procedures he follows when investigating cases. He emphasized his role was to find the truth about what happened to Eric: whether he died of an accidental overdose by his own hand or if Kouri Richins surreptitiously made Eric ingest a massive amount of fentanyl.

“The truth is very often difficult for us to accept,” Gabler said.

The independent investigation was paid for by Katie Richins Benson’s husband, Clint, but Gabler said legal operations were handled through the trust.

Gabler testified during cross-examination that he billed about 936 hours in the case at an hourly rate of $125, though some specialty services, such as digital forensics, cost about $200 an hour. Defense attorney Kathy Nester estimated his invoice was more than $100,000.

As a private investigator, Gabler said no one with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office influenced his work. He first sent materials to his client, and then they discussed sharing it with the Sheriff’s Office. Gabler said there was ultimately full disclosure, with nothing held back.

Sheriff’s Deputy Jayme Woody, who previously served as the lead investigator while a detective on the case before transitioning roles to become a K9 handler, testified on Monday that the information shared played a key role in advancing the Sheriff’s Office investigation.

However, Gabler said the flow was one-way. The Sheriff’s Office did not share information with Gabler, nor did they have contact until after Kouri’s arrest on May 8, 2023.

For example, Eric’s business paid for the Richins couple’s phones, so Gabler was able to obtain billing records by gaining permission from Eric’s business partner, Cody Wright.

The private investigator completed around 45-50 interviews of his own, including friends and associates of the Richins couple, as well as Eric’s family. Gabler said Kouri nor her family would participate.

He could also see that Kouri contacted her mother the most but that Carmen Lauber — a former housekeeper who testified that Kouri asked her to procure drugs on multiple occasions — was among the top three contacts between January and May 2022.

Gabler became suspicious of Lauber because of her criminal history and the number of times she had been in contact with Kouri, and he alerted the Sheriff’s Office that she may be involved in Eric’s death.

The private investigator ultimately prepared two hard drives for the Summit County Attorney’s Office, one with audio and video recordings as well as photographs, and one with computer forensics, including Eric’s work computer and a “clone” of his iPhone.

The defense was quick to note that Gabler is not law enforcement. However, he noted there are different rules for private investigators, such as not needing a search warrant or a judge’s permission. For instance, Gabler was able to put covert GPS tracking on Kouri’s car as well as her mother’s vehicle.

Nester questioned how Gabler logged certain evidence that law enforcement later recovered, to which he replied that everything was documented via video and audio recording. Clint Benson was also aware or present whenever Gabler was in the Richins’ home, the private investigator said. Benson also requested that certain items be removed, such as a safe, or to retrieve items for the Richins’ children.

“There was no law enforcement there,” Gabler said. “I don’t need law enforcement to babysit me.”

Gabler said that while he may have observed evidence of a “bad marriage,” he did not think it was an immediate concern.

Nester also questioned Gabler on whether he considered similar cases of people selling fentanyl or marijuana-laced fentanyl in Summit County. Gabler said he found no relationship between those incidents and Eric’s death.

The other witnesses called to the stand on Monday:

Wright, who testified about his relationship with Eric as a friend and business partner. Wright said the pair talked almost every day, and their business, C&E Stone Masonry, was on the rise. He was informed about changes to a life insurance policy that were made in January 2022 and testified that he did not make the changes and that he did not observe Eric making the changes. Wright also testified about a phone call he had with Eric around 2 p.m. on Valentine’s Day and the “fear in (Eric’s) voice.” He also spoke about no knowledge of Eric having a drug problem, though he knew Eric consumed alcohol and used marijuana gummies.
Matthew Throckmorton, a forensic document examiner, testified about handwriting samples. Specifically, he mentioned a signature that was not penned by Eric, though he couldn’t say for sure if Kouri was the one to forge it.
Woody detailed the initial days of the investigation and being called to the Richins’ home on March 4, 2022. She described how law enforcement searched the scene around where Eric died that evening, but that they needed a warrant or probable cause to look in other areas of the home. The trajectory of the investigation changed in April 2022 when law enforcement learned Eric died of a “massive” fentanyl overdose.

Prosecutors originally expected to call their final witness, Detective Jeff O’Driscoll, on Tuesday. However, a series of legal issues that morning led Judge Richard Mrazik to put the Third District Court in recess until 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Kouri has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, attempted murder and other financial crimes stemming from her husband, Eric Richins’ overdose death on March 4, 2022.

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