Moscow mule 'murderess' Kouri Richins, 34, declares WAR on prosecutors for 'taking her away from her kids' after her arrest for husband's murder

The mother-of-three made her first comments since her May 2023 arrest She accused prosecutors of doing 'anything they can' to 'hide their corruption' READ MORE: Defense for Kouri Richins withdraws from her case

The Utah mother-of-three accused of spiking her husband's cocktail with a deadly dose of fentanyl has made her first comments since her arrest.

Kouri Richins, 34, has remained behind bars since a judge denied her bail last year. She stands accused of killing her husband, Eric, by slipping fentanyl into his Moscow mule on Valentine's Day.

In remarks provided exclusively to NBC's Dateline, Richins lambasted prosecutors for doing 'anything they can to prolong this process and hide their corruption.'

'I’ve been silent for a year, locked away from my kids, my family, my life, living with the media telling the world who they think I am, what they think I’ve done or how they think I’ve lived,' she said.

'You took an innocent mom away from her babies. And this means war.'

Kouri Richins, 34 (left), has spoken out for the first time since her arrest in May 2023, accusing prosecutors of corruption and blasting them from taking 'an innocent mom away from her babies'

Richins stands accused of murdering her husband, Eric (right) by slipping a lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow mule cocktail

The comments came after a judge granted her lawyers' May 17 request to withdraw from her defense, with lead attorney Skye Lazaro attributing the decision to an 'irreconcilable and nonwaivable situation,' according to documents reviewed by DailyMail.com.

'To properly safeguard the Defendant’s constitutional rights, this Court should immediately grant the Firm’s motion to withdraw and should immediately appoint new counsel to continue the vigorous defense of the criminal charges against Ms. Richins,' Friday's filing read.

In her remarks, Richins directly addressed her legal team's withdrawal from the case.

'Represented or not, we all know and should understand there’s only so much I can say,' she said.

'But what I will say is this withdrawal was not my choice. And it was not a personal choice of any counsel on my defense team.'

The request was filed just a day after the defense asked a judge to disqualify prosecutors over 'severe violations' of Richins’ right to effective counsel.

The motion pointed a finger at prosecutor Brad Bloodworth, alleging he infringed on attorney-client privilege in multiple breaches of Richin's 6th Amendment rights.

The document accused authorities of recording jail calls between Richins and her defense team without their consent. Bloodworth allegedly accessed and listened to the recordings from May to December 2023.

Prosecutors allege the mother of three was in debt and fraudulently obtained four different life insurance policies totaling $1.9 million before Eric's death

The comments came after a judge granted the defense's request to withdraw from the Richins case, citing an 'irreconcilable and nonwaivable situation'

The request was filed just a day after the defense asked a judge to disqualify prosecutors over 'severe violations' of Richins’ constitutional rights, including listening in on attorney-client jail calls

When one of Richins' lawyers made the discovery and asked prosecutors whether they were aware of it, Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson insisted that she had no idea, according to filings.

Bloodworth, meanwhile, asserted that the defense was 'well aware' that the calls had been recorded, seeing as one of the lawyers had refused to use a phone application that shields attorney-client calls.

He claimed prosecutors had not listened to any of the calls and insisted that the defense had been provided with the recorded calls through discovery over the nearly eight-month span.

'I will not play into the prosecution’s unconstitutional behavior anymore,' Richins said in statements provided to Dateline.

'Although I am extremely disappointed where we’re at right now with this case, I’m anxious. I’m anxious to prove my innocence. I’m anxious to get to trial.'

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EXCLUSIVE

Moscow Mule 'killer' Kouri Richins's lover unmasked: Utah author wanted to start new life with handyman Robert Grossmann - who ended up homeless after she evicted him

Prosecutors allege the mother of three was in debt and fraudulently obtained four different life insurance policies totaling $1.9 million before plying her husband Eric, 39, with the spiked Moscow mule in March 2022.

One year after his death, Richins published a children’s book that depicted a father watching over his children while sporting a pair of angel wings.

She dedicated it to Eric, calling him an 'amazing husband' and 'wonderful father.'

Richins faces charges of aggravated murder, forgery, and mortgage and insurance fraud. This year, she was hit with an additional count of attempted murder for allegedly drugging her husband's sandwich in an earlier attempt.

'I think my wife tried to kill me,' Eric told his friends at the time, according to witness testimony.

A month later, Richins called 911 after finding Eric 'cold to the touch' at the foot of their bed, according to a police report. Medical examiners discovered that he had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.

DailyMail.com revealed last week that the 34-year-old was romantically entangled with 41-year-old Robert Grossmann, a handyman.

'If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would?' Richins texted Grossmann just weeks before Eric's death.

The mother-of-three is currently being held at the Summit County Jail. She has not entered a plea and maintains her innocence.