373: D4vd is Going DOWN, Anna Kepner’s Killer Gets Slap on the Wrist?, & Kouri Richins is The Worst

This week on Headline Highlights: Newly released grand jury documents reveal that d4vd has officially been named a suspect in the murder investigation surrounding the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. After months of silence, authorities have charged the 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner in her homicide aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship. The first week of trial against Kouri Richins featured major testimony and new allegations as prosecutors laid out their case surrounding the death of her husband, Eric Richins. After disappearing in 2001, Michele Hundley Smith was found alive nearly 24 years later and briefly arrested on an old DWI warrant that had been waiting since the month she vanished…. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. . Kouri Richins: Grieving Widow or Criminal Mastermind?!🍎Apple Podcasts💚Spotify🔴YouTube.🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.🚩 Announcements 🎉✨CrimeCon 2026 Giveaway Winner✨🎉Congratulations to our CrimeCon Giveaway Winner… Nikki King! Please check your email for all the details on how to officially accept your prize. .📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources ABC7 | CBS News | Click2Houston | CourtTV | Fox News | Law & Crime | NBC Los Angeles | NBC Miami | Park Record | People | SAN | The Guardian | WMBF | WRAL••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:23Annie Elise?

  Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serial Sleep.

• 1:45Annie Elise?

  Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serial Sleep with me, your host, Annie Elise, also your true crime bestie. And for those of you who are brand new to the podcast, maybe listening for the first time, let me just break down what we do over here. I mean, first and foremost, obviously, we are a true crime podcast, but we do two shows a week, one on Monday and one on Thursday. The Monday show is a deep dive where we go into one single case. Research it like crazy. Get the court documents, the interviews, talk with law enforcement, go to Reddit to see what theories are out there. I mean, the works. So it's a full deep dive. And then on days like today, on Thursdays, we do a segment called headline highlights, where we talk about everything that is happening this week in true crime,

• 2:30Annie Elise?

  whether that be a new case that is breaking, possibly an update to a case that we have done a previous deep dive on. And just so that you can feel like, you know, you're in the know with how everything is moving and I was gonna say moving and grooming, which I hate that. I don't even know why I was gonna say that. But you get what I'm talking about. Also, last weekend headline highlights, we did a giveaway for a weekend pass for Crime Con, which is going to be this May in Las Vegas. So the winner has been chosen. It is in the show notes. Check the episode description and see if it was you. And we will do another giveaway in the future, too. So you always want to listen to these episodes because not only do we give you all the deets of true crime, but also we do giveaways. And so headline highlights today, we've got a lot to talk about. Joining

• 3:15Annie Elise?

  me in studio is Amy Colette. Hello.

• 3:19Speaker 01

  Good morning.

• 3:20Annie Elise?

  Good morning. How are we feeling today?

• 3:22Speaker 01

  I don't know. Are we moving and grooving?

• 3:23Annie Elise?

  Honestly.

• 3:24Speaker 01

  As soon as the words left your lips, I was grossed out.

• 3:28Annie Elise?

  I was so grossed out. I hate that. And what did I say the other day? I don't even know. I just hate some of the vocabulary.

• 3:34Speaker 01

  You're getting older.

• 3:35Annie Elise?

  Okay. That is so rude. Rude. I actually, I do have a question for you, and I have been meaning to ask you. Have you watched Love Story yet?

• 3:44Speaker 01

  Obsessed.

• 3:45Annie Elise?

  Okay.

• 3:45Speaker 01

  Wait, I posted about it last night.

• 3:47Annie Elise?

  You did?

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Or a couple nights ago.

• 3:48Annie Elise?

  Oh, okay. I'm obsessed, binged it. But I am so much more stupid than I think I ever knew. I don't know history, apparently, at all, which

• 4:00Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, let me hear it.

• 4:01Annie Elise?

  Kind of tracks, because I missed so many days of high school, because I just didn't want to go. I thought this whole time when hearing about it, that it was JFK, and I feel like I knew it was JFK Junior. But in my mind, I always thought the JFK and Carolyn story was before he got with Jackie, and that it was like the main JFK guy, and that he dated Carolyn, and that was his one true love. And then he got with Jackie because she had to, like, it was politics or whatever. And then I also thought her maiden name was Onassis. I didn't know she remarried. And so I'm like, I don't know anything.

• 4:34Speaker 01

  So well, I will say.

• 4:37Speaker 05

  Maybe 20 years ago, I was confused by that. However.

• 4:40Annie Elise?

  You are older and wiser.

• 4:42Speaker 05

  I mean, they died in the 90s. So what did you think? He was like in his 90s, but then also had the face of a hot, younger.

• 4:51Annie Elise?

  Easy there cougar. Well, I didn't know that he died young. Like I, see, I didn't know anything. I just thought, oh, JFK, they're going to talk about the love story before he was with Jackie. That kind of sucks. Like what a dick. But like, then I watched, I was like, oh no. And then I remembered the famous photo where, when his dad, real JFK passed away and he's like saluting him. And I was like, that's right. He had a son. I get it now. I'm following. And of course, I don't know if you're like me or if any of you listeners are like me. Anytime I watch something that is rooted in history or like based on, you know, historical events. I go psychotic with needing to research every single detail. So I have been like in the depths of hell on the internet, wanting to know everything about JFK, everything about Jackie. What was her apartment like?

• 5:36Annie Elise?

  How much was it? What streets? Did they live out? Like, I'm just so nosy.

• 5:39Speaker 05

  Deep dive because everyone's so nostalgic for that time. But now you probably see why Carol from Real Housewives of New York was friends with Carolyn, same age.

• 5:49Annie Elise?

  And it tracks. And I just don't think I ever knew the full story. And I do have a hot take and then we're going to get into all of this. I see everybody on social media is not only obsessed with him, but like obsessed with the styles from then. And like with Carolyn, the hair flips, the long hair. She's problematic in my opinion. I don't know if it's just the way that they're portraying her on this. I just feel like she's bugging me.

• 6:12Speaker 05

  Emotionally unavailable a little bit?

• 6:14Annie Elise?

  Maybe. And I get it. She's playing the game. And it was like that famous book, The Rule or whatever, The Rules or whatever the hell it was. But like, she kind of bugs.

• 6:23Speaker 05

  I don't agree.

• 6:24Annie Elise?

  You don't? And I also kind of think he bugs. Like he's kind of.

• 6:27Speaker 05

  He likes her because she's a bit of a chase.

• 6:29Annie Elise?

  Of course, but like, I also think.

• 6:30Speaker 05

  And I love him. He's just so humble.

• 6:33Annie Elise?

  I, I don't mind that she's like playing hard to get, but what bothers me is like. And this is gonna sound like a woman hating a woman, which I don't mean for it to come across that way, but like, how invasive she is at work and how she's like, just like, a big person out towards like, you're bothering me a little bit. I don't know.

• 6:50Speaker 05

  It's so weird how people can see it so differently. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to her in those times, but I felt like more she went in, like, bottom of the ranks and like, was quickly identified as like a superstar.

• 7:02Annie Elise?

  But like, from, from like, pushing other people down the ladder to climb herself, which that I don't like.

• 7:06Speaker 05

  I don't love that.

• 7:07Annie Elise?

  I, I don't know. I, I'm, I love it though. I'm fully caught up.

• 7:10Speaker 05

  I love the soundtrack.

• 7:11Annie Elise?

  There's a new episode tonight, actually.

• 7:13Speaker 05

  Oh.

• 7:13Annie Elise?

  And I'm really excited to watch it. But, um, yeah, I'm like.

• 7:16Speaker 05

  Well, and their fight in, uh, did you see the fight in Central Park?

• 7:20Annie Elise?

  Yeah, the real footage.

• 7:21Speaker 05

  Yeah, the real footage?

• 7:22Annie Elise?

  Yeah.

• 7:23Speaker 05

  That's kinda wild.

• 7:24Annie Elise?

  No, I know. When you have paparazzi chasing you every day, like, to get in a public fight like that is pretty gnarly.

• 7:29Speaker 05

  Imagine if social media was around back then?

• 7:30Annie Elise?

  Oh, my gosh, it would be gnarly. But yeah, it's a really interesting story. So, not that this is sponsored by FX, but, or is it Netflix? Or no, it's Hulu, it's FX. Not sponsored, but Ryan Murphy, you should hit me up and sponsor because I just gave you a six minute and 22 second plug. Um, no, I really like it. For those of you who have not watched Love Story yet, go watch it.

• 7:51Speaker 05

  Well, they're doing the JFK, um, lookalike in Washington Square Park this weekend.

• 7:57Annie Elise?

  Oh, really?

• 7:58Speaker 05

  So that's why I'm like, I wanna book a flight.

• 7:59Annie Elise?

  Oh, I, I think maybe next episode, I have a lot of thoughts on him. I think he's kind of like a mama's boy a little bit and like, problematic in his own way. And I don't know, whatever. I have a lot of thoughts. And again, who knows if Ryan Murphy's portrayal of them is true. He has butchered, in my opinion, quite a few of those like, docu dramas, like OJ and Nicole and like, different things. So who knows what's true, what's not.

• 8:24Speaker 05

  I heard most of it is actually, um, fiction, that they didn't have a lot of, just historically, there's not a lot of information on them. So anytime there's been any sort of documentary or any type of storytelling about them, a lot of it is kind of filling in the gaps.

• 8:39Annie Elise?

  He also did Daryl Hannah so dirty.

• 8:41Speaker 05

  Yeah, I've heard mixed things about that.

• 8:43Annie Elise?

  The voice, spot on with the actress, but like, I don't know, I feel like he did her so dirty. I love her. I love her from Kill Bill. Oh, she's so good. Okay, so anyway, we are going to get into today's cases and I want to start with an update in a case, one that we have been talking about together since September. And it's a case that has everybody asking a lot of questions as well. It's the ongoing case involving David, D4VD, and Celeste Hernandez. Now, I want to rewind first and do a quick little recap for everybody because it feels like information about this case has just been coming in in bits and pieces for the last several months. I also did do a mini deep dive on this when it first broke back in September. And it goes into all of the details about how David and Celeste met,

• 9:28Annie Elise?

  their alleged relationship, and way more. But back in early 2024, 14-year-old Celeste Hernandez was reported missing from Lake Elsinore, California. Now, she had run away a few times before this, but she always was found and always had returned back home. However, this time, she was never found. So then, fast forward to September 8th, 2025, when a tow yard in LA had called the police about a terrible odor and flies that were coming from a black Tesla. Now, this Tesla had been brought there after it had been reported as abandoned. So then it was taken to this tow yard. And when the police arrived upon hearing, you know, of this odor and these flies circling around,

• 10:10Annie Elise?

  they found severely decomposed remains in the frunk of the Tesla, which that word will never get easier unless cringe to say, but basically it's the front trunk. There were also rumors at the time that the body that they had found was dismembered. However, I think it was like TMZ had reported that and then it was quickly debunked. And then it was also indicated that it had been frozen. And I'm going to get to that in just a minute here. So ultimately, the body was later identified as Celeste. And the Tesla was registered to a 20-year-old rising musician who went by David, or D4VD. His legal name, David Anthony Burke. Now, as soon as the investigators had a person connected to this Tesla, the investigation started unfolding. However,

• 10:55Annie Elise?

  I will say, it started unfolding pretty slowly. LAPD executed search warrants at the house that David was staying in. He was renting it at the time, a mansion in the Hollywood Hills. And then they took the Tesla as evidence and they also seized electronics from the house. However, through all of this, Celeste's death had never been publicly ruled as a homicide. No suspects had been named either. And the reason for this is because when they found the decomposed remains, it was said that they were so badly decomposed that they not only couldn't identify a cause of death, but they couldn't identify a manner of death. And I'm going to get to a little more into that in a bit, too. But some big developments have happened in the last couple of months and I want to review those. About a month ago, we talked about how there was a grand jury in this case

• 11:40Annie Elise?

  and that one of David's friends had been arrested for failure to appear as a witness. However, the details of the grand jury weren't exactly clear until now. Because just recently, over 150 court documents were released by the state of Texas. And they were released kind of unintentionally. See, David's parents, Colleen and DeWitt Burke, were subpoenaed to appear as witnesses in the grand jury. But when they fought those subpoenas in Texas court, all of the court records became public. And these records not only confirm some of the things that people were already speculating, but they also tell us some new information. The first thing that we learned from these documents is that David is, quote, "the official target of this grand jury."

• 12:25Annie Elise?

  He's listed as the target on the cover page. He's listed as a target throughout the filings. And it's pretty clear that he's the person that they're going after here. The documents also specifically say that David is alleged to have committed one count of murder and that he, quote, "may be involved in the death of 14-year-old victim Celeste Hernandez", and this is important, "who may have been a victim of foul play." And like I said, before now, he had never been named a suspect. And while I think all of us collectively suspected that he was involved, given their alleged history, it was never until this release of these documents that it became reality. And I want to go back to that. Line about where it says that he may be involved in the death of 14 year old victim Celeste Hernandez,

• 13:10Annie Elise?

  who may have been a victim of foul play. Because earlier, when I mentioned when the remains were first found, they couldn't identify obviously cause of death or manner of death. So they certainly couldn't tell if there was foul play or not, right? But another important detail was that a lot of people were thinking that maybe he would be able to skirt out of this or around this by saying, you know, it was an accidental death. It was an overdose. Then I panicked and I just concealed her body, which for those who aren't familiar, the charges and the sentencing between manslaughter, murder one, murder two, or um, like concealment of a corpse or even dismemberment of a corpse. The sentences are so vastly different, you can serve under a year sometimes for just concealment of a body.

• 13:55Annie Elise?

  So at that point, it was like, unless they actually knew that the cause of death was homicide, or the manner of death rather was homicide, they couldn't really do much. So here, I think it's pretty telling that they say she may have been the victim of foul play. The other thing that was again, always speculated but never confirmed, was that Celeste's body was dismembered. Now, according to these newly released filings, it was actually worse than anybody thought or heard. Her body was confirmed to be dismembered, but it was also confirmed to have been put in two separate cadaver bags. One bag had her head and torso, and the other bag had her arms and legs.

• 14:35Annie Elise?

  The documents describe severe decomposition, insects everywhere, and a strong smell of decay. Which is so awful and horrible, she was 14 years old. It is just the fact that they were in a relationship, again, allegedly, and he was so many years older than her. And then this is the way that they dispose of her. I say they, meaning him and I think his, you know, what do you call it? Not posse, but like, what do you call it, like group? What, I don't know, what's the word, like your camp, your clique?

• 15:06Speaker 05

  I was gonna say posse too, but I stopped myself.

• 15:08Annie Elise?

  Yeah, it like, I think that he had help is my point. And I think that that's why in the previous grand jury, it was a failure to I don't think anybody's wanting to like flip on him and talk about him. But also, if you remember too, right after the news broke of the body of Celeste body being found, he put, he transferred his properties into his mom's name, things that you don't do if you're innocent, unless you're trying to like protect your assets, right? So there's obviously still so much more that needs to be done to finally have justice for Celeste. David hasn't even been arrested at this point yet. He isn't facing any official charges as far as we know. But the fact that he is the target of this new investigation and the grand jury and all of it,

• 15:50Annie Elise?

  it's definitely a start. So it's certainly more than we had a few months ago. I'm going to continue to follow this one very, very closely as it moves forward and hopefully they finally have enough after all of this to arrest David. But let me know what you think and let me know if you want me to revisit and do another single deep dive with everything that has come out through the last, I guess, what? Six or seven months, just so that it's all in one place because it goes deeper too with his music videos, his lyrics. He, you know, had, what was that song called? Like Romantic Homicide? They had, I believe it was like matching tattoos, some weird, weird stuff. So if you want that deep dive, let me know either in the Q and A section on Spotify, the comment section on YouTube,

• 16:34Annie Elise?

  or the review section on Apple. So that's the update we have there.

• 16:39Speaker 05

  I feel like there's been so much suspicion around this guy for so long. I can't believe there hasn't been an arrest yet.

• 16:44Annie Elise?

  I, I agree with you. I think it's because it was so difficult, given the state of her remains to determine anything. What do you, how do you, I mean, yeah. And you obviously have to bring a lot of forensic experts in to figure out, okay, how do we back into this of like a time of death? How bad is the decomp? Then when they're dismembered, how, what was the cause of death? Like? And it doesn't even seem, from what I've seen, that that has been listed yet officially. I mean, manner of death, possibly. So it's been slow, but hopefully this asshole goes down if he's the one responsible,

• 17:18Speaker 05

  Absolutely.

• 17:18Annie Elise?

  which I believe he is.

• 17:19Speaker 05

  Same.

• 17:20Annie Elise?

  Speaking of assholes.

• 17:21Speaker 05

  Speaking of assholes, some more movement in the Anna Kepner case.

• 17:25Annie Elise?

  Okay.

• 17:26Speaker 05

  After months of feeling like there's been no movement in this case, there's finally some movement. And just as a quick recap for anybody that may have not been familiar with the story, Anna Kepner is an 18-year-old girl out of Titusville, Florida, who was murdered in November 2025 while aboard a Carnival cruise ship on a family vacation with her father and stepmother, where she was sharing a cabin with her biological younger brother and also her 16-year-old stepbrother. So Anna's death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation, specifically a bar hold. And the FBI had taken over the investigation almost immediately because it took place over international waters. And if you remember, a few weeks ago, in Headline Highlights, we covered the story

• 18:11Speaker 05

  because the stepbrother was arrested and brought to court. And we were trying to figure out and see if he was going to be charged as a minor or as an adult. And because of the severity of the crime, it was really unsure. But everything has been sealed, and so we really have had no information. However, he has officially been charged as a minor with Anna's homicide and an additional crime that has been redacted. Now, there's some talk about this redacted crime and that it could potentially be sexually related. And the reason why there's talk about it possibly being a sexual crime is because it is redacted and because there was this rumored infatuation between the stepbrother and Anna,

• 18:56Speaker 05

  and even Anna's ex-boyfriend had made a comment about some behavior that was inappropriate behavior on a FaceTime call that he witnessed. And because of that, there's just been a lot of talk from the start. And there's been some mixed feelings from both Anna's family and then how the biological family of the stepbrother has reacted to all of this. But to be clear, none of those advances were reciprocated on Anna's side. And we're really unclear as to what happened on that cruise ship. What we were told was that there the kids wanted to stay together and that there was an option for them to potentially stay in separate rooms. However, the stepson is the only person that was seen

• 19:36Speaker 05

  going in and out of that room the night of Anna's death and was reportedly the last person seen with her before she was found later by the cruise ship employee who came and found her buried underneath the mattress of her bed. And the only reason we know that he was charged in her death is because of separate filings going on in an ongoing custody battle between Anna's stepmom and her ex-husband. So in other words, the public is learning about these criminal charges because of filings from a totally different case, which is why so many details are being talked about online. And there are so few official receipts available to us. And in the same custody filing, we learned that the boy's biological father is helping him with his criminal defense.

• 20:20Speaker 05

  He told the family court judge that he's supporting his son in getting a lawyer and handling the homicide charge. And this is in part because as soon as this all happened, Anna's family pushed to remove the boy from the home. So the biological father is feeling like the son isn't getting support, so he's pushing for that full custody. And Anna's family is going as far as to publicly say that they want the stepbrother buried with nails in his coffin. So as soon as this became public, it sparked major reaction, as you could imagine, because we have these two sides of the families feuding, and now this boy is officially being charged in the murder. Some see this as a parent just doing what they can to protect their child, and others say it's pretty controversial

• 21:03Speaker 05

  and strange that they're doing all this to protect this boy with all these allegations against him. So like I said before, the court filings are all sealed because the stepbrother's age, but that doesn't mean it's going to stay that way. The federal prosecutor could very well go to the judge and ask that it be moved to adult court later on. And if that happens, most Likely all of this will become much more public and the possible punishment could become much more severe due to the nature of the crime. But as of right now, there's no public filing showing they've done that. But legally, it is still an option. And maybe at that point, we'll learn also more about that redacted crime and the nature of it. So for now, that's

• 21:45Speaker 05

  where things stand. But as always, we'll keep you updated on that. But

• 21:51Annie Elise?

  I think that's the biggest thing is it's going to come down to where they move the case, if they move the case, because just like Aiden Fucci, which also happened in Florida, he ended up being tried as an adult. But if he is tried as a juvenile, they can only hold him. And I think you said this on the last update we had until he's 21 years old. If even if he's tried, though, as a juvenile, and they move it into adult court, not charged as an adult, but like move it over to adult court, they still cannot, there's no option for life in prison without the possibility of parole. And there's also no option for the death penalty. I believe the max sentence, even if they move it to adult court, is life in prison with a

• 22:32Annie Elise?

  review at 25 years. But if they don't move it to adult court and keep it there, he's going to be out at 21. And what? He's 16?

• 22:39Speaker 05

  He's, yeah, I believe he's 217 now.

• 22:42Annie Elise?

  So by the time this goes to trial, by the time trial is done, all of that, call it 19 years old, what, you're serving two years and then you get to walk?

• 22:49Speaker 05

  Yeah, I don't know. I feel like after this new charge comes to light, they'll probably be, it'll be like a clear direction of where it will go. Because I can't imagine murder and this additional charge. Like, what would be the reason they would continue to keep him in being charged as a minor?

• 23:06Annie Elise?

  I don't know. And I wonder what that redacted charge could be. I mean, potentially, yeah, something with a sexual component. The other thought is like, could it be like burglary? Like, did he steal something off of her person? I don't know. Like, but that wouldn't be redacted? I don't know. It's weird.

• 23:22Speaker 05

  It's just tricky, since this is all going down with a custody hearing as well. So it's like, the parents are already kind of at odds, and then they've got this huge issue going on.

• 23:31Annie Elise?

  I mean, I just hope he does not get a slap on the wrist. But based now on the fact that he's being charged as a minor, it makes me a bit concerned that, yeah, that it's, I hope he gets moved to adult court. But I guess we'll see. I don't know. We'll see.

• 23:52Annie Elise?

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• 24:37Annie Elise?

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• 24:56Annie Elise?

  Okay, so moving into this next story. We have talked about Cory Richens before. We have talked about her ad nauseam, it feels like, but she is the lady who allegedly killed her husband and then later wrote a children's book about grief, trying to capitalize on it and make a buck. I also released a deep dive on Cory Richens on Tuesday over on the 10 to Life podcast feed. In this episode, we outline all of it. I mean, the money hunger that Cory allegedly had, the fistfights with his family, the weird cryptic notes that she has been sending while waiting for trial, literally telling people what their testimony should be, which, if that's not witness intimidation or witness tampering, I don't know what is. But we released that on Tuesday. Go listen.

• 25:40Annie Elise?

  It is on YouTube, the same channel, if you're watching this on YouTube, but if you're listening to the podcast version of this, it is not in this podcast feed. You have to go search our second true crime podcast, which is 10102life. So, go listen. I will also link it in the show notes. But my point is, her trial started last week. And I want to start breaking down some of the biggest key takeaway moments that happened during that first week. So when it first kicked off on February 23rd, the prosecutors opened by basically flat out saying that this case was not some sort of tragic accident. They told the jurors that they believed that Cory had poisoned her husband Eric with fentanyl. More specifically, she had laced his drink, his Moscow Mule, with fentanyl and that she did it all for money.

• 26:25Annie Elise?

  The state said that Cory was in major amounts of debt and that she murdered her husband knowing that she would inherit millions of dollars from his business, also because she knew that she would get another $2 million from his life insurance policies. So they started bringing in testimony from the police and from the first responders who arrived on the scene that day. And the medical examiner's autopsy was also a part of this. And this was a very big deal because she said that there was fentanyl in Eric's system and that it wasn't just a little amount. There was approximately five times the lethal amount. So it was also made very clear that the drug was illicit. It wasn't medical grade. It couldn't have been from any medications that were found in the home or like a small

• 27:07Annie Elise?

  dosage where something happens to get laced a tiny bit like this was deliberate. I mean, five times a lethal amount. But the biggest bombshells came later in the week and this is where some major stuff was dropped. A woman named Carmen, who used to be the Richins family housekeeper, ended up taking the stand. And this is kind of where things also went from theory to very specific detailed allegations. She testified that Cory had asked her to buy drugs for her four different times, three times before Eric died and one time after. Now, at first Carmen said that it was just pain pills, but then she said Cory wanted something stronger. She said that Cory specifically even used the phrase, "I want the Michael Jackson stuff."

• 27:50Annie Elise?

  So prosecutors made it clear that they believed that that meant fentanyl. So Carmen said that after each time that Cory asked her for these pills, she went and met up with somebody, bought approximately 15 to 20 pills and it put them in a little plastic bag and then she used money that Cory gave her to pay for them. Sometimes it was cash. Up front, sometimes she got paid back later, but it was facilitated by Cory. But here's something that made people pause a little bit. Carmen testified that she felt so uncomfortable having those pills that she buried them in a fire pit at a property that Cory owned. Not at the main house, but at an investment property. She said that she didn't want to keep them on her. She didn't know what else to do with them, so she wanted to go there and she buried them.

• 28:33Annie Elise?

  That was the best course of action, I guess, which I don't understand that. Like, why not flush them? Why not dissolve them? Why not stomp on them, crush them, and then flush them or put them down the sink? Why would you bury them? Because then can't you just go dig them up later? Or can't somebody dig them up? Or God forbid, like, a kid gets access to them? It just makes no sense to me, but what do I know? So prosecutors also showed the jury a $1,300 check that was dated March 6, 2022. And this check was written by Cory to Carmen. The memo line said that it was for, quote, "construction cleaning." But Carmen testified that she didn't actually clean for that payment. So the state suggested that this check was actually connected to the purchasing of those pills.

• 29:18Annie Elise?

  And then it got even more uncomfortable. Carmen testified that after Eric died, she had called Cory and basically said, "Please tell me that those pills were not for him." And according to Carmen, Cory told her that Eric had died from a brain aneurysm, not pills, not an overdose, which I don't know when exactly this call took place, but obviously it wasn't a brain aneurysm. Maybe it was early enough on that Cory could get away with saying she thought that that was the cause, but feels a little telling to me. And that detail also stuck out, obviously, because jurors had already heard that Eric had died from a lethal level of fentanyl in his system. Now, this trial is still ongoing, and it's been happening all week this week, too. So if you want me to keep doing these trial updates and headline highlights,

• 30:04Annie Elise?

  absolutely let me know. I'm happy to jump on here and let you know everything we're hearing. I will say this, too. Although I do personally, my opinion is that Cory is guilty. I do think that the defense is doing a pretty good job. But go listen to the deep dive that I put out on Tuesday. So that you know all about the case, that you know all about the money, the properties, the friends, everything that plays into this. And then that way, as we do these updates, you'll be fully in the know. But I am interested to know what you guys think about this case. Do you believe that Cory is innocent? Do you think that she is guilty? I think she is a money hungry person. That is my opinion. I think that she saw this as a quick payday. She was sick of her husband. She wanted all the money. I think then she exploited her own children by writing this children's book about grief,

• 30:49Annie Elise?

  saying how she helped her, her boys deal with the death of their father. She even was doing like a press tour with it, going on morning talk shows. And it's just like, to do that, you gotta be a real big fucking narcissist. I mean, it is unbelievable.

• 31:03Speaker 05

  That's what I was thinking as you're, I mean, I've thought this person was wild for a long time, but the, the only words that come to my mind are the audacity.

• 31:12Annie Elise?

  No, honestly, but also not that looks are everything, because they're not. I will say karma has definitely slapped her in the face. Because if you look at photos of her pre-arrest.

• 31:22Speaker 05

  Oh.

• 31:22Annie Elise?

  She's beautiful. They look like this happy couple. It's a jump scare now when you see her in court.

• 31:27Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's worn on her.

• 31:28Annie Elise?

  It has for sure worn on her, which good.

• 31:31Speaker 05

  But yeah, I can't imagine getting up and going on a press tour for a book.

• 31:36Annie Elise?

  Knowing that you're the one that killed your husband.

• 31:39Speaker 05

  Honestly, I, I really don't know how people like that function day to day.

• 31:42Annie Elise?

  But there's a case I'm trying to think of, and I can't, I don't know why it's not coming to mind. There's some other case like that that was high profile, wasn't it? Where it was like, she or he committed the crime, but then went on documentaries and did interviews and tried to like elicit a ton of sympathy. What am I thinking of?

• 32:01Speaker 05

  Exactly what you're talking about, and I can't think of it.

• 32:03Annie Elise?

  I bet you everybody's gonna be like, Chambonay's dad. No, I'm just kidding. Because I know people still have like a lot of thoughts on it. I personally do not believe that's what he's doing. But um, there was a case, if you guys know what I'm talking about, let me know in the comments, where it's like, I mean, and I guess the argument could be made though, even like Chris Watts on a much lower scale level. When your wife goes missing and you're the one who did it, and then you're doing these interviews on the front porch, pleading for the safer turn. But I'm talking about a case where it went more like.

• 32:30Speaker 05

  And then you're making a profit off of something. And you're bringing your kids into it. I feel like that's just crossing a line.

• 32:38Annie Elise?

  It's sick.

• 32:39Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 32:39Annie Elise?

  I mean Drew Peterson, I guess, because didn't remember he was doing all of those radio shows like Win a Date with Drew, all of this stuff, putting himself out there being like, my wife left me, I need a new woman. And like, uh, I know you put her in a barrel.

• 32:51Speaker 05

  Yeah. I, for me, it's just when kids are brought in, that's just-

• 32:54Annie Elise?

  You're using your kids' grief of losing their father to make money. It is so-

• 32:58Speaker 05

  And reading them this book that you, I mean, it's-

• 33:01Annie Elise?

  It is so freaking sick. I know.

• 33:03Speaker 05

  Well, speaking of, speaking of the best moms on earth.

• 33:07Annie Elise?

  Yeah.

• 33:07Speaker 05

  So this is the case about a North Carolina woman, now age 62, named Michelle Hundley Smith, who disappeared back in December of 2001. At the time, she was a 38-year-old mother of three, and on December 9th, 2001, told her family she was heading out to go Christmas shopping at a local Kmart in Martinsville, Virginia. And she just never came home. Just like that, disappeared. Her husband reported her missing later that month, which I'll talk on a little bit later. And over the years, there were searches, there were tips that came in, check-ins on the case, but really, no answers materialized. And so for 24 years, her family had no answers. At the time she disappeared,

• 33:50Speaker 05

  her kids were 19, 14, and seven years old. So you can imagine, this wasn't just this missing persons case. This was a mother of three kids. So the, her whole family was searching for answers and desperate to know where she went, and just nothing, living in this gray area of not knowing. Fast forward to February 2026. Out of nowhere, investigators found new information about Michelle that eventually did lead to her whereabouts. Authorities tracked it down, and on February 20th, nearly 24 years after she vanished, law enforcement's made contact with Michelle, and she was alive. And according to officials, she wasn't just alive, she was alive and well.

• 34:33Speaker 05

  Michelle told investigators she left back in 2001 because of ongoing domestic issues. However, authorities have said there are no prior police reports documenting domestic disputes or complaints at the time of her disappearance. And now she's requesting that her current- location not be shared publicly. But then another unexpected turn happened. Just days after Michelle was located, law enforcement arrested her. But not for disappearing, not for fraud, or not actually anything related to leaving her family. She was arrested on a 2001 DWI warrant. According to records, in November of 2001, just weeks before she vanished, Michelle had been charged with driving while impaired.

• 35:16Speaker 05

  And she was scheduled to appear in court, but then never showed up because by then she was already missing and disappeared. So when she failed to appear, a warrant was issued and that warrant had stayed active for all of these 24 years. So once authorities confirmed she was alive, they saw that outstanding warrant. And on February 25th, they took her into custody in North Carolina on that decades old failure to appear tied to that DWI case. She later posted bond and was released that same day. So officials say there isn't enough evidence to charge her with a crime related to the disappearance itself. And as of now, the only legal issue that she's facing is from that 2001 DWI case.

• 36:00Speaker 05

  And the daughter has now actually started speaking out a little bit more publicly. She was on a podcast and she actually mentioned that her mother and father used to argue quite a bit at home and that her mother had an addiction and alcohol issue. And not only was she charged with that DWI just weeks before her disappearance. She was actually forced out of her job at a veterinary practice as a result of drinking on the job. And her drinking actually had caused reportedly a lot of disputes at home between her husband Randy and herself. And that they had even circumstances where they had cheated on each other previously. So who really knows the whole story of why she left that night in December? Why she hasn't returned since?

• 36:45Speaker 05

  But as of right now, the daughter is rumored to have forgiven her mother, but doesn't really want to have any other conversation about it. Most of their communication has been through a third party, which is one of Michelle's friends. And at this time, she is still, to our knowledge, her whereabouts are unknown.

• 37:02Annie Elise?

  It's interesting because when I first heard about this case, I was like, oh, mother found after 24 years. Like, it's a happy ending, but then you hear she doesn't want to be reunited with her kids. She doesn't want anybody knowing her location. So then you're like, okay, was she doing like a Sherry Popini where she just wanted to like disassociate and be away from the kids and like not be a mother? But then you layer in this whole thing about the possible domestic disputes, the alcohol, and not that this excuses it or makes it right, but I certainly could see that if she lost her job, if she got a DWI, if she was getting cheating, being cheated on, if there was all these domestic issues, where maybe she just carried such an intense amount of shame that she was just like, I want to just disappear and get out of this life or something like that.

• 37:47Annie Elise?

  And now there's again, that shame kind of magnified because she's been found and like you have to go back and face what you did. Again, no excuse for leaving your kids like that and making them wonder for over two decades, if you're okay where you're at, what happened. But I wonder, yeah, if there was something more seriously rooted in that rather than just her being like, uh, I don't want to be a mom anymore. I'm disappearing at Kmart and fuck all of you guys.

• 38:12Speaker 05

  I know. I'm sure it was like the shame of the alcoholism and now she has these criminal charges and she lost her job. But I just don't know how you get away with that for so long.

• 38:22Annie Elise?

  She must've been flying under the radar. Does she have a new family now? Do we know?

• 38:25Speaker 05

  There's no mention of that, but she was found living in the, on the border of the Carolinas. So it wasn't like she was very far.

• 38:32Annie Elise?

  Wow. That's sad. And that is, that has got to be a lot for these kids. To like, be like, my mom willingly left us and let us wonder. But then like you have that relief of, oh, she's alive. She's okay. But then also like, well, why didn't she want me? Oh God, that's hard. That's really hard. Uh, well, I know that this week was full of heavy cases, guys, and actually a lot of really crappy moms at that. So, um, thank you guys so much for tuning in. As a reminder, if you entered the Crime Con giveaway, take a look at the episode description so that you can see if you are the winner. But don't worry, we will do more of these in the future if you didn't win this one. And go listen to the Corey deep dive from.

• 39:12Annie Elise?

  Tuesday, we also did a wild, wild case on this feed on Monday about a man who literally tried to murder his wife multiple times. It is so unbelievable. And I think there was like a total net worth involved of like $350 million. So just super insane. So go take a listen to both of those and let me know your thoughts. And until the next one, be nice. Don't kill people. Don't poison anybody. Don't put anybody in your funk. Don't disappear. Don't disappear unless you're like an ex-boyfriend, then go ahead disappear. Bye. Bye. See ya. Don't want you. See ya. Wouldn't want to be ya. Um, yeah. And don't be a creepy brother. Ew. All right. Until the next one, do all of that and stay safe. Bye.

• 40:09Speaker 06

  Hi, I'm Gabby Wendy with Long Winded and I'm not gonna lie, I'm desperate. I'm desperate for your attention in any way possible. So listen to my podcast, won't ya? It has great insights, exceptional humor, and plenty of pop culture to fill your dark souls. And some even say it's a great way to fall asleep due to my soothing voice. And I don't take that personally. Fall asleep. A listen is a listen, even when you're sleeping. And a view is a view, even with your eyes closed. If you dare, and it doesn't take much gumption, enjoy. Listen to Long Winded wherever you get your podcasts.

• 40:49Speaker 07

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