Why Did Kouri Richins Use Her Sentencing Speech to Tell Her Children She's Innocent?

True Crime Today

21 May 2026

She said it multiple times. "Be like your dad." The father a jury found she poisoned with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl. She said it to three boys who had just finished describing, through their therapists, a childhood of locked doors and threatened animals and a mother they no longer call by any title other than her first name. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski to break down the 45-minute speech Kouri delivered at her sentencing. The admission of infidelity paired with the claim that "our love never failed." The accusation that her sons have been "influenced" into believing their father was murdered. The plea for them to ask Katie and Clint for her letters — the same family the children told the judge makes them feel safe. And the closing line: never apologize for something you didn't do. Shavaun examines what each element of that speech reveals about Kouri's psychology, what it does to the children hearing it, and why the gap between her private messages and public performance tells the real story. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #KouriRichins #EricRichins #Sentencing #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #CourtRoomSpeech #Psychology #BehaviorAnalysis #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice