Cell phone users can't stop incriminating themselves

Utah prosecutors said Kouri Richins’ phone searches, deleted texts, and tower data helped build the murder case against her after Eric Richins’ fentanyl overdose death.

Investigators argued that attempts to erase digital traces instead strengthened the evidence, with iPhone deletion history and location pings tying her devices to the timeline.

Richins was later sentenced to life without parole and also convicted in related financial and insurance fraud charges.

The case underscores how search history, messages, and phone metadata can become decisive evidence in criminal trials.