"GRIEF BOOK AUTHOR'S MURDER TRIAL BEGINS, COP SHOT BY COPS ACCUSES JUDGE OF BIAS & GUTHRIE KIDNAPPING UPDATE"

0:03 Caalaroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter. Thursday, February twelfth, twenty twenty six. Quick update on the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping. Then two cases That'll make your head spin. Day eleven. Nancy Guthrie still missing. Savannah Guthrie's eighty four year old mother believed kidnapped from her home outside Tucson on February first. Yesterday, a man was detained during a traffic stop near the Mexican border. Questioned for hours, released early this morning, he says he's never heard of the case. Meanwhile, chilling surveillance footage shows a masked figure on Nancy's porch around the time she vanished, ski mask, gloves, backpack, appears to be armed with a pistol. Investigators are no closer to solving this.

0:55 Eleven days, no suspects, no answers, Park City, Utah. Jury selection began Tuesday for Corey Richins, the thirty five year old mother accused of fatally poisoning her husband Eric with fentanel in March twenty twenty two. Here's the twist. A year after his death, Richins went on national television to promote a children's book she wrote about dealing with grief called It Are You with Me, dedicated to her three sons and the memory of their father, the father she allegedly murdered. Prosecutors say she took out two million dollars in life insurance policies on Eric without his knowledge, found a jail house letter titled walk the Dog that allegedly outlined false testimony for her family. Trial starts February twenty third.

1:41 And Salem, Massachusetts. Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a twenty nine year old former police officer, was shot in the chest by her own colleagues while they served a restraining order at her home. Defense says she raised the gun to hurt herself. Prosecution says she pointed it at a fellow officer. She spent over a one hundred days in jail because a gunshot wound to the chest made it impossible to blow into a breathalyzer. Now, her attorney is accusing the judge of secretly assigning herself to the case, holding exparte meetings with probation officers, and filing complaints against anyone who supports the defense. I'm read Carter today, a grief book author on trial for murder, a cop shot by cops, and a judge accused of running her courtroom like a personal vendetta. This is Celebrity Trials. Quick update on Nancy Guthrie before we dive into today's main stories. If you're just joining us, Nancy Guthrie is the eighty four year old mother of Today's show anchor Savannah Guthrie, believed kidnapped from her home in a gated community outside Tucson on February first. Blood found inside the home, signs of forced entry, her wallet, phone, car, and keys all left behind. Investigators are treating it as a kidnapping. Tuesday, law enforcement released forty four seconds of surveillance footage from Nancy's porch camera. Black and white silent shows a masked figure approaching the house around the time she's believed to have vanished ski mask, gloves, backpack. The

3:14 figure raises a gloved hand to block a nest door bell camera. That camera was eventually disabled, which is why the footage was initially inaccessible until it could be recovered from backups. That same day, a man was detained during a traffic stop near the Mexican border in Rio Rico, Arizona about an hour south of Nancy's home, The FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department carried out what they called a court authorized search of a home in Rio Rico. The search was completed by early Wednesday morning, but the man was released told reporters he'd never heard about the Guthrie case. His mother in law said he'd been delivering food when police stopped him. As of this morning, he is not considered a suspect. So where does that leave us?

3:58 Eleven days a masked armed figure on video, a failed lead at the border, ransom demands sent to a Tucson television station, but no direct contact with the family. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings still releasing videos, pleading for whoever is involved to reach out. Nancy has a pacemaker, needs daily medication. Every day that passes makes this more dire. The timeline. Nancy's daughter Annie and son in law Tomaso Sioni were the last to see her. Sioni drove Nancy home from dinner on January thirty. First hours later, around one forty seven am, the front door camera was disconnected. Investigators believe she was taken soon after. We'll keep following this eleven days is a long time, and the silence from the kidnappers is deafening. Park City, Utah, Summit County jury selection began Tuesday, State versus. Corey Richins March fourth, two thousand and twenty two. Commas, Utah, small town in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, population around two thousand.

5:12 Corey Richins, then thirty one years old, called police early in the morning, said her husband, Eric was cold to the touch. Eric Richins was thirty nine years old, found dead in their home, unexpectedly, no warning, no illness, just dead. Autopsy found fentanyl in his system. Also found medications prescribed to Koury, not to Eric, to Koury, in Eric's body. But here's where it gets dark. One year later, March seventh, two thousand and twenty three, Corey Richins published a children's book called It Are You With Me? Said she wrote it to help her three young sons cope with the loss of their father. The book featured their family addressed grief through a child's eyes. She went on national television to promote it in book signings. The grieving widow and devoted mother turning tragedy into something beautiful for her children.

6:07 Two months later, May eighth, two thousand and twenty three, Couriy Richins was arrested, charged with murdering her husband through fentanyl poisoning let that sink in. She allegedly killed her husband, then wrote a children's book about missing him, promoted it on television, profited from his death while allegedly being the one who caused it. Truth is stranger than fiction. Prosecutors built their case methodically. According to amended charges filed in May twenty twenty three, Curry took out two million dollars in life insurance policies on Eric without his knowledge. Her real estate company was under financial pressure. Eric was worth more dead than alive. That's the prosecution's theory. Money pure and simple, but it gets worse. March twenty fifth, two thousand and twenty four, amended charges revealed prosecutors believe Corp didn't just kill Eric on March fourth. She tried to kill him weeks earlier Valentine's Day two thousand and twenty two, attempted murder on Valentine's Day, then finished the job less than three weeks later. Prosecutors also allege fraud and forgery related to those insurance policies and mortgage fraud charges in a separate but related case. Then came the jail house letter.

7:25 September two thousand and twenty three, prosecutors said they found a letter in Richins's jail cell titled Walk the Dog, outlined what prosecutors described as false testimony for her mother and brother, coaching witnesses from behind bars, planning a defense based on lies. Richins has pleaded not guilty to everything, denied bail multiple times, been sitting in jail since May twenty twenty three, nearly three years awaiting trial. Her mother, Lisa Darden, told forty eight Hours she's one hundred percent certain her daughter is innocent. For anybody who knows Curry just knows she could not have done this. She'd never do this. There's always a mother who says that the road to trial has been long and messy. Richin's original attorney, Sky lazarro withdrew in May twenty twenty four after her firm reported an ethical issue. New attorneys appointed Catherine Nester, Wendy Lewis, and Alexander Ramos. Before her new lawyers took over, richand sent voice recordings to national media proclaiming her innocence, speaking directly to the public from jail. A woman who can't stay quiet, can't stop trying to control the narrative even from behind bars. Defense tried repeatedly to move the trial out of Summit County, filed multiple motions for change of venue, argued Richens can't get a fair trial in a small community where everyone knows the case. Judge Richard Murrazik denied every request February second, just last week, denied

8:57 the second venue change motion after finding an off Potential jurors returned questionnaires, and the Utah Supreme Court declined to intervene, said it wouldn't consider the appeal of the venue decision. Trial stays in Summit County. Now jury selection this is going to be a challenge. Summit County is small. This case has been national news for nearly three years. The grief book angle made it unforgettable. CBS, NBC forty eight hours, Court TV podcasts, true crime forums. Everyone knows this story. Potential jurors were sent a twenty three page questionnaire with ninety nine questions ninety nine. Former prosecutor Nathan Evershed, who's not affiliated with the case, called it about as long as I've ever seen, questions about where they get their news, what TV they watch, what organizations they support, social media accounts, specific opinions on specific things. Tuesday's first day of jury selection was tedious. Judge Murrazak started by asking each potential juror for questions whether they'd heard about the case in the media, whether they did online research, whether they'd discussed it with anyone, and whether they recognized anyone in the courtroom.

10:09 From there, defense and prosecution took over personal questions about employment, interactions with law enforcement, feelings about the legal system, whether any of those answers would affect their ability to be fair. The defense made a point of asking almost every candidate whether Richand's decision to testify or not would impact their ability to reach a fair verdict, smart move, planting the seed early that Richens might not take the stand, getting jurors to commit publicly to not holding silence against her. More than twenty five potential jurors were questioned Tuesday they'll get an email next week telling them whether they've been selected. Jury selection is scheduled to take five days. Questioning was done remotely, so only a handful of people were actually in the courtroom. There was also a fight over whether jury selection should be open to the public. The judge bily planned to close the courtroom for the entirety of jury selection. Script's newsgroup filed a motion to keep it open.

11:06 Their attorney, David Rayman, argued the public has a First Amendment right of access. Judge Murrazik agreed to keep most of the process open, with provisions for jurors who need to answer sensitive questions in private. Cameras are not allowed during jury selection to protect juror identities. Once the trial starts, rules will prohibit broadcasting images of jurors. This trial is expected to last up to five weeks forty six potential witnesses. That's massive. Prosecutors have built a comprehensive case. The fentanyl, the insurance policies, the Valentine's Day attempt, the jailhouse coaching letter, the financial pressure on her real estate business. Defense will argue what that Eric somehow took fentanyl on his own, that someone else poisoned him, That the insurance policies were legitimate, that the walk the Dog letter was misinterpreted. The evidence prosecutors have outlined is devastating, but has pleaded not guilty.

12:01 She's entitled to her day in court, and twelve jurors will decide whether this grieving widow act was exactly that an act. Here's what kills me about this case. And I mean that figuratively, unlike Cory Richins, who meant it literally. She published a grief book, a children's book about her son's losing their daddy while allegedly being the person who took their daddy away. She went on television promoted it, played the heartbroken widow, all while the autopsy results were sitting in a file somewhere showing her medications in her dead husband's body. Google search history is forever, jailhouse letters are forever, insurance policies are forever, and children's books about dead husbands you allegedly murdered, that's forever too. Eric Richins was thirty nine years old, father of three boys. Husband.

12:51 He should be raising his sons, watching them grow up. Instead, his wife allegedly poisoned him and then wrote a book about how sad it made the cause. Trial begins February twenty third. We'll be covering it. Make it make sense. We'll be right back with a former Massachusetts police officer who was shot in the chest by her own colleagues and is now accusing her judge of running a vendetta from the bench. Welcome back to celebrity trials. I'm reed. Carter, Salem, Massachusetts, Essex County State v. Kelsey Fitzsimmons June thirtieth, twenty twenty five, North Andover, Massachusetts. Kelsey Fitzsimmons, twenty nine years old, police officer for the North Andover Police Department, former corrections officer, home with her four month old infant. Three of her colleagues from the department knocked on her door. They weren't there for a social visit. They were serving a restraining order.

14:05 Her fiancee, Justin I. Layan, had been granted an abuse prevention order alleged Fitzimmons had physically assaulted him the previous weekend. Said he feared for his safety and the safety of their child. The order required Fitzsimmons to surrender her firearms to police and her child to a Layan. What happened next is where the stories diverge completely. Prosecutors say Fitzsimmons reacted by threatening one of the officers with a weapon, pointed a gun at a colleague, assault with a dangerous weapon. Defense says something very different. Fitzsimmons raised the gun to her own head, not threatening anyone, trying to hurt herself.

14:45 A woman suffering from postpartum depression, four months after giving birth, having her baby taken away, and she wanted to end it either way. One of the Northandover officers fired shot Fitzsimmons in the chest. The bullet collapsed, her lung, broke her ribs, caused liver damage. She survived, was hospitalized, then arrested, charged with a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon, pleaded not guilty. Now here's where this case goes sideways. After her release from the hospital, Fitzsimmons was taken into custody, released on bond in September with conditions including scram monitoring. That's a breathalyzer device. You blow into it multiple times a day, proves you're not drinking problem. The woman had just been shot in the chest, collapsed lung, broken ribs, liver damage. Blowing intensely into a tube multiple times a day caused extreme pain. She physically couldn't comply. Her defense asked for an alternative urine test. Anything else. Judge Kathleen McCarthy naman denied it, said alcohol monitoring was a condition of release. If she couldn't comply, she goes back to jail.

15:54 Back to jail she went September eleventh, bail revoked over one hundred days behind, not because she violated any terms, not because she drank, because a gunshot wound to the chest made it impossible to blow into a tube. Defense argued alcohol wasn't even alleged to be a factor in the June thirtieth incident. Prosecutors countered that alcohol had been an issue previously, citing an incident at fitzsimmons bachelorette party days before the restraining order was filed. December twenty third, after more than one hundred days, Fitzsimmons was finally released. Her medical condition had improved enough to comply with the s CRAM testing. Judge McCarthy naman questioned why it took so long, noting documentations suggested Fitzimmons could have complied since November twenty fourth. Defense said they had to wait for their appeal to play out before returning to court. Her attorney, Tim Braddle, released a statement her resilience in the face of incredible physical and emotional stress is extraordinary. This isn't just a legal victory, It's a victory of the human spirit.

16:57 But the story doesn't end there. This week, Braddle filed a motion asking Judge McCarthy naman to recuse herself from the case entirely, and the allegations are explosive. First, the judge allegedly assigned herself to this case. When Fitzsimmons was initially arrested, the case was assigned to Judge Thomas Dreschler. McCarthy naman was assigned to civil cases at the time, but she appeared on the bench for Fitzsimmons' hearings. Anyway, Braddle wrote in his motion, without notice to the parties or the public, it appears she has specially assigned herself to this case. The assignment seems inexplicable on the merits of the case and raises questions about the motive of the court. In a footnote, Braddle even questioned whether there's a familial relationship between Judge McCarthy naman and the alleged victim, given the shared surname McCarthy. That's a bold accusation to put in a court filing. Second bias on the bench, Braddle says McCarthy naman made a subjective personal finding that miss Fitzsimmons as a dangerous person. The judge also wrote an order explicitly forbidding Fitzsimmons from seeing her infant, regardless of any determinations made in family court. Think about that, a judge in a criminal case overriding family court telling a mother she cannot see her baby, not as a condition of bail related to the charges, as a personal judicial mandate. Third, and this is the bombshell. An alleged ex parte meeting, Braddle claims that on September tenth, Judge

18:28 McCarthy naman visited Assistant Chief Probation Officer Jeff January at his office, went to see him personally to investigate Fitzsimmons, but she learned there had been no violations since Fitzsimmons had been out on bond. The next day, September eleventh, McCarthy Nayman revoked fitzsimmons bail and sent her back to jail. After that hearing, the judge allegedly filed a complaint against the probation officer. The complaint reportedly included accusations that defense counsel was use colluding with probation. Let me translate, the judge went looking for dirt on the defendant, found none, revoked bail anyway, then filed a complaint against the probation officer for not providing the dirt she wanted, and accused the defense attorney of colluding with probation because they weren't finding violations either. If these allegations are true, this isn't justice.

19:22 This is a judge with an agenda using her position to target a defendant, override other courts, intimidate probation officers, and punish anyone who doesn't fall in line. Braddle argues that even beyond the alleged bias, the fact that MacCarthy Neeman is now embroiled in a complaint against the probation officer means the defense attorney will have to testify on January's behalf. That alone should disqualify her from presiding over the case. Fitzsimmons is due back in court March ninth. The recusal motion is expected to be addressed. Then here's what we know for certain. Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a police officer and new mother was shot int the chest by her own colleagues. She was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

20:05 She was jailed for over one hundred days because a bullet wound prevented her from blowing into a breathalyzer. And now her defense is accusing the judge of bias, secret meetings, self assignment, and retaliatory complaints. The prosecution sees a cop who threatened a fellow officer with a firearm. The defense sees a woman in postpartum crisis who wanted to hurt herself, not anyone else. The truth is somewhere in between, or maybe it isn't. Maybe one side is completely right and the other is completely wrong. That's what trials are for. But here's what shouldn't be in dispute. If a judge is secretly assigning herself to cases, holding ex parte meetings with probation officers, and filing complaints against anyone who doesn't help build her case, that's not justice. That's a vendetta.

20:52 Fitzimmons goes back to court March ninth. We'll follow this one. Your tax dollars at work. That's celebrity trial riles for Thursday, February twelve, twenty twenty six, Nancy Guthrie still missing after eleven days. Suspect detained near the Mexican border and released. Surveillance footage shows masked armed figure on her porch. No arrests, no answers. Jury selection underway for Corey Richins, grief book author accused of poisoning her husband with fentanyl, taking out two million in life insurance, and coaching witnesses from jail. Trial starts February twenty third, and Kelsey Fitzsimmons defense accusing Judge McCarthy naman of bias, secret meetings, and self assigning to the case. The former cop was shot in the chest by colleagues, jailed for one hundred days over a breathalyzer, and forbidden from seeing her infant. Back in court March ninth.

21:46 I'm reed Carter tomorrow. Whatever the courts throw at us. This is celebrity trials.