By McKenzie Romero | Editor
Wasatch County’s sheriff and Summit County’s former sheriff are both facing charges alleging obstruction in connection with the high-profile prosecution of Kouri Richins, found guilty of murdering her husband in a case watched worldwide.
The charges against the sheriffs came down through a grand jury, a rare move in Utah, and details of the allegations are unknown as charging documents unsealed Wednesday are fully redacted.
In today’s Dispatch we look at what’s known about the case against the two law enforcement officials, the debate over a possible land sale near Great Salt Lake wetlands and Gov. Spencer Cox’s executive order on putting “pro-human AI” in state government.
“You created this mitigation site to replace sensitive lands destroyed by your runway expansion. You took that land from your neighbors to do it, and now you turn your back on it because it’s inconvenient.” — Adam Von Maack, representing Gillmor Livestock Corporation, speaking to the Salt Lake City Council against the proposed sale of land near the Great Salt Lake.
Kouri Richins listens to statements written by her children during her sentencing in 3rd District Court in Park City on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. At right is defense attorney Kathy Nester. (Pool photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)
By Annie Knox
Attorneys for Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby and former Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said in court filings they don’t want the indictments released without redactions, raising concerns about pretrial publicity given intense public interest in the Kouri Richins case.
The bulk of available information about the indictment comes from those motions, with Edmunds’ attorneys saying the charge against him arose from a statement he’s accused of making in an interview in March. The indictment also ties the charge to “alleged misconduct involving a sheriff’s deputy, an anonymous letter, and State of Utah v. Kouri Darden Richins,” they wrote in a court filing.
Birds take flight over the Great Salt Lake, with downtown Salt Lake City visible in the background, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Alixel Cabrera
Salt Lake City Council members hope to pause before advancing a proposed sale of 900 acres of land between the Salt Lake City International Airport and wetlands.
While the interested buyer is the Utah Department of Natural Resources and its Wildlife Resources division, environmentalists worry that selling the land could be the first of many missteps leading to harm to the Great Salt Lake and migrating birds.
Gov. Spencer Cox speaks with members of the media during the PBS Utah Governor’s Monthly News Conference at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Pool photo by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)
By Katie McKellar
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has signed an executive order meant to “promote responsible AI use within government” by using “pro-human” principles when evaluating artificial intelligence tools.
Under the order, state government agencies are directed to require AI literacy training for employees while also requiring them to use AI tools to “streamline internal processes and radically improve citizen-facing applications.”
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