'Punch in the Gut': Jurors From Kouri Richins and Lori Vallow Daybell Trials Share Raw Reflections at CrimeCon

LAS VEGAS — The weight of a high-profile murder verdict doesn't end when the gavel falls. Two jurors who sat through the Kouri Richins and Lori Vallow Daybell trials offered an unfiltered look into their experiences at CrimeCon 2026 on May 31, revealing the lasting psychological burden and unexpected scrutiny that followed their service.

Christie Halverson, who served as juror number three in the Kouri Richins case, told the audience that her “brain hurt” after three weeks of evidence in a trial that exposed a Utah mother’s alleged plot to poison her husband for life insurance money. “The general public has no idea what it actually does to you,” she said. “There was not a day I didn’t internalize the facts.”

Halverson’s jury unanimously convicted Richins of first-degree aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, forgery, and insurance fraud in the death of her husband, Eric Richins, who died of fentanyl poisoning in March 2022. Richins, who has maintained her innocence and vowed to appeal, was sentenced to life without parole on May 13.

Halverson described the moment the defense rested without calling a single witness as “surreal,” and noted that Richins remained “pretty much stone-faced” throughout the trial. After just three hours of deliberation—short by murder trial standards—the jury returned a guilty verdict. “We wanted to lay eyes on every piece of evidence before we made a decision that impacted somebody for the rest of their lives,” Halverson said.

But the aftermath proved jarring. Halverson revealed that after an interview with journalist Nate Eaton, the defense’s private investigator contacted her family, and a defense lawyer later tried to pressure her into admitting an error on one of the guilty counts. “Listening to the verdict being replayed gave me a punch in the gut,” she said, visibly emotional.

Joining her on stage was a juror identified only as Laura, who served as juror number four in the Lori Vallow Daybell trial—the case that earned the defendant the nickname “Doomsday Mom.” Vallow Daybell was convicted in Idaho for murdering her two youngest children and her fifth husband’s former wife, driven by apocalyptic beliefs and a scheme to collect insurance and survivor benefits.

Laura said she wished she could have handed Vallow Daybell a death sentence. “I couldn’t believe she could do that to her own kids,” she said. During the five-week trial, which featured graphic autopsy photos and emotional testimony from Vallow Daybell’s estranged oldest son, Laura recalled moments when the defendant appeared to joke with her attorneys. “This isn’t a joke,” Laura said. “If I have to look at this, you have to, too.”

Both jurors said they think about the cases every day. Halverson noted that she still feels a “pit in her stomach” whenever she recalls the verdict moment. Laura cried onstage when a video of the Vallow Daybell verdict was played, acknowledging that “there will always be triggers” from the case.

The panel at CrimeCon—an annual gathering for true crime enthusiasts—highlighted the often-overlooked human cost of high-stakes trials. Legal experts say the intense public scrutiny and the graphic nature of evidence in cases like these can leave lasting emotional scars on jurors, who are rarely offered structured support after a trial ends. “You walk out of that courthouse and you’re supposed to just go back to normal life,” said criminologist Dr. Amanda Keller, who attended the panel. “That’s not realistic, especially when the world is watching.”

Vallow Daybell, who was already serving multiple life sentences in Idaho, received two more consecutive life terms in Arizona in 2025 for plotting to kill her fourth husband and attempting to murder her niece’s ex-husband. She has appealed all convictions. Richins, meanwhile, has also filed an appeal, maintaining that the evidence against her was circumstantial.

The two jurors’ candor at CrimeCon served as a reminder that behind every headline-grabbing verdict are ordinary people who carry the weight of a life-changing decision long after the cameras leave.

Contributing: Terry Collins, Itzel Luna, Christopher Cann, Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY; Miguel Torres, Arizona Republic

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kouri Richins and Lori Vallow Daybell trial jurors speak at CrimeCon