When we hear of heinous crimes, they are often accompanied by a web of lies. But what happens when those lies are so brazen, they seem more like the fantasies of a novelist than the desperate attempts of a suspect trying to manipulate her way out? Recent discussions on the "Hidden Killers" podcast between Tony Brueski and psychotherapist and author Shavaun Scott tried to unpack just that.

 

 "Just the other week, we got a chance to read Kouri Richon's letter from the jail cell... She came back with the excuse of it is simply a part of a book," Tony began, setting the stage for a puzzling look into Kouri's psyche. The letter, potentially aimed at witness tampering, quickly changed its nature in Kouri's eyes to being part of a fictional narrative she was penning.

 

 However, Shavaun Scott didn't buy it. As she put it bluntly, "This is someone who seems to have a slight problem with lying... This was an incredibly stupid thing for her to do." The conversation navigated the blurry waters of Kouri's compulsion to lie. Is this a classic case of a compulsive liar, or something even more intricate?

 

 A deeper dive into Kouri's character presents us with a cocktail of narcissism and histrionics. "She really does. And this is the mark of somebody... she loves attention, you know? So the histrionic narcissistic personality stuff. It really seems pretty glaring with her," said Shavaun. These cluster B traits, as the psychotherapist described them, are usually associated with an over-inflated ego, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.

 

 But how did Kouri reach this point? Was she always this way, or did a series of enabling behaviors encourage her already present tendencies? Tony posed an interesting hypothesis, "Is it because for so long? Their B. S. Was just accepted and was just basically enabled over and over again?" Shavaun didn't skip a beat, confirming that this manipulative behavior "starts in childhood... This has been their style in life, and it works for them up to a certain point."

 

 Indeed, Kouri's descent into crime could very well be the consequence of years of unchecked behaviors. Her ability to fabricate a reality might have been tolerated, or even entertained, for so long that she genuinely believed her own tales. As Tony put it, "It seems that where there may have been a chance earlier on of her getting off on this, the quite often it is the motions after the fact, the decisions that are made after the fact of the crime end up implicating her and incriminating her far more than just the crime itself."

 

 The discussion provided a rare lens into the mind of an individual who, to the outside world, seems to be living in her own version of reality. The takeaway? The layers of lies, while they might initially serve to protect, often end up being a person's undoing.

 

 But here's a question that remains - If unchecked and enabled lies can lead to one's downfall, what responsibility does society bear in letting individuals like Kouri believe their own fabrications for so long?

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The latest on Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK’s Unconfessed Crimes, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Justice for Harmony Montgomery, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com