Woman who wrote book on grief after husband’s death jailed for his murder

A mum who wrote a children’s grief book after her husband’s sudden death has been jailed for his murder in the US.  

Kouri Richins, 35, has been jailed for life without parole over the killing of her husband, Eric Richins, using a fentanyl laced cocktail.

The Utah mum-of-three was found to have fatally poisoned her husband, who was discovered dead in the couple’s home on March 4, 2022, in the case that has been widely featured in the true crime world.

After Eric’s sudden death, Richins wrote and self-published a children’s grief book titled ‘Are You With Me?’, which she promoted on a state-wide TV programme.  

Mr Richins, a stonemasonry business owner, told a friend he believed his wife was trying to poison him after she gave him a sandwich on Valentine’s Day that caused him to break out in hives, one sign of fentanyl poisoning.  

Richins forged a signature on a life insurance policy she had taken out for her husband two months before his death, and allegedly used falsified bank statements from her husband’s company to obtain a loan.

Prosecutors alleged she was having an affair and wanted a new start with her husband’s money.

She was accused of being in ‘financial desperation’ because of her house flipping business issues, and that she was looking for a quick chunk of cash.  

She is said to have told someone close to her that she felt ‘trapped’ in her marriage and that it would be better if Mr Richins died, prosecutors said.  

Richins is said to have asked two people to buy and deliver fentanyl to her by asking for the ‘Michael Jackson drug.’ 

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, acts like morphine or heroin, but it is up to 100 times more potent. Even a small amount can lead to a deadly overdose.

It can be prescribed as a pain medication, but illicit use, street sale and deaths related to the drug have ballooned in the US.  

Mr Richins’ autopsy showed he had died of fentanyl poisoning, with around five times the lethal dosage in his blood.  

Richins’ defence team argued during the trial that her husband had a drug addiction, which his family said they had no knowledge of. However, she told police officers on the night of his death that he had no history of drug use, body camera footage showed.

Richins’ phone also showed she had searched ‘what happens to deleted messages’ after Mr Richins’ death, as well as ‘what is a lethal dose of fentanyl’ and ‘how long do life insurance companies take to pay.’

When Eric was murdered, the couple’s three sons, aged nine, seven and five, were in the family home. 

The eldest son told the court he wanted to let everyone know his dad ‘was a good person and very thoughtful and kind and helped whoever needed help,’ according to ABC News.  

He said in a court filing: ‘I’m afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family. I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us.  

‘I miss my dad, but I do not miss how my life used to be, I don’t miss Kouri, I will tell you that.’  

The two other children said in statement read by lawyers that they wouldn’t ‘feel safe’ if their mum was ever out of prison.  

Richins was found guilty of aggravated murder, and also attempted aggravated murder when giving her husband the laced sandwich.  

She was also found guilty of insurance fraud over her husband’s $100,000 (£74,000) life policy she took out, and submitting a claim for it.  

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