Utah woman who wrote book on grief after husband’s death found guilty of murdering him with 'poison cocktail'

A Utah mother who wrote a children’s book about coping with loss after her husband’s death has been found guilty of killing him with a "poison cocktail".

Kouri Richins, 35, was convicted by a Summit County jury of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022, along with attempted murder, two counts of insurance fraud, and one count of forgery, The Mirror reported.

Prosecutors revealed that Richins poisoned her husband by lacing a cocktail with fentanyl. A medical examiner later confirmed that the 39-year-old had five times the lethal dose of the drug in his system.

The examiner determined the fentanyl was ingested orally and was "illicit".

Chilling Timeline of Events

The case revealed a disturbing timeline leading up to Eric’s death. Per court documents, Richins had previously tried to poison him on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich. This left him with hives and unconscious.

"Eric believed that he had been poisoned," the court filings said, per BBC News. "Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him."

Prosecutors argued that she escalated her efforts weeks later. On March 4, 2022, Richins called police, claiming she found her husband unresponsive after serving him a vodka drink in bed. She said she later returned to find him "cold to the touch".

During the trial, jurors heard that Richins had taken out life insurance policies, was dealing with significant debt, and was having an affair.

Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told the court: "She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money."

Her boyfriend, Robert Josh Grossman, admitted to the affair, which ended months after Eric’s death.

Drug Purchases and Key Testimony

A woman identified as Lauber testified that she sold fentanyl pills to Richins multiple times in 2022. She later contacted Richins after hearing about Eric’s death.

"I said, 'Please tell me these pills were not for him.' She said, 'No, they were not. Eric passed away from a brain aneurysm,'" Lauber said.

After learning the truth, she added: "That hit hard. Only for the fact that if that’s what happened, I needed to step up and take accountability for my part in this."

Court documents also revealed that Richins had asked a contact for stronger drugs, requesting "some of the Michael Jackson stuff," specifically fentanyl.

Book on Grief Raises Questions

Richins published a children’s book titled 'Are You with Me?' just a year after her husband’s death. The book focused on helping children cope with grief.

"Just because he’s not present here with us physically, that doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us," she told local ABC News in April 2023. "Dad is still here, it’s just in a different way."

In another interview before her arrest, she said: "We wrote this book, and we're really hoping that it provides some comfort for not just obviously, our family, but other families that are going through the same thing."

She dedicated the book to Eric, calling him "my amazing husband and a wonderful father."

Richins was apprehended in March 2023, shortly after promoting the book. At the time of her arrest, she faced nearly three dozen charges, including aggravated murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Her legal team maintained her innocence throughout the case. In a statement, they said: "Kouri has waited nearly three years for this moment: the opportunity to have the facts of this case heard by a jury, free from the prosecution's narrative that has dominated headlines since her arrest. What the public has been told bears little resemblance to the truth."

Despite pleading not guilty, the jury reached a verdict after about three hours of deliberation.

The author's sentencing is scheduled for May.

Featured image credit: Facebook