A Utah jury has found Kouri Richins guilty of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, after prosecutors said she poisoned him with a fentanyl-laced drink in March 2022. The verdict was returned Monday after jurors deliberated for less than three hours.
Richins, 35, was convicted of aggravated murder. She was also found guilty of attempted murder in connection with an earlier poisoning attempt, along with insurance fraud and forgery tied to claims she made after her husband’s death. Under Utah law, the aggravated murder conviction carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Sentencing is set for May 13, which would have been Eric Richins’ 44th birthday.
During the trial, prosecutors said Richins had piled up about $4.5 million in debt, had taken out life insurance policies on her husband, and believed she would gain access to his estate, which they said was worth about $4 million. They also told jurors she was having an affair and planning a future with another man. Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth argued that she wanted to leave her husband but not his money.
Prosecutors called more than 40 witnesses. Among them was a housekeeper who testified after receiving immunity and said she supplied the fentanyl used in the killing. The state also presented text messages, internet search history, and other evidence it said showed planning and motive.
The court heard that Eric Richins was nearly killed in an earlier incident when prosecutors said his wife poisoned a sandwich. They said she later increased the dose and poisoned him again, this time killing him. That earlier incident formed the basis for the attempted murder conviction.
Richins pleaded not guilty. Her defense team did not call any witnesses, and she did not testify in her own defense.
The case drew national attention because Richins was arrested in March 2023, about two months after publishing Are You With Me?, a children’s book about grief that she said was meant to help families, including her three children, cope with the loss of a loved one. She had dedicated the book to her husband, calling him “my amazing husband and a wonderful father.”
