Utah woman who published book about grief after husband’s death sentenced for murder

PARK CITY, Utah — A Utah mother published a children’s book about grieving after her husband’s death that was later found guilty of his murder Learned Wednesday how long she will spend in prison.

Kouri Richins was convicted of aggravated murder in March after adding five times a lethal dose of fentanyl to her husband’s cocktail at their home near Park City in 2022.

Richins, a 35-year-old real estate agent with a house-flipping business, was millions in debt and planned a future with another man, prosecutors said. She took out multiple life insurance policies on her husband, Eric Richins, without his knowledge and mistakenly believed she would inherit his estate, worth more than $4 million, upon his death.

Jurors in Park City also found Richins guilty of four other felonies, including attempted murder for trying to poison her husband with poison weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day. Fentanyl-laced sandwiches.

Her case captured the attention of true-crime fans when she was arrested in 2023 while promoting her children’s book Are You with Me? It tells the story of a boy coping with the death of his father.

Richins faces decades to life in prison at a sentencing hearing Wednesday, the day her husband turns 44. Her attorney declined to comment ahead of the hearing.

Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, said after the verdict that she was “glad we got justice for my brother” and could now focus on raising his three sons, who were 9, 7 and 5 when their father died.

In a memo filed by prosecutors before the hearing, the sons told the judge they would not feel safe if their mother was released from prison.

“I was worried that if she got out, she would come after me and my brothers and my whole family,” said the eldest boy, now 13. “I think she’s going to come and take us away, but she’s not going to do good things to us, like hurt us.”

The middle child, now 11, said he was sad that his father would not be able to attend the major milestone. While his mother was in prison, he said he could “live a happy and successful life without having to worry about (her) hurting me or my loved ones.”

The youngest child said he would be “very scared” if his mother was released.

Utah judges often impose lenient sentences rather than fixed years.

The most serious charge, aggravated murder, carries a penalty of 25 years to life in prison, or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors did not push for the death penalty.

Jail time for an aggravated attempted murder charge depends on the severity of the bodily harm that occurred. Prosecutors said Eric Richins developed hives after taking a bite of a sandwich his wife had left for him, injected himself with his son’s EpiPen, drank a bottle of diphenhydramine and passed out. Depending on the judge’s assessment, Kouri Richins could face 15 years to life, six years to life, or five years to life on that charge.

Both counts of insurance fraud, second-degree felonies, are each punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison, and the third-degree felony count of forgery is punishable by 0 to 5 years in prison.

Judge Richard Mrazik has the discretion to determine whether Richins’ sentences for each count overlap or stack. Prosecutors asked for no overlap and urged the judge to sentence her to life without parole.

Richins also faces two dozen money-related criminal charges in a separate case that has yet to go to trial.

The trial was scheduled to last five weeks but ended early when Richins waived her right to testify and her legal team suspended the case without calling any witnesses. Her lawyers said they believed prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to convict her of murder.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding her guilty on all counts.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted the mother-of-three as a greedy killer. They showed the jury text messages between Richins and her lover in which she fantasized about leaving her husband and getting millions of dollars from a divorce. Prosecutors also showed a history of Internet searches on Richins’ phone, which included inquiries about lethal doses of fentanyl, luxury prisons and how poisoning is marked on death certificates.

The defense argued that Eric Richins was addicted to painkillers. Prosecutors countered by showing police body camera footage from the night of Kouri Richins’ death, in which she told an officer her husband had no history of illegal drug use.

Defense attorneys also argued that the prosecution’s star witness, a housekeeper who repeatedly claimed to have sold Kouri Richins fentanyl on multiple occasions, lied to seek legal protection. Steward was granted immunity for his cooperation in the case.

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