Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authored a children’s book on grief after her husband’s death, will stand trial for his alleged murder. A judge ruled on Tuesday that the evidence presented against her was sufficient to proceed with a jury trial.
Judge Orders Trial After Preliminary Hearing
On the second day of a preliminary hearing, Utah State Judge Richard Mrazik determined that prosecutors had provided enough evidence to move forward with a trial. Richins, 34, faces multiple felony charges, including the murder of her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. Prosecutors allege that she slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail that Eric, 39, consumed at their home near Park City.
Kouri Richins, who has pleaded “not guilty” to all 11 charges, remained composed as the judge announced that a jury would decide her fate.
Allegations of a Pre-Meditated Crime
Prosecutors have accused Kouri Richins of planning her husband’s death with chilling precision. The hearing delved into an additional charge of attempted murder, alleging that Richins had tried to kill her husband earlier in February 2022 by slipping fentanyl into his sandwich on Valentine’s Day. The prosecution argued that the failed attempt provided her with critical lessons that she later applied when successfully poisoning him just 17 days later.
Eric Richins reportedly suffered a severe reaction after eating the sandwich, breaking out in hives and blacking out. Prosecutors claim that Kouri Richins had bought the sandwich from a local diner and purchased fentanyl pills from the family’s housekeeper shortly before the incident.
Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth presented text messages and location data that suggested Kouri Richins left the sandwich at home for her husband while she spent Valentine’s Day with another man. In a text message sent the following day, she wrote to her lover, “If he could just go away … life would be so perfect.”
Suspicion and Tragedy Unfold
Two of Eric Richins’ friends testified that he had expressed suspicion about his wife after the Valentine’s Day incident. Charging documents allege that Eric, after recovering from the severe reaction, told a friend, “I think my wife tried to poison me.”
Despite these suspicions, tragedy struck in March when Kouri Richins called 911 in the middle of the night, reporting that she had found her husband unresponsive at the foot of their bed. A medical examiner later confirmed that Eric Richins had died from a fentanyl overdose, with five times the lethal dosage found in his system.
Defense Arguments and Financial Motive
Defense attorneys Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing that the absence of fentanyl in the Richins home meant that detectives could not conclusively link the drugs Kouri Richins allegedly purchased to those that killed her husband. Judge Mrazik acknowledged that these were strong points for a trial, but he questioned whether they were enough to negate probable cause.
The defense has also pointed to the financial motive behind the alleged crime. Prosecutors argue that Kouri Richins mistakenly believed she would inherit her husband’s estate under their prenuptial agreement. It was revealed that she had taken out life insurance policies on her husband totaling nearly $2 million without his knowledge.
