PARK CITY, Utah — Kouri Richins, a 35-year-old mother from Utah and an author of a children’s book about grief, is on trial for allegedly poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022. Prosecutors allege she deliberately administered five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid to him at their home near Park City. Richins denies the charges.
The prosecution asserts that this was not the first attempt; they claim Richins tried to poison her husband a month earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that caused him to break out in hives and lose consciousness. After Eric Richins’ death, Kouri published a children’s book titled “Are You with Me?” intended to help children cope with the loss of a parent.
During opening statements in Summit County court, prosecutor Brad Bloodworth detailed Richins’ alleged financial difficulties, stating she was $4.5 million in debt and sought to inherit her husband’s estate valued at over $4 million. According to the prosecution, she was involved in a relationship with another man and planned to start a new life funded by the inheritance.
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester played a recording of Richins’ distressed 911 call on the night of her husband’s death. Nester described the call as the sounds of a grieving wife and suggested Eric Richins’ death might have resulted from an overdose given his history of painkiller addiction and Lyme disease. However, body camera footage presented in court revealed Kouri Richins told police her husband had no history of illicit drug use. Eric’s sister, Katie Richins-Benson, also testified that their mother, a drug and alcohol counselor, had cautioned them against drug use from a young age.
The trial, expected to last until March 26, includes nearly three dozen charges against Richins, such as aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud, and insurance fraud. The murder charge carries a potential sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment.
Prosecutors presented evidence of numerous life insurance policies on Eric Richins taken out by Kouri years before his death, amounting to nearly $2 million in benefits. She reportedly never disclosed these policies to her husband. Additional evidence offered included text messages between Richins and her alleged affair partner, Robert Josh Grossman, where she discussed plans to leave her husband and obtain a large financial settlement.
Internet search histories shown to the court included queries about “luxury prisons for the rich in America” and “Can cops force you to do a lie detector test?” One body camera video captured Richins hysterically telling police that her husband had chest pain and may have consumed a THC gummy before his death.
Witnesses include the family’s housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, who claims to have sold fentanyl to Kouri Richins on several occasions. Lauber received immunity from prosecution, though the defense questioned her credibility, noting no fentanyl was found in the Richins household. The housekeeper’s former dealer also stated under oath that he sold her only OxyContin, not fentanyl.
Photographs shown in court displayed empty prescription pill bottles and marijuana gummies by Eric Richins’ bedside. According to the defense, Eric regularly requested his wife to obtain opioids for him.
The trialhas sparked significant public interest, with spectators camping outside the courthouse well before the trial commenced. The case remains under examination as both sides present their evidence and arguments.
