This is one of those news stories that could easily be mistaken for a Lifetime movie. An author of a children’s book about grief has been charged with the murder of her husband.
Eric Richins was found dead at the foot of his bed in early March of 2022. Eric’s wife, Kouri, said they were celebrating a work accomplishment the night of his death noting she made him a Moscow Mule where he drank it in their bedroom before falling asleep. She told police that she fell asleep while putting her children to bed, returning to their bedroom around 3am which is when she found her husband cold to the touch.
Fast-forward to last month when Kouri was on a local Utah news station promoting a children’s book she wrote to help deal with grief. In the interview she said, “my husband passed away unexpectedly last year, he was 39 and took us all by shock. We have three little boys. My kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes we’ve experienced this last year.”
On Monday, May 8th, Richin was ARRESTED after officials found evidence she was responsible for the death of her husband. An autopsy showed Eric’s death was due to an overdose of illicit fentanyl. The fentanyl in his system was five times the lethal dosage.
Following a search warrant of Richins home, Kouri’s phone showed she had purchased fentanyl a couple of times from a friend. Police now believe Kouri spiked Eric’s drink the night of his death. Prior to her husband’s death, Eric took Kouri off his will and life insurance. His sister told investigators he was looking to divorce Kouri.
A month before his death, Eric’s friend say he became ill after a Valentine’s Day dinner with Kouri. Eric told his friend he thought his wife was trying to poison him.
Eric’s sister is filing for guardianship for her brother and Kouri’s children.
