close
close

Kouri Richins will be tried for murder of her husband, judge decides

Kouri Richins, center, a mother of three who wrote a children's book about dealing with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool

The prosecution also points to an earlier attempt to kill her husband with an egg sandwich laced with fentanyl.

PARK CITY, Utah – After just two days of a three-day preliminary hearing, Summit County Judge Richard Mrazik announced that Kouri Richins will stand trial for the murder of her husband. Prosecutors, Mrazik said, have established probable cause to charge her with murder and trafficking in controlled substances.

He also said prosecutors had presented reasonable suspicion that she attempted aggravated murder on February 14, 2022. The state alleged she gave him a sandwich laced with fentanyl, which prosecutors said was a failed first attempt to kill.

Richins, a Park City mother of three who wrote and self-published a children's book about grief after the death of her husband, was arrested last year after a lengthy investigation into her husband's death. Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple's bedroom on March 4, 2022. An autopsy determined he died of fentanyl poisoning. According to the indictment, the level of fentanyl in his blood was about five times the dose considered lethal. The medical examiner determined the fentanyl was “illegal,” not medical, fentanyl.

Important details:

  • Richins is accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a drink laced with fentanyl on March 3, 2022. Prosecutors also accuse her of a failed attempt to kill him with a sandwich laced with fentanyl on February 14, 2022.
  • The evidence presented includes allegations that Richins obtained fraudulent life insurance and had a significant financial motive due to mounting debts.
  • The defense argued that there was no concrete evidence linking Richins to the February 14 incident and questioned the credibility of the prosecution's testimony and cell mapping data.

What’s next: Kouri Richins pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges and remains in custody. The trial is scheduled for April 28 to May 2, excluding Fridays.

Interesting: Kouri Richins' mother, Lisa Darden, is under investigation for the death of her partner in 2006. A search warrant announced in May 2024 showed that Darden's business and life partner, Gertrude Moore, died of an opioid overdose under similar circumstances to her son-in-law, Eric Richins. The search warrant also revealed that Darden had been named as the beneficiary of her partner's estate shortly before her death.

There is more: Shortly after Richin was charged with murdering her husband, she filed suit arguing that a prenuptial agreement guaranteed her about $2 million from the sale of her husband's masonry business.

You may also like...