Kouri Richins, a Utah mother who self-published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s sudden death, is standing trial for allegedly murdering him. The Associated Press reported that the trial, which is expected to last a month, began Monday in a small mountain town outside Park City.
Richins, 35, has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud. Prosecutors allege that she killed her husband, Eric Richins, by slipping fentanyl into a cocktail in March 2022. They also claim she was heavily in debt and sought financial gain, while also planning a relationship with another man.
Her defense team, Wendy Lewis, Kathy Nester and Alex Ramos, stated they are confident the jury will rule in Richins’ favor. According to a statement from her legal team, “What the public has been told bears little resemblance to the truth.”
Prosecutors allege that Richins’ actions were not limited to the night of her husband’s death. Charging documents indicate that a month prior, on Valentine’s Day, Eric Richins told friends he broke out in hives and blacked out after taking one bite of a sandwich Kouri Richins had left for him. A day after Valentine’s Day, Kouri Richins reportedly texted her alleged lover, “If he could just go away … life would be so perfect.”
On the night of Eric Richins’ death, Kouri Richins called 911 to report that she had found him “cold to the touch” at the foot of their bed, according to the police report. A medical examiner later found five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.
Carmen Lauber, the family’s housekeeper, is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution, as she told police she gave Richins fentanyl pills she bought from a dealer, according to charging documents. Defense attorneys are expected to argue that Lauber did not actually give Richins fentanyl and was motivated to lie for legal protection, though detectives indicated that she had been granted immunity.
Prosecutors also allege that Kouri Richins mistakenly believed she would inherit her husband’s estate under the terms of their prenuptial agreement and had also opened numerous life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, with benefits totaling nearly $2 million.