A Utah mom who wrote a children’s book about grieving the loss of a loved one and was then charged with killing her husband has now been hit with new charges of attempted murder and other crimes.
Kouri Richins, 33, tried to poison her husband on Valentine’s Day — weeks before his actual murder — but failed, authorities said in charging documents filed Monday.
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Richins has already been charged with murder in the death of Eric Richins at their home in Kamas in March 2022. Eric Richins, 39, was found dead on the morning of March 4 from a massive fentanyl overdose.
But according to the new charges, that was not the first time Richins attempted to poison her husband with fentanyl.
On Feb. 14, 2022, Eric Richins took a bite of his “favorite sandwich,” a gift from his wife on Valentine’s Day, according to investigators. He almost immediately broke out in hives, used his son’s EpiPen and chugged a bottle of Benadryl before passing out, prosecutors said.
After waking, he told a friend, “I think my wife tried to poison me.”
Though it’s uncommon, opioids such as fentanyl can cause allergic reactions. Eric Richins had no known food allergies, according to investigators.
A crucial witness in the case, the Richins’ housekeeper, told investigators she sold Kouri Richins fentanyl days before Valentine’s Day, and that later in February, Richins asked for a stronger version of the drug.
On the night of March 3, 2022, Richins made her husband a Moscow mule cocktail, according to authorities. He never woke up the next morning. Investigators found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.
“One or two pills might be accidental. Twenty — or five times the lethal dose — is not accidental. That is someone who wants Eric dead,” Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell said.
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In the months that followed, Kouri Richins wrote, published and promoted a children’s book titled, “Are You With Me?” The book was about a deceased father with angel wings watching over his young son.
She was arrested and charged with murder in May 2023.
The new charging documents also accused Richins of numerous financial crimes, such as obtaining several life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge.
With News Wire Services
