Eric and Kouri Richins were raising three boys in Kamas as she flipped houses in Summit County and he ran a successful stonemasonry business.
After Eric died unexpectedly in 2022, Kouri wrote a children’s book about grief, which she later promoted on KTVX-Channel 4’s “Good Things Utah” segment.
But prosecutors say behind the scenes, Kouri Richins had schemed to kill her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Her long-awaited murder trial begins Monday, turning the nation’s appetite for true crime stories to Utah. Richins, now 35, faces five felony charges: one count of aggravated murder, one count of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery.
Ahead of the trial, her lawyers said in a statement that she is a “mother who wants to go home to her children,” and that they are confident a jury will make that possible.
“Kouri has waited nearly three years for this moment: the opportunity to have the facts of this case heard by a jury, free from the prosecution’s narrative that has dominated headlines since her arrest,” Richins’ attorneys said. “...What the public has been told bears little resemblance to the truth. We welcome the courtroom, where evidence is bound by rules, not sensational coverage.”
Here’s what prosecutors allege in the case:
Financial issues
(Rick Bowmer | AP) Kouri Richins, who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Park City.
• Oct. 13, 2020: Eric told an estate planning lawyer that he wanted to protect himself from “recently discovered and ongoing abuse and misuse of his finances” by Richins, according to charging documents.
• Nov. 3, 2020: Eric removed Richins as the beneficiary of his $500,000 life insurance policy. He also transferred his home and company interest to a trust managed by his sister, Katie Richins-Benson, according to charging documents.
• June 29, 2021: To obtain a loan, prosecutors say, Richins submitted a falsified bank statement to a financial institution using balance details and transaction descriptions from her husband’s company. When a bank representative flagged that her credit appeared lower than expected, she said she was in the “process of separation” from her husband, documents state.
• Aug. 2, 2021: Richins submitted another falsified bank statement to another financial institution to obtain a loan, according to charging documents.
• Dec. 17, 2021: Richins told someone that she felt “stuck” and “trapped” in her marriage and it would be better if Eric died, prosecutors allege.
• Jan. 29, 2022: Richins applied for a life insurance policy for Eric and named herself as the beneficiary, according to charging documents. Eric had “no affiliation with this account,” and his signature on the application is a forgery, prosecutors say.
Eric Richins’ death
(Courtesy Greg Skordas) Eric Richins, who died March 4, 2022, of a fentanyl overdose, is shown in this undated photo.
• Feb. 11, 2022: An acquaintance purchased fentanyl for Richins upon her request, according to charging documents.
• Feb. 14, 2022: Eric told a close friend that he believed his wife “tried to poison me,” prosecutors say. He told friends that Richins left him a sandwich from a local restaurant, and when he ate some of the sandwich, he broke out in hives and “felt like he was going to die,” according to charging documents. Eric did not have any food allergies, prosecutors wrote, but they added that fentanyl can cause allergic reactions such as hives.
• Feb. 26, 2022: Richins’ acquaintance purchased additional fentanyl after Richins said the earlier pills she provided were “not strong enough,” charging documents say.
• March 4, 2022: Richins called 911 at 3:21 a.m. to report her husband wasn’t breathing, according to charging documents. Despite life-saving efforts from emergency services, Richins was pronounced dead at 4:58 a.m.
The year following Eric’s death
(KPCW.org via AP) This photo provided by KPCW.org shows Kouri Richins at the KPCW studio in Park City, Utah, April 12, 2023.
• March 6, 2022: Richins assaulted Amy Richins, Eric’s sister, after a disagreement about the Richins’ home, charging documents allege. A lawyer told Kouri Richins that Eric placed the home into a trust, and that another of Eric’s sisters was the trustee, according to the documents.
• April 13, 2022: Police told Richins that her husband died of a fentanyl overdose.
• April 16, 2022: Prosecutors said that by April 16, Richins had used a cellphone to research “what happens to deleted messages,” “how do police and forensic analysts recover deleted data from phones,” and “signs of being under federal investigation.” She had also read an article titled “cause of death usually does not impact life insurance payment,” according to the charging documents.
• June 6, 2022: By June 6, Richins used the same cellphone to research “what is a lethal dose of fentanyl,” and “how long do life insurance companies take to pay,” among other things, charging documents state.
• March 2023: Richins publishes a children’s book about grief titled, “Are You with Me?” The book’s description states it was “written by a loving mother who personally faced this challenge,” and is “designed to offer comfort and solace to young minds,” according to Google Books.
Richins charged
Kouri Richins appears at a court hearing in Park City on June 12, 2023.
• May 8, 2023: Richins is initially charged with aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance in the death of her husband.
• June 27, 2025: Richins was charged with five counts of mortgage fraud, five counts of forgery, seven counts of issuing a bad check, seven counts of money laundering, one count of communications fraud and one count of a “pattern of unlawful activity.” This case is separated from the murder charge.
• Oct. 6, 2025: Prosecutors amended the charges against Richins in her husband’s death to one count of aggravated murder, one count of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery.