A Summit County jury has found Kouri Richins guilty of aggravated murder and of four other charges.

Her husband, Eric Richins, 39, died of a fentanyl overdose on March 4, 2022. Richins, now 35, was charged with his murder in May 2023, a few months after she published a children’s book about grief.

Richins immediately put her head down when the first guilty verdict was read.

After the full verdict was announced, Richins sat down and visibly exhaled. She stared down toward the table. She showed little emotion, following 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik’s instruction to everyone in the courtroom to refrain from displaying any outward reaction.

Richins waived a general 45-day time limit for sentencing. Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth took a moment to talk to Eric Richins’ family in the gallery, before telling the judge that “any day in May works” for sentencing.

The judge set sentencing for May 13, which would have been Eric Richins’ 44th birthday.

To find Richins guilty of aggravated murder, the jury found that prosecutors had proved certain factors: that the killing was committed for financial gain, and that Richins committed the crime by administering a lethal substance.

The jury also decided she was guilty of one count of attempted aggravated murder related to her husband’s illness after he ate a sandwich on Feb. 14, 2022. Jurors found the attempted homicide was committed for financial gain.

Jurors also found her guilty on two counts of insurance fraud and guilty on one count of forgery.

The prosecution called over 40 witnesses since the trial began on Feb. 23, while the defense announced it would rest its case on the same day the prosecution finished with its final witness. Richins did not testify in her own defense.

Prosecutors alleged that Richins had the means, motive — including an affair and financial chaos at her real estate business — and opportunity to kill her husband. Defense attorneys said the state didn’t prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

What’s next?

There are two more trials awaiting Richins.

In a separate case, Richins faces 26 criminal charges alleging financial crimes: five counts of mortgage fraud, four counts of forgery, seven counts of issuing a bad check or draft, seven counts of money laundering, one count of communications fraud and one count of “a pattern of unlawful activity.” All of these crimes allegedly occurred before her husband’s death, according to court documents.

A civil trial over her husband’s estate was on hold, court documents show, pending the outcome of the murder trial.

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