Park City • Kouri Richins will spend the rest of her life in prison for fatally poisoning her husband, a Utah judge ruled Wednesday.

It was the maximum sentence that 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik could order after Richins was convicted of aggravated murder and other crimes in her husband’s 2022 fentanyl overdose death. But it was what she deserved, the judge said, after trying twice to poison Eric Richins.

Kouri, the judge said, was “too dangerous to ever be free.”

Eric’s family tearfully asked Mrazik for the maximum sentence on Wednesday, speaking about the pain and loss they have felt since he was killed.

[Read more: Full hearing recap: Utah mom Kouri Richins sentenced to life in prison.]

“This is not a situation where the idea of rehabilitation should be entertained,” Eric’s sister, Katie Richins-Benson, said. “Please do not let my brother’s life be worth nothing more than a 25-year punishment.”

Eric’s other sister, Amy Richins, told the judge that she hoped for a life-without-parole sentence to give finality to the couple’s sons, who were all under the age of 10 when Kouri killed their father. “A parole-eligible sentence is not a conclusion,” she said. “It is an ongoing nightmare.”

Richins speaks for first time

Kouri gave a lengthy statement in court before the sentence — the first time she has spoken publicly after she was charged.

Her attorney, Kathryn Nester, said her client maintains her innocence and will appeal the conviction. “We believe in her innocence completely,” her attorney said.

[Read more: Kouri Richins offers advice to her sons and proclaims innocence in first public remarks.]

Kouri, 36, spent most of her 30-minute court statement speaking directly to her young sons, giving them advice about marriage, life and the importance of supporting one another.

“Be like your dad,” she said tearfully.

Several of Kouri’s family members submitted statements to the judge asking for compassion and a lesser sentence, telling him that she was a good mother who planned their family gatherings and vacations.

In March, jurors deliberated for three hours before they found Kouri guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery. She did not testify in her own defense.

‘A place of genuine concern’

Richins was also ordered Wednesday to a 5-year-to-life prison sentence for attempted murder, two sentences of one-to-15 years for the counts of insurance fraud and up to 5 years in prison for forgery. Mrazik ordered the sentences to run consecutively, or back to back.

In handing down her life sentence for murder, the judge contemplated how Richins’ sons might feel about her prison sentence decades from now — and whether they would want the finality that a life sentence gave, or the chance to advocate for their mother at a future parole hearing.

His worry, he said, “comes from a place of genuine concern and humility of the court’s inability to predict the future and how this case will evolve.”

Prosecutors alleged that Kouri had the means, motive — including an affair and financial chaos at her real estate business — and opportunity to kill her husband in the couple’s Summit County home. Eric was 39 years old when he died.

Kouri was criminally charged in May 2023, months after she published a children’s book about grief. Prosecutors alleged she slipped a lethal dose of fentanyl in a Moscow mule cocktail she made for Eric. And, they said, she tried to poison him weeks prior to his death with a fentanyl-laced sandwich. After that incident, prosecutors say Eric was growing suspicious and told a friend that he thought his wife had poisoned him.

Eric’s family spoke to the judge Wednesday about how caring Eric was, and how he loved his sons and the kids on their sports team. His father, Gene Richins, said that even four years after his death, Eric’s teams he coached still break a huddle with “1-2-3 Eric!”

Their sons’ therapists also read statements on their behalf in court. The boys all said they wanted their mother to stay in prison. One of the boys said he was forced to be a parent to the others.

“I will not feel safe if you are out,” he said in his statement, adding that Kouri “never apologized” for what she did.