Kouri Richins was lauded as a heartfelt visionary when she wrote a children’s book to help her and her children process the grief over losing her husband. The 33-year old Utah woman has now been arrested and charged with murder. Talk about your plot twists! According to court reports, Richins had not only tried to kill her husband not once, but twice. The second attempt proved fatal for husband Eric Richins.
Suspicion over Richins’ hand in her husband’s death arose when the autopsy report discovered an exorbitant amount of fentanyl in his system- five times the lethal dosage. According to Richins, she fixed her husband a Moscow Mule before bed. She told police she had headed to one of her son’s rooms to help deal with a night terror after fixing the cocktail. When she returned to the bedroom, Eric had collapsed on the floor. Attempts to resuscitate by EMTs proved fruitless. Little surprise given how the sheer amount of drugs in his system.
Richins’ Husband Suspected Only Too Late
Eric had begun to suspect his wife was trying to kill him. Apparently telling close friends that he thinks she might have poisoned him after a Valentine’s Day dinner. Phone records between Richins and an acquaintance known only as C.L. saw her purchase hydrocodone pills, paying $900 for their procurement prior to Valentine’s Day. Richins then allegedly contacted C.L. again, asking for “the Michael Jackson stuff.” Two weeks later, Eric was murdered.
Richins’ children’s book “Are You With Me?” was published a year later. At 41 pages, it follows a young boy who’s lost his father, but asks if his spirit is with him when he makes accomplishments. According to the book’s description, its meant to “create peace and comfort for children who have lost a loved one”. Given Richins’ premeditation, it’s possible she wrote it simply to placate her sons and further deflect guilt. It has since been removed from various online retailers, including Amazon.
Richins has a detention hearing May 19th.
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