Children’s book author Kouri Richins sentenced for 2022 murder of husband Eric using fentanyl-laced drink
The author and mother of three was arrested for murder while doing press for a children’s book about a boy grieving the death of his dad.
Warning: Distressing content
A judge described a children’s book author as “simply too dangerous to ever be free” as he handed down a sentence for aggravated murder.
Kouri Richins was found guilty of the charge after lacing her husband Eric Richins’ drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl at their Utah home in March, 2022.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The mother of three was also found guilty of insurance fraud, forgery, and attempted murder for trying to poison her husband with a fentanyl-laced sandwich on Valentines Day in 2022.
It took the jury about three hours to find her guilty of all counts.
She was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for her husband’s murder.
Prosecutors said Richins had millions of dollars of debt and was planning a future with another man.
Without her husband’s knowledge, she had opened several life insurance policies on him and falsely believed she would inherit his estate after he died, which was worth more than $US4 million ($A5.5 million).
While handing down the sentence on Wednesday, Judge Richard Mrazik said Richins was “simply too dangerous to ever be free”.
At the time of the murder, her three sons were aged nine, seven, and five.
In letters read to the court by social workers, all three children said they would feel unsafe if their mother was released from prison.
“You took away my dad for no reason other than greed, and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends,” said the middle child, now 11 years old.
The children also described threats made by their mother to kill their animals, and instances where she showed them videos of famished children in war zones when they refused to eat undercooked food.
The 35-year-old real estate agent was arrested in 2023 while promoting a children’s book about a boy navigating the loss of his father.
Richins’ sister-in-law, Katie Richins-Benson, is now caring for the children.
“(The boys) are not props for some twisted children’s book about grief and loss, and yet that is what they’ve been reduced to by Kouri,” she said.
From the court podium, clad in her lime green prison uniform, she issued a message to her sons, who were not present.
“Please don’t give up on me,” she said, then encouraged them to “always be like (their) dad”.
Eric Richins’ father, Eugene Richins, had pleaded with the court to protect his grandchildren by imposing a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“This sentence is important so Eric’s three sons never have to live with the fear that the person responsible for taking their father could ever harm them again,” he said.
Her lawyers have said they will appeal the conviction and sentence, with Richins maintaining her innocence, labelling the verdict “an absolute lie”.
With AAP
