Woman Who Wrote Book to Her Children on Grieving Their Dad’s Death Now Accused of Killing Him with Fentanyl

An author of a children’s book that teaches children how to deal with the loss of a loved one is now charged with the death of her husband, allegedly using fentanyl to poison him.

In March 2022, 39-year-old Eric Richins was found “cold to the touch” on the floor at the foot of his bed at around 3 a.m. by his wife Kouri in their Kamas, Utah, home about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, CNN reported. She called 911 and first responders attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead. An autopsy and toxicology report revealed that Richins had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system, as reported by NBC News. The fentanyl found was illicit, meaning that it was not medical grade. 

Kouri Richins is being held without bail and is charged with aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Richins’ death comes just weeks after he confided in a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him after eating a Valentine’s Day dinner prepared by her. 

 The mother of three told investigators that on the night of her husband’s death, she had made him a Moscow mule cocktail in celebration of her closing on a house for her business. She had served the drink to him in bed. That night, she slept in her son’s room due to his night terrors. She told investigators that she left her phone in her bedroom. After obtaining a search warrant for Richins’ phone, they discovered text messages were received and deleted during the time she was reportedly in her child’s room. 

Investigators discovered that Richins had been in contact with an acquaintance, referred to as C.L. between December 2021 and February 2022. Richins allegedly reached out to C.L. looking to purchase prescription painkillers for an investor. At one point, Richins allegedly asked C.L. for “some Michael Jackson stuff.” The pop star overdosed on Propofol, a sedative, in 2009.

On February 11, Richins allegedly purchased between 15 and 30 fentanyl pills for $900 from C.L., and on February 26, she allegedly purchased more fentanyl pills. Six days later, Eric Richins was dead and Kouri Richins was a widow. 

A little more than a year after her husband’s death, Richins published Are You With Us? as a way to help her children process their father’s death. She had even appeared on Good Things Utah to promote it. 

“It took us all by shock. My kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we experienced last year, hoping that it can kind of help other kids deal with this and find happiness some way or another,” she told KTVX reporters. 

Richins pays tribute to her husband with the inscription: to “my amazing husband and a wonderful father.” The book’s cover even features an illustration of a man who resembles her late husband. The book has since been removed from Amazon.

The couple had allegedly been arguing over a $2 million real estate property investment. According to the affidavit, Richins told his wife he would not sign any paperwork for it, but a day after his death, she closed on it. 

Richins’ detention hearing is set for May 19.