A STRONG COCKTAIL

Grief Book Author Accused of Poisoning Hubby Hit With New Charges

Kouri Richins is now accused of several financial crimes in addition to poisoning her husband Eric.

A Utah woman who allegedly murdered her husband, Eric Richins, by spiking his Moscow mule with fentanyl is now also being charged with a litany of financial crimes. Kouri Richins, a 34-year-old realtor who self-published a children’s book about coping with grief—a year after she allegedly poisoned the father of her three children—now faces more than 30 charges in Summit County Court. In the new filing, prosecutors in Utah allege that Richins took out a series of high-interest loans, falsified financial statements, and swindled her best friend out of $45,000, all to purchase a $2.9 million unfinished mansion. Her plan, according to the state, was to kill her husband for financial gain (his estate was worth $5 million and she was deep in debt) and to escape Eric’s rising suspicions about an affair that she was carrying on. Ironically, Eric had already changed his life insurance policy without his wife’s knowledge to remove her as the primary beneficiary. Still, Kouri Richins allegedly tried to kill her husband twice: first unsuccessfully on Valentine’s Day 2022, by grinding fentanyl pills into his sandwich. Prosecutors say her second attempt, with the deadly cocktail, was sadly successful.