Kouri Richins, the author of a children’s book on mourning, is now accused of murder for poisoning her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl. She wrote a children’s book about mourning after her husband died last year. She is now accused of his murder. Richins was arrested in Utah on Monday and is accused of poisoning her husband with a deadly amount of fentanyl at their house in Kamas, a small mountain community near Park City, according to charge documents.
Prosecutors said Richins dialed 911 in the middle of the night in March 2022 to report that her husband, Eric Richins, was “cold to the touch.” The mother of three informed detectives that she had made her husband a mixed vodka cocktail to commemorate him selling a house and then went into their bedroom to put one of their children to sleep. She later returned and dialed 911 after discovering her husband was unresponsive.
A medical examiner later discovered in his system five times the fatal dose of fentanyl. In addition to the murder charge, Richins is accused of possessing GHB, a psychoactive medication commonly used in recreational settings, including dance clubs.
Contrasting Narratives: From Children’s Book Author to Murder Suspect
The charges, which are based on officers’ interactions with Richins that night and the account of an “unnamed acquaintance” who claims to have sold her the fentanyl, come two months after Richins appeared on local television to promote “Are you with me?” a picture book she wrote to help children cope after a loved one dies.
Richins described her husband’s death as unexpected in a program titled “Good Things Utah,” and how it left her and her three sons reeling. Grieving, she explained, was about “making sure that their spirit is always alive in your home.”
“It’s — you know — explaining to my kid just because he’s not present here with us physically, doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” she said to the anchors, who praised her for being an excellent mother.
Skye Lazaro, Richins’ attorney, declined to comment on the charges.