Kouri Richins will go to trial in murder of her husband, judge determines

Kouri Richins, center, mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool

Prosecution also shows probably cause in a prior attempt to kill her husband with a fentanyl-laced egg sandwich

PARK CITY, Utah – After just two days of a scheduled three-day preliminary hearing, Summit County Judge Richard Mrazik said Kouri Richins would go to trial for the murder of her husband. The prosecution, Mrazik said, had shown probable cause for the charges of aggravated murder and distribution of a controlled substance.

He also said the prosecution had shown probable cause that she attempted aggravated murder on February 14, 2022, when the state alleged she gave him a sandwich laced with fentanyl in what prosecutors claim was a failed first attempt to kill him.

Richins, a Park City mother of three, who wrote and self-published a children’s book on grieving following her husband’s death, was arrested last year following a lengthy investigation about her husband’s death. Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple’s bedroom on March 4, 2022. An autopsy determined he died from fentanyl intoxication. According to the charging document, the level of fentanyl in his blood was approximately five times what would be considered a lethal dose. The medical examiner determined the fentanyl was “illicit fentanyl,” not medical grade.

Key details:

• Richins is accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a fentanyl-laced drink on March 3, 2022. Prosecutors also allege a failed attempt to kill him with a sandwich laced with fentanyl on February 14, 2022.
• Evidence presented includes claims that Richins secured a fraudulent life insurance policy and had a significant financial motive due to mounting debts.
• The defense argued that there is no concrete evidence linking Richins to the February 14 incident and questioned the reliability of the prosecution’s witnesses and cell mapping data.

What’s next: Kouri Richins pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges and remains in custody. The trial is set for April 28th through May 2nd, excluding Fridays.

Of interest: Kouri Richins mother, Lisa Darden is under investigation in the 2006 death of her partner. A search warrant, disclosed in May of 2024, showed Darden’s business and romantic partner, Gertrude Moore, died of an opioid overdose under similar circumstances to her son-in-law, Eric Richins. The warrant also disclosed Darden had been named the beneficiary of her partner’s estate a short time before her death.

There’s more: Not long after Richins was charged with murder in the death of her husband she filed a lawsuit arguing that a prenuptial agreement guaranteed her about $2 million from the sale of her spouse’s masonry business.