BREAKING: Kouri Richins found guilty on all counts in murder of husband Eric Richins

Kouri Richins, a Utah 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 hearing Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Park City, Utah. Photo: AP Photo // Rick Bowmer, Pool

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — A Summit County jury unanimously found Kouri Richins guilty on all five felony counts Monday in connection with the 2022 fentanyl poisoning death of her husband, Eric Richins.

The verdict was returned March 16, 2026, at the Summit County Courthouse after a trial that lasted nearly three weeks. The jury deliberated for just under three hours after closing arguments.

The case was originally scheduled to be a five-week trial, but was cut short after the defense rested its case without calling witnesses and Richins waived her right to testify. The defense team insisted to the jury that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to convict Richins of murder.

Richins, a Kamas mother of three, was convicted of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, for the fatal poisoning of Eric Richins on March 4, 2022. Jurors also found her guilty of attempted aggravated murder, another first-degree felony, stemming from a separate incident on Valentine’s Day 2022 in which prosecutors alleged she had slipped fentanyl into her husband’s food.

“Honestly I feel like we’re all in shock. It’s been a long time coming,” Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, told AP News. “Just very happy that we got justice for my brother.”

In addition to the murder charges, Richins was found guilty of two counts of insurance fraud, second-degree felonies, and one count of forgery, a third-degree felony.

Prosecutors said she was $4.5 million in debt and that she falsely believed that when her husband died, she would inherit his estate, including an unfinished mansion in Midway, worth more than $4 million.

“She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money,” Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said. Prosecutors called 42 witnesses to the stand

The case drew national attention after it emerged that Richins had written a children’s book about coping with grief following her husband’s death before she was charged with his murder.

Sentencing was scheduled for May 13, which happens to be the day her husband would have turned 44. The aggravated murder charge carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Richins also faces 26 other money-related criminal charges in a separate case, though it is not clear if prosecution will pursue a trial.