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A jury in Utah found Kouri Richins guilty on Monday of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, in a case that drew national attention after she published a children’s book about grief following his death.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours before convicting Richins, 35, of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, forgery, and insurance fraud. Prosecutors said she killed her husband in March 2022 by giving him a fentanyl-laced drink at their home near Park City.
Eric Richins died from a fentanyl overdose, with authorities saying he had five times the lethal dose in his system.
The verdict came nearly three years after the death and almost a year after Richins’ arrest in 2023.
During the trial, prosecutors said Richins faced serious financial problems and believed she would gain access to her husband’s money after his death.
They told the jury she had built up millions of dollars in debt through her real estate business and had taken out life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge.
Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said Richins “wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money.”
The prosecution also argued that she tried to poison him before the fatal night. Jurors found her guilty of attempted aggravated murder over an earlier Valentine’s Day incident in which authorities said she gave her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him seriously ill.
Prosecutors presented text messages, internet searches, financial records, and witness testimony to support their case.
According to court documents and testimony cited in coverage of the trial, Richins asked for strong pain medication and specifically requested fentanyl. Prosecutors also pointed to search history that included questions about lethal fentanyl doses, death certificates, and prison conditions.
The defense said prosecutors had not proved that Richins killed her husband. Defense attorney Wendy Lewis argued that the state lacked direct evidence showing how Eric Richins ingested the fatal dose.
She also challenged the credibility of some prosecution witnesses and said Eric Richins was worth more to his wife alive than dead.
Still, Richins’ legal team did not call any witnesses, and she did not testify in her own defense.
The case drew wide attention because Richins published a children’s picture book after her husband’s death. The book, “Are You With Me?”, focused on grief and aimed to help children deal with the loss of a parent.
Before her arrest, Richins said she hoped the book would bring comfort to families facing loss. She dedicated it to her husband and described him as “my amazing husband and a wonderful father.”
Prosecutors argued that the book helped her present herself publicly as a grieving widow while investigators were examining the death. USA Today reported that prosecutors said she commissioned the book after learning police were looking into the case.
The prosecution also said Richins tried to shape the narrative around her husband’s death from the start. Bloodworth replayed part of her 911 call during closing arguments and told jurors it was “not ‘the sound of a wife becoming a widow’” but “the sound of a wife becoming a black widow.”
Richins now faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison on the aggravated murder count alone.
Her sentencing is scheduled for May 13, the date Eric Richins would have turned 44, according to court reporting cited by multiple outlets.
Family members reacted emotionally after the verdict. Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, said the family remained in shock but felt relieved that the case had reached a conclusion.
“We got justice for my brother,” she said.
The trial lasted about three weeks and included testimony from more than 40 witnesses.
Prosecutors said the evidence showed a planned killing driven by money, while the defense insisted the state had not met the burden needed for a murder conviction. On Monday, the jury sided with the prosecution.
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