Utah woman who published book on grief after husband’s death to be sentenced for his murder

A Utah mother who published a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband and was later found guilty of killing him will now receive her prison sentence.

Kouri Richins was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband’s cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City in 2022.

Prosecutors said Richins, a 35-year-old real estate agent with a house-flipping business, was millions in debt and planning a future with another man. She had opened numerous life insurance policies on her husband, Eric Richins, without his knowledge and falsely believed she would inherit his estate worth more than $4m after he died.

Jurors in Park City also found Richins guilty of four other felonies, including attempted murder for trying to poison her husband weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich.

Her case captivated true-crime enthusiasts when she was arrested in 2023 while promoting her children’s book Are You With Me? about a boy coping with the death of his father.

Richins faces several decades to life in prison at her sentencing hearing, which falls on the day her husband would have turned 44. She wore a lime green jail uniform and chatted with her lawyers on Wednesday morning while Eric Richins’ family members passed around pocket-size packs of tissues. Her lawyers declined to comment before the hearing.

Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, said after the verdict that she was “just very happy that we got justice for my brother” and could now focus solely on supporting his sons, who were ages nine, seven and five when their father died.

In a memo filed by prosecutors ahead of the hearing, the sons told the judge they would feel unsafe if their mother was ever released from prison.

“I’m afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family,” said the oldest boy, who is now 13. “I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us.”

The middle child, now 11, said he was sad that his dad won’t be present for major milestones. With his mother behind bars, he said he can “live a happy and successful life without fear of [her] hurting me or anyone I love”.

The youngest said he would be “so scared” if his mother was released.

Judges in Utah typically impose sentences as a broad range rather than a fixed number of years.

The most serious charge, aggravated murder, is punishable by 25 years to life in prison, or a life sentence without parole. Prosecutors did not push for the death penalty.

Prison time for the attempted aggravated murder charge depends on the severity of the bodily injury that occurred. After taking a bite of the sandwich his wife left for him, Eric Richins broke out in hives, injected himself with his son’s EpiPen, drank a bottle of Benadryl and passed out, prosecutors said. Depending on the judge’s assessment, Kouri Richins could face 15 years to life, six years to life or five years to life for that charge.