US author of book on grieving death charged with murdering husband
- Prosecutors allege Kouri Richins of Kamas, Utah poisoned her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl in 2022
- Mother of three called her husband’s death unexpected in a book she wrote about coping after the death of a loved one
After her husband died last year, she wrote a children’s book on grief. Now she’s charged with his murder.
Kouri Richins was arrested on Monday in Utah and is accused in charging documents of poisoning her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in Kamas, a small mountain town near Park City.
Prosecutors allege that Richins called authorities 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 told officers that she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink to celebrate him selling a home and then went to soothe one of their children to sleep in their bedroom. She later returned and upon finding her husband unresponsive, called 911.
A medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.
In addition to the murder charge, Richins also faces charges involving the alleged possession of GHB – a narcolepsy drug frequently used in recreational settings, including at dance clubs.