In a striking twist, a woman who wrote a children’s book to help her sons cope with their father’s death has been found guilty of murdering him.
Kouri Richins published the book about a year after her husband’s fatal overdose, even appearing on a local TV programme to promote it, before she was arrested weeks later and charged with aggravated murder.
According to BBC News, a court heard that Richins killed her husband, Eric Richins, in 2022 by mixing a lethal dose of fentanyl into a drink she prepared for him.
He was found dead at the couple’s home in Kamas early on March 4, 2022.
An autopsy later revealed he had roughly five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system, according to investigators.
Weeks after launching the book, and following an appearance on a local TV programme to promote it, she was arrested and charged with aggravated murder in connection with his death.
Over 13 days, prosecutors called more than 40 witnesses who testified about alleged troubles in the Richins’ marriage.
Testimony included that of a woman who said she sold the drug used to kill Eric Richins, details of an affair with another man, and evidence of millions of dollars in debt, all factors prosecutors argued motivated her to fatally poison her husband.
At trial, prosecutors said Kouri Richins murdered her husband to reap a financial benefit from his death and because she was unhappy in her marriage.
“She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money,” said Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth.
BBC also reported that Richins was also found guilty of fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after her husband’s death at their home outside the ski resort town of Park City.
Prosecutors told the court she falsely believed she would inherit his estate, worth more than Sh518 million, after he died.
The jury was shown dozens of affectionate text messages between Richins and her then-boyfriend, Robert Josh Grossmann, including some in which the defendant said she dreamed of their future together, though Grossmann testified the prospect was more fantasy than reality.