Global Courant 2023-05-10 21:12:49
A Utah man feared for his life before his wife, a children’s book author, allegedly killed him with fentanyl, according to court documents from Summit County.
Prosecutors say Kouri Richins, 33, poisoned her husband of nine years, Eric Richins, 39, with fentanyl on the evening of March 3, 2022, at their home in Kamas, just outside Park City, while their three young sons slept.
The previous month, on Valentine’s Day in 2022, Eric Richins suspected his wife was trying to poison him, according to a warrant for her arrest.
“Eric and the defendant had a Valentine’s Day dinner at their Kamas home. Shortly after the dinner, Eric became very ill. Eric believed he had been poisoned. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him,” the warrant reads.
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Eric Richins had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his blood. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
On March 3, 2022, the night prosecutors allege Kouri Richins killed her husband, she allegedly served her husband a cocktail to celebrate a home sale. Kouri owns a real estate company called K Richins Realty LLC.
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She later told authorities she left him briefly to check on one of her three sleeping children, and when she returned, she found Eric Richins unresponsive, according to a warrant.
This photo from KPCW.org shows Kouri Richins at the KPCW studio in Park City, Utah, April 12, 2023. (KPCW.org via AP)
Eric Richins had five times the lethal dose of illegal fentanyl — an opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine — in his blood, according to the medical examiner.
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Kouri Richins is also facing charges of possession of GHB, commonly known as the “date rape drug.”
Utah prosecutors charge Kouri Richins, 33, with poisoning her husband Eric Richins, 39, with fentanyl last year at their Kamas home outside Park City while their three young sons slept. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
Her allegations are based on officers’ interactions with Richins and an unnamed acquaintance who apparently told Summit County authorities that she sold fentanyl to the mother of three, who had asked for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” according to the warrant.
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Authorities said they determined during their investigation that despite Richins’ statements that she had left her phone in her bedroom when she went to check on her children on the night of March 3, 2022, her phone activity indicated that it had been locked and unlocked multiple times during that period and showed no physical movement.
In addition, messages were sent and received but deleted during that period, researchers said.
The charges against Kouri Richins are based on officers’ interactions with Richins and an unnamed acquaintance who apparently told authorities she sold fentanyl to the mother of three. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
Richins’ arrest also comes two months after she appeared on TV to promote her children’s book about grief, “Are You With Me?”
A description of the book, which retails for $14.99 on Amazon, reads, “Are You With Me?” is “a must-read for any child who has experienced the pain of loss, and for parents who want to give their children the emotional support they need to heal and grow.”
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.