Widow who wrote grief book after husband died charged with his murder

A Utah widow who penned a grief book for children in the wake of her husband’s death has been charged with his murder, authorities said.

Mom of three Kouri Darden Richins, 33, of Summit County, was arrested Monday for allegedly poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, at their home on Willow Court in Kamas on March 4, 2022, KUTV reported,

She is charged with first-degree aggravated murder and three counts of second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, officials said.

Police arrived at their home about 3:20 a.m. on the night of Eric’s death to find him lying at the foot of the bed.

“Life-saving measures were attempted, but Eric was declared deceased,” according to documents cited by KSL-TV.

Kouri allegedly told police she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink, a Moscow Mule, and served it to him in bed to celebrate his sale of a home for her business.

She told investigators she then fell asleep with one of their kids who was having a nightmare.

“(Kouri) said she awoke around 3 a.m. and came back to her and Eric’s bedroom. She felt Eric, and he was cold to the touch. That is when the defendant called 911,” the documents state.

She told police she left her cellphone in the couple’s bedroom, but phone records show that the device had been used multiple times in the child’s bedroom.

“In addition, tolls on the defendant’s phone show that messages were sent and received during that time. These messages were deleted,” according to court documents, KSL-TV reported.

An autopsy found that Eric died of an oral overdose of fentanyl — with a level in his system that was five times the lethal dosage, according to the medical examiner.

According to the court documents, police obtained a search warrant for Kouri’s phone and computers, and found multiple communications between her and an “unnamed acquaintance.”

6

On May 2, investigators reportedly interviewed the acquaintance, who faced multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and other drug-related charges.

Kouri allegedly requested “prescription pain medication for an investor” between December 2021 and February 2022, investigators were told, according to the documents.

She “told (the acquaintance) to leave the pills at a house defendant was flipping in Midway, Utah. (The acquaintance) left the pills at the house, and the defendant left cash for them,” the documents state, according to KSL-TV.

The couple seemingly had issues long before Eric’s death. One of his two sisters told investigators that he called her from a vacation in Greece with his wife years earlier claiming that she made him a drink that made him violently ill, according to records viewed by National Public Radio affiliate KPCW.

6

The sister alleged that Eric believed Kouri had tried to kill him at the time. 

Eric had held a joint life insurance policy with his business partner Cody Wright that his wife had unsuccessfully tried to change in January 2022, the outlet reported. 

Kouri allegedly attempted to make herself the sole beneficiary of the policy, but the insurance company notified the men of the change and they were able to fix it. 

Eric then removed Kouri from his will and replaced her with his sister. He did not inform Kouri of the change because — according to his sisters — he believed she might “kill him for the money,” which he wanted to go to his children, the outlet reported.

6

On Feb. 14, 2022, the couple had a Valentine’s Day dinner in which Eric “became very ill,” a probable cause statement cited by KUTV states. Eric broke out in hives, couldn’t breathe and passed out after using his son’s EpiPen and taking Benadryl. 

“Eric believed that he had been poisoned. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him,” it says. 

The acquaintance told investigators that Kouri later said her purported investor wanted “something stronger and asked for ‘some of the Michael Jackson stuff,’” specifically fentanyl, the news outlet reported, citing the documents.

6

On Feb. 26, 2022, the acquaintance got 15 to 30 fentanyl pills from a dealer in Ogden, Utah, and sold them to Kouri at her home for $900, officials said.

A little over a week later, Eric was found dead.

The day after his death, Kouri ended up closing on a $2 million home that she wanted to flip — and threw “a large party at her home where she was drinking and celebrating,” according to court records.  The couple had disagreed about the home because Eric thought it was too expensive. 

6

According to the warrant, Kouri went on to “assault” one of Eric’s sisters who had shown up at the home during the party. 

Kouri later wrote the picture book “Are You With Me?” to help kids cope with the death of a loved one and appeared on a local TV station to promote it.

The book was published March 5, almost a year to the day after Eric’s death.

6

According to the book description on Amazon, it was “written to create peace and comfort for children who have lost a loved one. It’s to reassure children that although your loved one is not present, their presence always exist and they walk through life with you as if they were here.”

In the book, Kouri wrote: “Dedicated to my amazing husband and a wonderful father.”

According to an obituary, the couple had been married for nine years and had three children. 

According to warrants viewed by KPCW, Eric was planning to file for divorce but died before any proceedings began.

“Eric did absolutely everything in his power to provide his family with every possible opportunity to learn, grow, and have fun,” the obituary reads.

The Post has reached out to Kouri’s attorney Skye Lazaro for comment.