Kouri Richins, a Utah girl accused of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl, who self-published a youngsters’s e-book on grieving following his dying, has been discovered responsible of homicide following a weekslong trial.
The Summit County jury started deliberating late Monday afternoon earlier than reaching a verdict after about three hours. She was discovered responsible on all 5 counts, together with aggravated homicide and tried aggravated homicide.
Kouri Richins appeared down and remained nonetheless whereas the decide learn out every responsible verdict. Her sentencing has been scheduled for Might 13.
Kouri Richins throughout closing arguments on the Summit County Courthouse in Park Metropolis, Utah, March 16, 2026.
David Jackson/The Park Document/Pool
Throughout closing arguments earlier Monday, prosecutors alleged that the mother of three was obsessive about showing “privileged, prosperous and profitable” and killed her husband to assist pay the money owed of her floundering residence flipping enterprise and to get a “recent begin.”
The protection, in the meantime, stated the case was “sloppy” and “pushed by bias” and argued that the state didn’t show the allegations past an affordable doubt.
Kouri Richins, 35, was charged with aggravated homicide in reference to the 2022 dying of her husband, Eric Richins, following a prolonged investigation. Prosecutors allege she spiked his drink with a deadly dose of fentanyl that she bought illicitly after asking two individuals for the “Michael Jackson drug.”
“Kouri Richins was a suburban mom, actual property agent. She doesn’t know rather a lot in regards to the illicit avenue drug world, however she is aware of Michael Jackson died from taking medicine,” prosecutor Brad Bloodworth stated throughout closing arguments on Monday. “She would not know the best way to order a avenue drug, however she is aware of she needs the Michael Jackson stuff. She is aware of she needs it as a result of it’s deadly. It’s deadly. It kills. And she or he needed deadly, deadly dying.”
Her fees additionally embody tried aggravated homicide, with prosecutors alleging she gave her husband a sandwich laced with fentanyl on Valentine’s Day two weeks earlier than his dying in an preliminary, failed try and kill him.
Kouri Richins was additionally accused of committing insurance coverage fraud by taking out a $100,000 insurance coverage coverage on his life together with his solid signature after which submitting a declare following his alleged homicide.
She pleaded not responsible and has maintained her innocence.
Her husband, 39-year-old Eric Richins, was discovered lifeless in mattress on March 4, 2022. An post-mortem decided that he died from fentanyl intoxication, and the extent of fentanyl in his blood was roughly 5 instances the deadly dosage, based on the charging doc. The medical expert decided the fentanyl was “illicit fentanyl,” not medical grade, based on the charging doc.
Prosecutors allege that Kouri Richins bought illicit fentanyl capsules shortly earlier than the Valentine’s Day incident and once more earlier than his dying, at which level she allegedly requested for stronger medicine.
‘Downward monetary dying spiral’: Prosecutor
Throughout his closing argument, Bloodworth stated Kouri Richins was in “monetary desperation” as a consequence of her realty firm’s money owed and wanted a big inflow of money instantly. He alleged she believed she would have financially benefited from her husband’s dying — with out realizing that his property had been in a belief for his or her youngsters.
Bloodworth stated October 2021 was the “starting of the downward monetary dying spiral” of Kouri Richins’ realty enterprise, and that she had a rising debt image nearing $8 million.
He alleged Kouri Richins supposed to trigger her husband’s dying as early as December 2021, when she was booked a trip along with her boyfriend for April 2022.
“Kouri Richins didn’t e-book that journey pondering Eric Richins can be alive in April, she booked it realizing he wouldn’t,” Bloodworth stated.
Bloodworth referred to proof that he alleged confirmed she supposed to trigger her husband’s dying. A witness testified through the trial that in December 2021 Kouri Richins stated to her that “in some ways it might be higher” if Eric Richins “had been lifeless.” In February 19, 2022, days after the alleged tried homicide try, prosecutors stated Kouri Richins texted her boyfriend, “If he may simply go away and you would simply be right here! Life can be so excellent!!”
Summit County Prosecuter Brad Bloodworth presenting the state’s last arguments on the Summit County Courthouse in Park Metropolis, Utah, March 16, 2026.
David Jackson/Park Document/Pool
Bloodworth stated Kouri Richins tried to cowl up her alleged function in her husband’s dying, beginning with the 911 name.
“Hearken to how she tells the 911 dispatcher the place she was when Eric died. She is distancing herself,” Bloodworth stated earlier than the decision was performed once more for jurors. “Reasonably than, ‘He isn’t respiration. He has no pulse. I’ve to determine what to do. I need assistance,’ she’s saying, ‘Hey, look, I used to be not there. I used to be in my son’s room.’ That is her alibi. She’s distancing herself from the time and the place that she murdered Eric.”
Bloodworth additionally stated the decision reveals that the 911 operator requested Kouri Richins to carry out CPR on her husband for six minutes earlier than she purportedly did. “She will not be instantly attempting to revive him,” he stated.
Bloodworth stated Kouri Richins deleted her texts and cellphone logs with a number of individuals, together with her former housecleaner, Carmen Lauber, who testified about acquiring illicit medicine at Kouri Richins’ request within the weeks previous to Eric Richins’ dying. He argued that Kouri Richins was nervous about being investigated and her deleted messages within the wake of her husband’s dying, as evidenced by searches on her cellphone similar to, “can cops power you to do a lie detector take a look at” and “can deleted textual content messages be retrieved from an iPhone.”
When the toxicology report confirmed that Eric Richins died from a fentanyl overdose, Bloodworth argued that Kouri Richins then wanted to “clarify” the presence of the drug — and that she allegedly deliberate to take action by claiming she received them for her husband at his request.
Bloodworth argued that Eric Richins didn’t die of an unintended overdose, citing testimony from his family and friends who stated he didn’t use illicit medicine. He additionally argued that he didn’t die by suicide and had “each motive to dwell” — foremost being his three younger sons.
“The proof proves that Kouri Richins murdered, tried to homicide Eric Richins and that she dedicated two counts of insurance coverage fraud and forgery,” he stated. “The proof doesn’t help every other clarification.”
Protection argues case had ‘affirmation bias’
Protection lawyer Wendy Lewis argued throughout her closing that the case was impacted by affirmation bias from the beginning.
“As an alternative of trying on the proof to find out what occurred, the state has, they decided what occurred, after which they discovered the proof to help it,” Lewis stated.
Lewis argued that there was “no proof” that there was fentanyl in Eric Richins’ drink the evening he died and that investigators didn’t look into his latest journey to Mexico, which the protection had insinuated may have been the supply of the fentanyl, or to check an outdated prescription bottle that was on his nightstand.
Lewis raised questions in regards to the testimony of Lauber, who testified pursuant to a number of grants of immunity.
“Carmen Lauber was not in a position to inform you that she purchased fentanyl. She agreed on the stand that it was the detectives that first put the phrase fentanyl in her mouth, in her head. She was advised by detectives on this case that she purchased fentanyl. ‘Eric died of fentanyl. You purchased medicine. You purchased fentanyl,'” Lewis stated. “She took that story and he or she ran with it as a result of she had every little thing to lose.”
Protection lawyer Wendy Lewis makes last arguments through the Kouri Richins trial on the Summit County Courthouse in Park Metropolis, Utah, March 16, 2026.
David Jackson/Park Document/Pool
On the affair, Lewis stated Kouri Richins broke issues off along with her boyfriend they usually by no means went on the journey. On the cellphone searches, Lewis argued that Kouri Richins was nervous as a result of she was harmless.
“After all she’s nervous. An harmless individual can be nervous. Anybody can be nervous if they only discovered that they’re a suspect in a murder investigation,” Lewis stated. “She would have been scared to dying.”
Lewis touched on Kouri Richin’s cash troubles, acknowledging that the home flipping enterprise was “struggling,” however argued that Eric Richins was “value a lot extra to Kouri alive.”
She claimed that Kouri Richins was being judged for the way she grieved.
“They need you to have a look at a girl within the worst second of her life and to evaluate her grief,” Lewis stated. “There isn’t any flawed method to grieve.”
Lewis advised the jury that in the event that they imagine Kouri Richins “by accident obtained fentanyl,” and that Eric Richins then took these capsules voluntarily and died, she argued that it’s “not aggravated homicide” and that they “should discover Kouri Richins not responsible.”
On the alleged insurance coverage scheme, Lewis argued that the state has not confirmed past an affordable doubt that there was any fraud or forgery.
“The state has not confirmed their case,” Lewis stated. “They do not have the proof that Kouri Richins killed her husband, so as an alternative, they’ve tried to indicate you as a lot proof as they probably can to persuade you she’s the type of one who would.”
Previous to delivering its closing argument, the protection submitted a movement for mistrial, alleging that the state’s closing was stuffed with “wild hypothesis,” dehumanized Kouri Richins and inappropriately commented on her demeanor. The movement was denied.
In his rebuttal, Bloodworth acknowledged that a lot of the proof within the case is circumstantial.
“Individuals don’t video themselves poisoning their partner,” he stated. “However circumstantial proof is simply pretty much as good as direct proof.”
Bloodworth argued that there was “loads of proof to convict” Kouri Richins based mostly on Lauber’s corroborated testimony. He additionally argued that a lot of the protection’s argument relies round attempting to clarify a letter present in Kouri Richins’ jail cell that prosecutors stated seems to stipulate testimony for her brother instructing him to say that her husband received fentanyl from Mexico.
“All of the proof on this case proves that Kouri Richins murdered her husband, the daddy of her three youngsters, Eric Richins,” he stated. “There isn’t any different rational clarification.”
“And regardless of all of the proof, Kouri Richins doubles down and blames Eric,” he continued.
Kouri Richins didn’t testify through the three-week trial and the protection referred to as no witnesses.
Throughout his testimony, the lead detective within the case stated that Kouri Richins paid a ghostwriter for her youngsters’s e-book.
A month previous to her arrest in Might 2023, the mother of three younger sons appeared on a “Good Issues Utah” section on Salt Lake Metropolis ABC affiliate KTVX to advertise the e-book. Within the section, Kouri Richins stated her husband of 9 years died “unexpectedly” and that his dying “utterly took us all by shock.
