Utah mom accused of fatally poisoning husband denied bail
Jeff Paul reports on Utah mom accused of lacing her husband's drink with fentanyl.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mom and children's book author accused of murdering her husband last year, wrote a bizarre email to the Summit County Sheriff's Office after investigators questioned her about his death.
Richins, 33, allegedly poisoned her husband of nine years, 39-year-old Eric Richins, by spiking his cocktail with fentanyl the evening of March 3, 2022, at their home in Kamas while their three children were sleeping.
Following a round of questioning from the sheriff's department this year, Kouri emailed law enforcement to "clarify" some of the items they had discussed, including questions about her "exotic vacations" and COVID-19.
Kouri told law enforcement that she had taken vacations to Spain and Mexico after her husband's death — the former because her sons had qualified to play soccer in Spain in October 2022, and the latter because she and Eric had a tradition of vacationing in Mexico every year.
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Charges filed against Kouri Richins are based on officers' interactions with Richins and an unnamed acquaintance who apparently told authorities that she had sold fentanyl to the mother of three. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
"However in January of 2022 we could not go because Eric had his hunting trip to Mexico trip of two weeks planned and it was too much that month," she wrote. " . . . I took my kids and my mom came with us in August of 2022 to Mexico. As I hope you understand, the months prior to this with Eric's death had been hard to deal with."
She also told authorities that her husband had been having an "affair" and had tried to keep it from her. Kouri wrote, "haha" and "lol" when discussing those involved in the alleged affair in her email.
READ KOURI RICHINS' EMAIL HERE:
However, Greg Skordas, an attorney and spokesperson for Eric Richins' family, previously told Fox News Digital that the victim's family believes that Kouri had been having an affair "that was continuing through their marriage."
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She went on to state that she and her husband "did not have financial problems ever," and she had never been financially reliant on him.
Prosecutors, however, are pointing to the couple's apparent financial disagreements as motive for the alleged murder.
Eric Richins had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl — an opioid that is already about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine — in his blood. (Facebook/Kouri RIchins)
"Eric wanted us to live the typical conservative life where the man takes care of his family and the wife is a homemaker, wife, mom and that’s it," she wrote. "That is not my personality and not the way I was raised. I am very independent. Even when I stayed home with my kids the first few years, I was in grad school for years because I wanted to be more and do more than be a homemaker, and I did."
Prosecutors are accusing Kouri of purchasing several different life insurance policies on Eric's life totaling more than $1.9 million between 2015 and 2017. They also allege that she had made herself the sole beneficiary of her husband's estate without telling him, and Eric had changed it back to his business partner when he found out.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband and then wrote a children's book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. A judge ruled to keep her in custody for the duration of her trial. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
In her email to police, Kouri said, "Eric's business partner is not being cooperative."
According to other court documents filed last month, Eric apparently disagreed with Kouri's desire to purchase a nearly $2 million mansion under construction in Wasatch County. The 33-year-old, who owned a real estate company, wanted to flip the mansion and sell it for a profit, but her husband felt it was an endeavor that was too expensive for their family, a warrant states.
Utah children's book author Kouri Richins had a contentious relationship with her husband, wrought with financial disagreements before she allegedly killed him with fentanyl. (TownLift, Will Scadden/Facebook)
Kouri is accused of spiking her husband’s Moscow Mule with fentanyl, an opioid that is lethal in small doses, while celebrating a home sale in March 2022. The next day, Kouri allegedly closed a deal on the Wasatch County mansion "alone," after her husband had been pronounced dead.
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"I know what time I went to bed that night, there is no ‘hole’ in my story," Kouri wrote to law enforcement.
An obituary for Eric Richins described him as an "avid outdoorsman and dedicated hunter." He enjoyed helping his family's cattle ranch and growing his "successful" masonry business. The obituary also described him as a dedicated family man. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
Skye Lazaro, Kouri's defense attorney in the murder case, said during a Monday bail hearing that making poor financial decisions does not make her client a murderer.
UTAH MAN ALLEGEDLY POISONED BY AUTHOR WIFE BELIEVED SHE WAS HAVING AFFAIR: FAMILY SPOX
"Being bad with money does not make you a murderer. Being bad at managing your accounts makes you bad at math, but it doesn't make you a murderer," she said, according to KUTV.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband and then wrote a children's book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. A judge ruled to keep her in custody for the duration of her trial. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Kouri concluded her email to police by saying that she just wants "this over."
"I just want our lives back and to move on and grieve and mourn my husband without looking over my shoulder constantly for you guys, or the idiotic Private Investigator or the Richins family," she wrote. "Whatever I can do to help close this out, just ask i'll give you or tell you whatever you want to know!"
She also pressed investigators to "test" CBD gummies that she and Eric both consumed occasionally, according to other court records.
After Eric's death, Kouri wrote a children's book about death, "Are You With Me?"
A description for the book, which was listed on Amazon for $14.99, describes it as "a must-read for any child who has experienced the pain of loss, and for parents who want to provide their children with the emotional support they need to heal and grow."
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