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The full episode, in writing.
In March 2023, Kouri Richins appeared live on television, speaking about her new children’s book, “Are You With Me?”—a book she said she wrote to help her three sons process the sudden death of their father, Eric Richins. Just two months after her book hit shelves, Kouri was arrested and charged with Eric’s murder, accused of poisoning him with a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Kouri Richins and Eric Richins were a married couple living in Kamas, Utah, a small mountain town about 40 miles east of Salt Lake City. The couple had three young sons and ran a real estate business together. According to sources, Kouri was active in her community and had recently published her children’s book in March 2023, soon after Eric’s death, framing herself publicly as a grieving widow devoted to helping her children process their loss.
On the night of March 3, 2022, Eric Richins was found dead in the couple’s home. Kouri called 911 at around 3:20 a.m., saying she had found her husband cold and unresponsive in their bedroom. First responders declared him dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed Eric died of fentanyl poisoning, with the medical examiner reporting five times the lethal dose of the drug in his system. This amount is considered far beyond a therapeutic or accidental exposure, suggesting deliberate poisoning.
Eric’s death initially appeared sudden and tragic, but investigators quickly began to probe deeper. Family and friends told detectives that Eric had recently expressed fears that Kouri might be trying to harm him. According to the search warrant affidavits, Eric’s family reported that, years before his death, Eric had changed his will, removed Kouri as his beneficiary, and even told relatives that “if anything happened to him, she was to blame.”
Investigators uncovered a series of suspicious events in the months before Eric’s death. According to charging documents, in February 2022—less than a month before Eric died—Kouri allegedly purchased 15 to 30 milligrams of fentanyl pills from an acquaintance identified in court documents only as “C.L.”. The prosecutor claims she asked specifically for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” referencing the pop star’s well-known fatal drug overdose, and paid $900 in cash for the pills.
About two weeks after this first transaction, Eric reportedly became violently ill after eating a Valentine’s Day sandwich prepared by Kouri. Family members told police Eric broke out in hives, couldn’t breathe, and passed out after eating the sandwich, but recovered after using his son’s EpiPen and ingesting Benadryl. When asked about the incident, Kouri allegedly told Eric it must have been “a new allergy to something he ate.”
Investigators believe this was an attempted poisoning that failed. Court records show that Kouri again contacted “C.L.” for more fentanyl pills in late February 2022, just days before Eric’s eventual death. The prosecution alleges she paid $900 for a second batch, this time described as “really strong” pills.
On the night of Eric’s death, Kouri told police she and Eric had been celebrating the closing of a real estate deal. She claimed she made him a Moscow Mule cocktail, gave it to him in bed, and then went to sleep with one of their children in another room. When she returned around 3 a.m., she said Eric was cold to the touch. Paramedics who responded said Eric showed no signs of life and could not be revived.
The police investigation was led by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives obtained Kouri’s phone records, financial documents, and search histories. They discovered searches for “luxury prisons for the rich in America,” “can cops force you to take a lie detector test,” and “how to permanently delete information from your phone.” These searches were made on Kouri’s devices in the weeks after Eric’s death.
Investigators also scrutinized Kouri’s financial activities. According to court filings, Kouri took out multiple life insurance policies on Eric without his knowledge, with payouts totaling nearly $2 million. Records indicate she also attempted to change the beneficiary on Eric’s business partner’s life insurance policy, naming herself as the sole beneficiary, but the change was denied.
Eric’s estate was tied up in a legal dispute at the time of his death. In 2020, Eric had amended his will to leave his share of the family home and assets to his sister, not to Kouri. The amended will was filed with a lawyer, and Eric’s family says he took this step because of his suspicions that his marriage was in trouble and for his own safety.
Kouri’s arrest in May 2023 came after over a year of investigation. Prosecutors charged her with first-degree aggravated murder and multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Details from the probable cause statement describe how the timeline of events, digital evidence, and physical evidence all pointed toward premeditation.
One of the most striking pieces of evidence presented by investigators was a handwritten letter found in Kouri’s cell after her arrest. According to testimony from the lead detective, the letter appeared to be a set of instructions to her mother, detailing how to create an alibi for her, and even suggesting what to say about the night Eric died.
Detectives also uncovered a journal entry written by Kouri in which she described her feelings about Eric’s death and her hope that people would see her as a loving mother rather than a suspect. The prosecution contends that these writings, alongside the digital and physical evidence, establish motive, intent, and consciousness of guilt.
The case remains unresolved as of the latest court filings. Kouri Richins was denied bail and is awaiting trial. The court has scheduled multiple hearings, but the defense has filed motions to suppress some evidence, including statements made by Kouri to family members and letters written from jail.
Legal experts say the case highlights the challenges of prosecuting murder-by-poison cases, which often rely on circumstantial evidence, toxicology reports, and proving a suspect’s intent. The combination of digital footprints, witness statements, and financial motives are likely to play a central role in the upcoming trial.
This case reveals how the intersection of grief, public persona, and hidden family dynamics can complicate investigations. Kouri’s decision to write and promote a children’s book about loss, while allegedly orchestrating her husband’s death, drew national attention and scrutiny. The children’s book, “Are You With Me?”, is now cited in court documents as evidence of calculated image management in the wake of the crime.
At the time of her arrest, prosecutors allege Kouri Richins had attempted to withdraw $250,000 from Eric’s bank accounts and tried to sell the family home, despite Eric’s will leaving the property to his sister.