A Utah woman who authored a children's book about coping with grief has been convicted of murdering her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail. Kouri Richins, 33, was found guilty on Monday of aggravated murder and other felonies in the 2022 death of her husband Eric Richins.
Prosecutors said Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail that Eric drank in March 2022. They argued she was motivated by financial gain, being $4.5m in debt and falsely believing she would inherit his estate worth over $4m. She was also allegedly planning a future with another man.
The jury deliberated for under three hours before delivering the verdict. Richins showed no visible emotion as the judge read the decision. Sentencing is scheduled for 13 May, which would have been her husband's 44th birthday. The aggravated murder charge carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Richins was also convicted of attempted murder for allegedly trying to poison her husband with a fentanyl-laced sandwich on Valentine's Day weeks earlier, which caused him to black out. Additional convictions included forgery and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after his death.
During the trial, prosecutors played a 911 call from the night of Eric's death, which they described as 'the sound of a wife becoming a black widow'. Richins' legal team rested without calling any witnesses after she waived her right to testify. Her lawyers expressed confidence that the evidence was insufficient for a murder conviction.
