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Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three and children's book author, will stand trial for allegedly poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. The ruling was made by Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik on Tuesday (August 27) during the second day of Richins' preliminary hearing. The 34-year-old mother is facing multiple felony charges, including aggravated murder and distribution of a controlled substance.
According to the prosecution, Richins allegedly slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail that her husband drank in March 2022. She is also accused of attempting to poison him earlier that year on Valentine's Day by lacing his favorite sandwich with fentanyl. This attempt, however, resulted in a severe but nonfatal reaction.
Prosecutors allege that Richins learned from the first unsuccessful attempt, which helped her carry out the fatal poisoning 17 days later. Richins has maintained her innocence and entered pleas of not guilty to all 11 counts.
In addition to the murder charges, Richins is also facing multiple counts of forgery, insurance fraud, and mortgage fraud. Prosecutors claim that she forged her husband's signature on an insurance application weeks before his death. The insurance policy, which became effective ten days before the alleged Valentine's Day poisoning, had a death benefit of $100,000.
Richins, who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death, was arrested last year following a lengthy investigation. She has remained in jail since her arrest in May 2023.