Children's author Kouri Richins tried before to kill her husband, new counts allege

A Utah woman who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband in 2022, then published a children's book about grief, now faces another attempted murder charge for allegedly drugging him weeks earlier, on Valentine's Day.

Kouri Richins, 33, is accused of killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in a small mountain town near Park City in March 2022. New charging documents filed Monday by Summit County prosecutors allege that it wasn't her first attempt on his life.

They detail the perilous months preceding Eric Richins' death, painting a picture of a paranoid man walking on eggshells around his wife as she made secret financial arrangements and bought illicit drugs that were later found in his system.

Prosecutors have said previously that Kouri Richins, who is being held without bail, may have tried to poison her husband the month before his death, but they didn't file the additional charges until this week.

The chilling case of a once-beloved author accused of profiting off her own violent crime has captivated true-crime enthusiasts in the year since she was arrested for her husband's murder. She had self-published "Are You With Me?" — an illustrated storybook about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after dying.

Once lauded as a heartwarming must-read for any child who's lost a loved one, the book has since become a powerful tool for prosecutors arguing that Kouri Richins carried out a calculated murder plot and attempted to cover it up.

The mother of three repeatedly called her husband's death unexpected while promoting her book and was commended by many for helping her sons and other young children process the death of a parent.

Her attorney, Skye Lazaro, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the new charges. Lazaro has argued in early hearings that the evidence against her client was dubious and circumstantial.

Details on possible prior murder try 

One bite of his favorite sandwich — left with a note in the front seat of his truck on Valentine's Day — made Eric Richins, 39, break out in hives and black out, prosecutors allege in the new documents.

His wife had bought the sandwich from a local diner in the city of Kamas the same week she also purchased several dozen fentanyl pills, according to witness statements and deleted text messages that were recovered by police.

The state's star witness, a housekeeper who claims to have sold her the drugs, told law enforcement that she gave Kouri Richins the pills a couple days before Valentine's Day. Later that month, Richins allegedly told the housekeeper that the pills she provided weren't strong enough and asked her to procure stronger fentanyl, according to the new charging documents.

In witness testimony, two friends of Eric Richins recount phone conversations from the day prosecutors are now saying he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years. After injecting himself with his son's EpiPen and chugging a bottle of Benadryl, he woke from deep sleep and and told a friend, "I think my wife tried to poison me."

His friends say they noticed fear in his voice as Richins, who had no known allergies, told them that he felt like he was going to die and that his wife might be to blame. Opioids, including fentanyl, can cause severe allergic reactions, including hives.

Details on Eric Richins' death

A month later, Kouri Richins called 911 in the middle of the night to report that she had found her husband "cold to the touch" at the foot of their bed, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead, and a medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.

"One or two pills might be accidental. Twenty — or five times the lethal dose — is not accidental. That is someone who wants Eric dead," Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell said.

She alleges that Richins slipped the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail she made for her husband amid marital disputes and fights over a multimillion-dollar mansion she purchased as an investment.

Eric Richins' family believes Kouri Richins spiked his drink the night he died, according to "48 Hours."

Possible motive?

Years before her husband's death, Kouri Richins opened numerous life insurance policies on Eric Richins without his knowledge, with benefits totaling nearly $2 million, prosecutors allege.

Kouri Richins was also charged Monday with mortgage fraud and insurance fraud for allegedly forging loan applications and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after his death.

Prosecutors argue she was in financial distress when her husband died and say she mistakenly believed she would inherit his estate under terms of their prenuptial agreement. Newly released documents indicated she had a negative bank account balance, owed lenders more than $1.8 million and was being sued by a creditor.

Charging documents indicate Eric Richins met with a divorce attorney and an estate planner in October 2020, a month after he discovered that his wife made some major financial decisions without his knowledge. The couple's prenuptial agreement only allowed Kouri Richins to profit off her husband's successful stone masonry business if he died while they were still married.

Utah law prohibits anyone convicted of murder from profiting financially off their crime.

Maternal murder accomplice?

The case took another turn when a newly released court affidavit revealed last week that investigators believe Kouri Richins' mother might also have been involved in his death. 

A Summit County Sheriff's investigator wrote in the affidavit it is "possible" that Lisa Darden was "involved in planning and orchestrating" Eric Richins' death.

Investigators discovered Darden had been living with a female romantic partner who died suddenly in 2006. An autopsy determined the woman died of an overdose of oxycodone, the affidavit said. The woman struggled with drug abuse, but at the time of her death she wasn't in recovery, which the investigator said would "likely rule out the possibility of an accidental overdose." Darden had become the recipient of the partner's estate shortly before her death, the affidavit said.

The affidavit also said conversations "have been found on Kouri's phone showing disdain for Eric on Lisa's part."

"Based on Lisa Darden's proximity to her partner's suspicious overdose death, and her relationship with Kouri, it is possible she was involved in planning and orchestrating Eric's death," the affidavit states. 

No charges have been filed against Lisa Darden.

In:
• Homicide
• Fraud
• Opioids
• Murder
• Utah
• Murder Trial
• Crime
• Children