A Utah jury on Monday convicted real estate agent Kouri Richins, 35, of aggravated murder after prosecutors said she poisoned her husband, Eric Richins, to collect millions in life insurance she had secretly taken out in his name - then wrote a children’s grief book to disguise her role in his death.
Prosecutors said Richins had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, with benefits totaling around $2 million. Combined with an estate she falsely believed she would inherit - valued at more than $4 million - the financial motive, they argued, drove the March 2022 killing.
“She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money,” Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said.
At the time of her husband’s death, Richins was reportedly $4.5 million in debt. Prosecutors also presented evidence that she was planning a future with another man, exchanging text messages that fantasized about leaving her husband, collecting millions in a divorce, and remarrying.
Her phone’s internet search history included terms such as “what is a lethal.dose.of.fetanayl” and “luxury prisons for the rich America,” which the prosecution said indicated deliberate planning rather than impulsive action.
Prosecutors claimed Richins laced a cocktail her husband drank at their Park City-area home with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl. She was also convicted of attempted murder for a separate incident weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day, when she allegedly gave her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich that caused him to black out. Additional convictions for forgery and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits underscored the financial motive at the center of the case.
The jury deliberated for just under three hours. Defense attorney Wendy Lewis argued that the prosecution had not produced enough evidence for a murder conviction and highlighted Eric Richins’ struggles with painkiller addiction. Body camera footage shown in court, however, revealed that Kouri Richins told police on the night of her husband’s death that he had no history of illicit drug use.
Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, spoke outside the courtroom after the verdict.
“Honestly, I feel like we’re all in shock. It’s been a long time coming,” she said, adding that the family could now focus on honoring her brother and supporting his sons. “Just very happy that we got justice for my brother.”
Sentencing is scheduled for May 13. The aggravated murder charge carries 25 years to life in prison. Richins also faces 26 additional money-related criminal charges in a separate case that has not yet gone to trial.
