PARK CITY, Utah (Court TV) — Prosecutors are expected to provide evidence of a crumbling marriage, an affair and multiple attempts to kill the victim at a three-day hearing scheduled to begin Monday in Utah.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three, who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Kouri Richins is facing a list of charges, including murder, for the death of her husband, Eric Richins, who prosecutors say was poisoned by a cocktail laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. Kouri, who wrote a children’s book about her husband’s death, was charged with his murder one year later.
In May, prosecutors filed an amended complaint against Kouri , adding financial crimes to the list of charges. The updated filing and its evidence forced a delay in the case, followed by a further delay after Kouri’s attorneys requested the prosecution be disqualified from the case before abruptly withdrawing themselves .
The preliminary hearing, now scheduled to take three days and begin on Aug. 26, is expected to feature not only evidence prosecutors say proves that Kouri purchased the fentanyl that killed Eric, but also evidence that she had previously tried to kill him in the same way. Prosecutors said in court documents reviewed by Court TV that they have accessed more than 800 messages and 12 calls that had been manually deleted between Kouri and an unidentified witness.
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While the original murder charges focused mostly on the fentanyl that killed Eric, prosecutors are expected to take time during the hearing to address the financial crimes Kouri is now accused of. Investigators say that part of Kouri’s motive was financial, and she “mistakenly believed she would inherit Eric Richins’ estate.”
Witnesses who may be called at the hearing include the housekeeper who allegedly sold Kouri the fentanyl and friends of the defendant and victim who told investigators that Kouri made comments like, “In many ways, it would be better if Eric Richins was dead.” Judge Richard Mzarik previously ruled that prosecutors would be allowed to introduce evidence that Kouri had looked into getting a divorce.
The parties appeared in court on Aug. 21 for a hearing ahead of the preliminary hearing, as the defense fights to have some of the witness statements suppressed. The defense has also asked for Kouri to be allowed to be unhandcuffed in the courtroom to better allow her to write. Judge Mzarik is expected to deliver his rulings for those issues before the hearing begins on Monday.
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