Utah mom-of-three 'poisons husband with fentanyl' and then writes a children's book on grieving

A woman who wrote a children's book on death and grieving is now facing a murder trial over the death of her husband by poisoning .

Mom-of-three Kouri Richins is facing several felony charges for allegedly giving her husband a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. The Utah mother is known for her children's book on grief but has now become the main suspect in the death of Eric Richins. Prosecutors claim the mom had slipped "five times" the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail.

Months before Kouri was arrested in 2023, she self-published the children's book "Are You With Me?" A story about a father who gains his angel wings and watches over his young son after passing away. However, this book may now play a key role in framing Eric Richins's death as a "calculated killing" with an intricate cover-up.

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Kouri also faces additional charges over an earlier attempt to kill Eric with a spiked sandwich on Valentine's Day - something she denies, yet prosecutors say her husband had growing suspicions about her behavior after friends had recalled conversations with Eric. Detective Jeff O’Driscoll with the Summit County Sheriff's Office was called to the stand on Monday, August 26, to describe his actions with a key witness - a housekeeper who claims to have sold fentanyl to Kouri Richins on three separate occasions.

Carmen Lauber, a housekeeper, was linked to Kouri through text messages and was later arrested after drugs and other illegal items were found in her home. The 52-year-old denied knowledge of how Eric Richins had died, but later opened up to Detective O'Driscoll after he told the housekeeper "drug charges against her might be reduced or eliminated in exchange for helpful information".

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He told the court Lauber "went back and forth on what happened, what didn't happen and in what order things happened" and claimed she had sold Kouri Richins up to 90 blue-green fentanyl pills. However, officers did not find any of the fentanyl pills in the Richins home. Lauber has now been given immunity from the U.S Attorney's Office and is not in custody - but is among witnesses who may be called to testify during the possible trial.

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik is expected to decide as early as Tuesday whether the state has presented sufficient evidence to go forward with a trial or not.