Utah children's author to stand trial for husband's poisoning death

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Utah author Kouri Richins, who wrote a children's book about grief after she was accused of fatally poisoning her husband, will stand trial on charges of murder and other crimes, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Richins, a 34-year-old mother of three, was ordered to stand trial on several felony charges related to the 2022 killing of her husband, Eric Richins, who died from a deadly dose of fentanyl.

Utah District Court Judge Richard Mrazik ruled Tuesday that there was probable cause to try Kouri Richins on 11 felony counts.

"We are not determining, in any degree, guilt at all," Mrazik said. "Nothing the court says today affects her presumption of innocence in any way."

Prosecutors accuse Kouri Richins of drugging her husband's Valentine's Day sandwich just weeks before his death in March 2022, when they claimed she spiked his cocktail . The medical examiner said the 39-year-old had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.

Kouri Richins is charged with attempted murder, aggravated murder and distribution of controlled substances, in addition to fraud and forgery over a $2 million life insurance policy she obtained on her husband before his death.

According to court documents, Kouri Richins' phone contained Internet searches about fentanyl, life insurance and how to delete information from an iPhone.

The year after her husband's death, Kouri Richins published a children's book about grief following the loss of a loved one. The book is titled "Are You With Me?"

Kouri Richens was arrested and charged with murder in May 2023.

On Tuesday, she pleaded not guilty to all charges. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Sept. 23, with the trial scheduled to begin April 28.