Utah grief author sentenced to life in prison in husband’s poisoning death
Her three sons asked for life without parole, and prosecutors said she killed her husband for money after opening life insurance policies worth more than $4 million.
- On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Kouri Richins, the Utah mother and author who wrote a children’s book about grief after her husband's death, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentencing took place in a Park City courtroom on what would have been her late husband Eric Richins’ 44th birthday.
- Richins, 35, was found guilty in March 2026 of aggravated murder for lacing her husband’s Moscow Mule cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. She was also convicted of attempted murder for trying to poison him weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich.
- Prosecutors successfully argued that Richins was over $4 million in debt and sought to kill her husband to collect millions in life insurance and inherit his estate. Text messages presented during the trial showed she was also planning a future with another man at the time of the murder.
- In a poignant moment, Eric’s father, Eugene Richins, told the court that the life sentence was necessary to ensure his three grandsons never have to fear the person who killed their father. Social workers also read statements from the three boys—now ages 9, 11, and 13—who expressed that they would feel unsafe if their mother were ever released.
- Despite the verdict, Kouri Richins maintained her innocence during a 30-minute statement, calling the conviction "an absolute lie." Her legal team, which rested its case without calling a single witness, has announced plans to appeal both the conviction and the life sentence.
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Local 3 News
Before a judge sentenced Kouri Richins for fatally poisoning her husband, the couple's three young children made their feelings clear.
Grief Author Kouri Richins Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Her Husband’s 2022 Death
The Utah grief author Kouri Richins has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after she was convicted of murdering her husband. Richins, 35, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole during a hearing on Wednesday, May 13, according to NBC News. She received her sentence after she was found guilty in March of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, fraud and forgery in connection to the death of her husba…
“I don’t want you to get out of jail because I won’t feel safe if you’re out,” said the second son, identified with the acronym A.R., in a letter read aloud at the trial against Kouri Richins, who murdered her husband with a deadly dose of fentanyl and then wrote a children’s book about overcoming a duel. Kouri Richins was sentenced: her children’s testimonies at the trial “You never apologized for anything you’ve done to me or my brothers. I do…
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