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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After her husband's death, a three-time mother wrote a children's book about grief management. In March, she was convicted of murder – she poisoned him with fentanyl.
A three-time mother has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband in the U.S. state of Utah after writing a children's book on grief management.The judge in the sensational murder trial imposed the maximum sentence on Kouri Richins, as U.S. media reported on Wednesday (local time).She had always rejected the allegations.The 36-year-old was found guilty in March of secretly administering a lethal dose of synthetic opioid f…
An American woman who wrote a children's book about grief after poisoning her husband has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, American media report.
What Did Kouri Richins Do? Inside the Shocking Murder Case as Children's Book Author Gets Life Sentence Without Parole
A Utah children's book author has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of murdering her husband in a case that has drawn international attention due to allegations of poisoning, financial motive, and a fatal fentanyl overdose. Kouri Richins, a mother of three who previously wrote a children's book about grief following her husband's death, was found guilty of aggravated murder in the killing of her husband, Eric …
Kouri Richins, Author of Children’s Book on Grief, Gets Life Sentence for Killing Her Husband
PARK CITY, Utah—A Utah mother who published a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his murder, a judge ruled Wednesday. Kouri Richins was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’ cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City in 2022. A jury also found her guilty of four other felonies, inc…
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