Utah bereavement author found guilty of fatally poisoning her husband

March 17, 2026

A Utah jury convicted 35-year-old Kouri Richins of murdering her husband Eric by poisoning him with fentanyl in March 2022, approximately one year before she published a children's grief book dedicated to him. Evidence presented during the trial revealed she had accumulated significant debt, purchased life insurance on her husband, and was involved in an extramarital relationship while expecting to inherit his multi-million dollar estate. Prosecutors demonstrated she had previously attempted to poison her husband with a tainted sandwich before successfully killing him with a lethal fentanyl dose—five times the fatal amount—disguised in a vodka cocktail.

Who is affected

Kouri Richins (convicted of murder)
Eric Richins (murder victim)
The couple's three children (lost their father and now their mother faces prison)
The woman who sold drugs to Richins (testified as a prosecution witness)
Eric Richins' estate beneficiaries
The man with whom Richins was having an affair

What action is being taken

No explicit ongoing actions are described in the article. The trial has concluded with a guilty verdict already reached.

Why it matters

This case demonstrates the extreme lengths to which someone may go for financial gain, with Richins attempting to profit from her husband's death through a multi-million dollar estate inheritance while maintaining a public facade of grief. The publication of a children's book about coping with loss—dedicated to the very husband she murdered—represents a particularly brazen form of deception that adds significance to the case. The conviction also highlights how law enforcement can successfully prosecute complex poisoning cases even when the perpetrator attempts to cover their tracks with false narratives about grief and loss.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC