Utah widow to face trial for husband’s fentanyl poisoning murder

Utah widow Kouri Richins, accused of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl and later penning a children’s book on grief, has been ordered to face trial for murder and other charges. Utah District Court Judge Richard Mrazik ruled on Tuesday that there is sufficient evidence for the trial.

Richins is charged with several felonies connected to the death, including aggravated murder, distribution of controlled substances, and multiple counts of fraud and forgery. She also faces an attempted murder charge for allegedly trying to kill her husband, Eric Richins, weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day.

Judge Mrazik confirmed probable cause for all 11 felony charges against her. In court, Richins, seated with her legal team, showed no visible reaction as the decision was announced.

Richins has declared her innocence and entered not guilty pleas to all charges. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 28, with a pre-trial conference set for the afternoon of September 23.

Eric Richins was discovered dead at the foot of their bed in March 2022. A medical examiner found that the 39-year-old had ingested approximately five times the lethal dose of fentanyl.

Richins informed investigators she had brought her husband a Moscow Mule cocktail in their bedroom before going to sleep in her son’s room. She stated she returned around 3 a.m. to find him unresponsive on the floor.

Nearly a year after his death, Richins published a children’s book titled “Are You With Me?” which addresses coping with the loss of a loved one.

Richins was arrested in May 2023 and charged with her husband’s murder. Judge Mrazik ruled she be held without bail, citing “substantial evidence” against her.

Court documents from 2023 reveal internet searches on her phone about fentanyl, life insurance payouts, police investigations, and data deletion. The searches included phrases such as: “can cops force you to do a lie detector test?” “Luxury prisons for the rich in America,” “death certificate says pending, will life insurance still pay?” “If someone is poisoned what does it go down on the death certificate as,” and “How to permanently delete information from an iPhone remotely.