Kouri Richins: Utah children’s author accused of killing husband with fentanyl faces 4 new charges including attempted murder

KAMAS, UTAH: Utah children's book author Kouri Richins, who is already awaiting trial for killing her husband in 2022 with a Moscow Mule laced with fentanyl, has been charged with attempted murder by Utah prosecutors.

According to recently filed charging documents, Eric Richins had to use an EpiPen and take Benedryl after Kouri Richins gave him a sandwich on Valentine's Day 2022, two weeks before he died due to a severe reaction, NBC News reported.

Kouri Richins was arrested for killing her husband Eric Richins

Kouri Richins, who wrote a book on how to deal with a loved one's unexpected death after her husband Eric died, was detained in 2023 and details of her arrest were included in an affidavit by the police, as reported by Crime Online.

After sipping a cocktail mixed by his wife, Eric Richins was discovered dead in March 2022.

During an autopsy, it was discovered that the fentanyl in his system was "illicit" and not medical grade and that it was five times the lethal dose.

Additionally, the prosecutors claim that Kouri purchased the fentanyl before Valentine's Day.

The new charging documents state that Eric told two friends that Kouri had left him his favorite sandwich from a nearby diner with a note, contrary to the earlier documents that claimed she made the sandwich.

According to the documents, Eric texted his wife after she had left the house to let her know he wasn't feeling well and that he would be visiting the hospital if he didn't get better quickly.

In response, she said he ought to go to bed. He later revealed to a friend that after just one bite of the sandwich, he developed hives.

He said, "You almost lost me," and to help him breathe, he took Benedryl and used his son's EpiPen. 

“Eric Richins told Witness 1 that he had almost died,” the documents state. “Witness 1 could hear the fear in Eric Richins’ voice and tell that Eric Richins was scared," they further read.

The documents state that Eric informed another friend that he believed his wife had attempted to poison him.

Kouri Richins faces four new charges

Kouri Richins was charged on Monday, March 25, with two counts of mortgage fraud, two counts of insurance fraud, and three counts of forgery, in addition to the attempted murder charge, as per the latest report by Crime Online.

After her husband died, the prosecution claimed that Kouri falsified loan applications because she was having financial difficulties and made fictitious insurance claims.

Kouri reportedly altered the beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy from his business partner to herself one month before the sandwich incident.

She changed Eric's beneficiary on the business partner's policy to herself in a similar manner. After informing the two men about the online modification, the insurance company promptly undid it.

Kouri has frequently hinted that her spouse was a drug addict while also adamantly claiming to be innocent.