Trial begins for Utah mom accused of killing husband then writing a children's book about grief

A murder trial is set to begin for a Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of killing him

PARK CITY, Utah -- A murder trial is set to begin Monday for a Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of killing him.

Kouri Richins, 35, faces a slew of felony charges for allegedly killing her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022 at their home just outside the ski town of Park City. Prosecutors say she slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail that he drank.

She is also accused of trying to poison him a month earlier on Valentine's Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him break out in hives and black out, according to court documents.

Prosecutors have argued that Richins killed her husband for financial gain while planning a future with another man she was seeing on the side. Richins has vehemently denied the allegations.

She faces nearly three dozen counts, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud. The murder charge alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.