Judge rules Kouri Richins, Utah mother accused of fatally poisoning her husband, will stand trial
By Celina Tebor, CNN
(CNN) — Kouri Richins, the Utah widow accused of killing her husband with a fentanyl overdose and later writing a children’s book about grief, has been ordered to stand trial on murder and other charges, Utah District Court Judge Richard Mrazik ruled Tuesday.
Richins faces several felony charges related to the killing, including aggravated murder, the distribution of controlled substances and various fraud and forgery-related charges. She’s also charged with attempting to kill her husband, Eric Richins, a few weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day.
Mrazik said there was probable cause to try Richins on all 11 felony counts she’s facing. Sitting with her defense attorneys, the widow showed no visible emotion as the judge ruled she would go to trial.
Richins has maintained her innocence. She entered not guilty pleas for all charges in court Tuesday.
The trial is slated to begin on April 28. The judge scheduled a pre-trial conference for the afternoon of September 23.
A death, a children’s book about grief, then an arrest
Eric Richins was found dead at the foot of the couple’s bed in March 2022. The 39-year-old had about five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system, according to a medical examiner.
His wife told investigators at the time she brought her husband a Moscow Mule cocktail in the bedroom of their Kamas, Utah, home, then left to sleep with their son in his room. She said she returned around 3 a.m. to find her husband lying on the floor, cold to the touch.
About a year to the day after her husband died, Richins published a children’s book, “Are You With Me?” about navigating grief after the loss of a loved one.
In May 2023, Richins was arrested and charged with the murder of her husband.
Judge Mrazik previously ruled Richins to be held without bail due to the “substantial evidence” against her.
Internet searches and some articles found on the mother’s phone focused on fentanyl, life insurance payments, police investigations and how data is collected, according to court documents filed in 2023.
Prosecutors allege the searches included the phrases: “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.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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