Utah mom who wrote children's book about grief found guilty of murdering husband

Kouri Richins found guilty of murdering her husband

Criminal defense attorney Matt Tympanick with Tympanick Law joins LiveNOW's Shawna Khalafi with instant reaction to Kouri Richins being found guilty of murdering her husband in Utah.

PARK CITY, Utah - A Utah woman was convicted of aggravated murder after poisoning her husband with fentanyl and self-publishing a children’s book about coping with grief.

Prosecutors said Kouri Richins poisoned her husband Eric Richins with synthetic opioid in a cocktail on March 3, 2022 at their house outside of Park City, Utah, while their three young sons were asleep, FOX News reported. 

RELATED: Utah woman accused of killing husband then writing grief book for children requests bail

FILE-A judge's gavel, scales of justice and law books are shown in a courtroom. (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Getty Images)

Richins was also convicted Monday of other crimes, including attempted murder for attempting to poison Eric Richins weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him pass out. 

The AP reported that jurors also found Richins guilty of forgery and falsely claiming insurance benefits after his death. Prosecutors in the case noted that Richins was $4.5 million in debt and falsely believed that when her husband died, she would inherit his estate worth over $4 million.

According to the AP, sentencing was scheduled for May 13, and the aggravated murder charge alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

RELATED: Utah mom Kouri Richins Googled 'luxury prisons for the rich' after allegedly killing husband: docs

What is Kouri Richins?

The backstory:

Kouri Richins was a real estate agent and reportedly was deep in debt and planning a new life with another man. 

Citing prosecutors in the case, the Associated Press reported that Richins opened various life insurance policies on her husband, Eric Richins, without his awareness, with benefits totaling roughly $2 million.

Before Kouri Richins was arrested in May 2023, she self-published a children’s book titled "Are You with Me?" which centers on dealing with the loss of a parent. Richins marketed the book on local television and radio stations, which prosecutors centered on contending that she planned the killing of her husband and attempted to cover it up, according to the AP. 

Jurors at the trial saw text messages, presented by prosecutors, between Richins and Robert Josh Grossman, the man with whom she was accused of having an affair. Richins reportedly fantasized about leaving her husband, gaining millions in a divorce, and marrying Grossman.

According to the AP, an internet search history from Richins’ phone included "what is a lethal.dose.of.fetanayl," "luxury prisons for the rich America" and "if someone is poisned what does it go down on the death certificate as," a digital forensic analyst testified.

Moreover, jurors saw excerpts of a letter found in Richins’ jail cell, presented by prosecutors that they argued apparently outlined testimony for her mother and brother. 

Citing the six-page letter, the AP noted that Richins instructed her brother to tell her ex- attorney that Eric Richins confided in him about getting fentanyl from Mexico and that he "gets high every night."

Richins told police on the night of her husband’s death that he had no history of illicit drug use, the AP reported, citing body camera footage shown in court.