One or two pills might be accidental. Twenty is not.
In the quiet foothills near Park City, Utah, a children's book about a father watching over his son from heaven has become one of the more haunting artifacts in a murder case — a reminder that grief can be performed as well as felt. Kouri Richins, who published that book after her husband Eric died in March 2022, now faces not only murder charges but newly filed attempted murder and fraud counts, as prosecutors allege she made a calculated, months-long effort to end his life for financial gain. The case asks an old and uncomfortable question: how well do we ever know the people closest to us, and what do we make of tenderness offered by hands that may have caused the wound.
- Eric Richins told friends on Valentine's Day 2022 that he believed his wife had just tried to kill him — and he was right, prosecutors now allege, as a sandwich left in his truck was laced with fentanyl.
- When the first attempt failed, Richins allegedly complained the pills weren't strong enough and sought something more potent — a month later, Eric was found dead with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.
- Behind the poisonings, prosecutors say, lay a web of secret life insurance policies worth nearly two million dollars, forged loan documents, and a prenuptial agreement that only paid out if Eric died while still married.
- The children's grief book Richins published after her husband's death — once praised as a tender resource for bereaved families — now sits in evidence files, and Utah law may prevent her from ever collecting its earnings.
- Three children have lost both parents to this case: their father to poison, their mother to a jail cell where she is held without bail as the charges against her continue to grow.
Kouri Richins published a children's illustrated book after her husband Eric died unexpectedly in March 2022. It told the story of a father with angel wings watching over his young son from heaven — a tender resource, reviewers said, for children learning to grieve. What no reader knew was that Richins had allegedly poisoned Eric herself, and that the book would eventually become evidence in a murder case.
Prosecutors in Summit County, Utah, have now filed new charges revealing what they describe as a deliberate, two-stage campaign to kill him. The first attempt came on Valentine's Day 2022, when Eric found a sandwich in his truck with a note from his wife. After one bite of his favorite meal, he broke out in hives and lost consciousness. When he came to, he called friends in a panic. 'I think my wife tried to poison me,' he told them. He had no known allergies, yet his body was shutting down. He injected himself with his son's EpiPen and drank a full bottle of Benadryl. Prosecutors allege the sandwich had been laced with fentanyl.
That same week, according to charging documents, Richins had purchased dozens of fentanyl pills from a housekeeper. After Valentine's Day, she allegedly returned to that source and complained the pills weren't strong enough — she needed something more potent. A month later, she called 911 in the middle of the night to report finding her husband cold at the foot of their bed. A medical examiner found five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system. 'Twenty pills — or five times the lethal dose — is not accidental,' said Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell. 'That is someone who wants Eric dead.'
The financial picture prosecutors have assembled is stark. Richins had secretly opened multiple life insurance policies on Eric totaling nearly two million dollars. At the time of his death, her bank account was in the negative and she owed creditors more than 1.8 million dollars. A prenuptial agreement meant she could only profit from his successful business if he died while they were still married — and Eric had quietly consulted a divorce attorney in 2020 after discovering she had made major financial decisions without his knowledge.
Richins, now 33, is held without bail. Her attorney maintains the evidence is circumstantial, but the new charges — attempted murder, mortgage fraud, and insurance fraud — have significantly widened the prosecution's case. Utah law bars anyone convicted of murder from profiting off their crime, a provision that now threatens the earnings from the very book she wrote in her husband's name. Their three children, meanwhile, have lost both parents: one to poison, one to a cell.
Kouri Richins published a children's book about grief and loss after her husband died unexpectedly in March 2022. The illustrated storybook, titled "Are You With Me?," told the story of a father with angel wings watching over his young son from heaven. It was praised as a tender resource for children processing the death of a parent. What readers did not know was that Richins herself had allegedly poisoned her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl, and that the book would become evidence in a murder case.
Now, more than a year after her arrest, prosecutors in Utah have filed new charges that paint a picture of a calculated campaign to kill Eric Richins, her husband of nine years. The 39-year-old man did not die in a single moment of desperation or rage. According to charging documents filed this week by Summit County prosecutors, Richins attempted to poison him at least twice—first on Valentine's Day 2022, then fatally a month later in their home near Park City.
On Valentine's Day, Eric Richins found a sandwich in the front seat of his truck, left with a note from his wife. After eating one bite of his favorite meal, he broke out in hives and lost consciousness. When he woke, he called friends in a state of fear. "I think my wife tried to poison me," he told them, according to witness testimony. His voice carried terror. He had no known allergies, yet his body was reacting violently. He injected himself with his son's EpiPen and drank an entire bottle of Benadryl to counteract what was happening to him. The sandwich, prosecutors allege, had been laced with fentanyl.
The week Richins bought that sandwich from a local diner in Kamas, she also purchased several dozen fentanyl pills. A housekeeper who claims to have sold her the drugs told law enforcement that she provided the pills just days before Valentine's Day. Later, according to the charging documents, Richins returned to the housekeeper and said the pills were not strong enough. She asked for something more potent. A month passed. Then, in the middle of the night, Richins called 911 to report that she had found her husband cold to the touch at the foot of their bed. He was pronounced dead. A medical examiner found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.
The contrast between the two poisonings matters to prosecutors. "One or two pills might be accidental," said Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell. "Twenty—or five times the lethal dose—is not accidental. That is someone who wants Eric dead." Richins allegedly slipped the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail she made for her husband during a period marked by marital disputes and financial tension. The couple had been fighting over a multimillion-dollar mansion she had purchased as an investment.
Financial records reveal a woman in crisis. Years before her husband's death, Richins had opened numerous life insurance policies on Eric without his knowledge, with combined benefits totaling nearly two million dollars. When he died, her bank account had a negative balance. She owed lenders more than 1.8 million dollars and was being sued by creditors. The couple had a prenuptial agreement that allowed her to profit from his successful stone masonry business only if he died while they were still married. In October 2020, Eric had met with a divorce attorney and an estate planner after discovering that his wife had made major financial decisions without his consent.
Richins, 33, is being held without bail. Her attorney, Skye Lazaro, has argued that the evidence against her is dubious and circumstantial, but the new charges expand the prosecution's case significantly. In addition to the attempted murder charge, she now faces mortgage fraud and insurance fraud charges for allegedly forging loan applications and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after Eric's death. Utah law prohibits anyone convicted of murder from profiting financially off their crime—a provision that directly threatens the earnings from her published book, which has become not a symbol of healing but a piece of evidence in the case against her.
Notable Quotes
One or two pills might be accidental. Twenty—or five times the lethal dose—is not accidental. That is someone who wants Eric dead.— Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell
I think my wife tried to poison me.— Eric Richins, to friends after the Valentine's Day incident
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did she publish the book at all? Wasn't that risky?
It's the central puzzle of the case. She was grieving publicly, promoting the book, being praised for helping her children and other kids process loss. The book itself was the cover. It made her look like a devoted mother, not someone who had just killed her husband.
But she must have known the fentanyl would be found in his system.
Possibly. Or she believed she could control the narrative—that his death would be ruled accidental, that the book would cement her image as a grieving widow. The life insurance policies suggest she had thought this through for years.
What changed? Why did prosecutors wait so long to charge her with the Valentine's Day attempt?
They needed the evidence. The housekeeper's testimony, the recovered text messages, the witness statements from his friends about that phone call. Building a case on poisoning is harder than it looks. You need proof of intent, proof of access to the drug, proof of administration.
The prenup is interesting. It sounds like he was protecting himself.
He was. But it also created motive. She couldn't inherit his estate if they divorced. She could only profit if he died while they were married. And she needed money—badly. The mansion, the debt, the creditors closing in.
Do you think the first attempt was a test?
That's what the prosecution seems to be arguing. She tried a smaller dose on Valentine's Day, it didn't work the way she wanted, so she asked for stronger fentanyl. A month later, she used five times the lethal dose. That's not a mistake. That's escalation.