Kenneth Glad
A high-profile murder trial is underway as a mother of three fights accusations that she fatally poisoned her husband. Jurors are being asked to weigh forensic evidence, financial records and deeply conflicting accounts of what happened inside their home.
A winter hush hung over the Park City courthouse as jurors filed in, some clutching notepads, others avoiding eye contact with the defendant. Reporters filled several benches behind them, their murmurs fading as the judge took the bench.
Kouri Richins, 35, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins. A conviction could mean life in prison without parole, the most severe sentence available under Utah’s aggravated murder law.
According to charging documents cited by ABC News, an autopsy determined that Eric Richins, 39, died from fentanyl intoxication. The medical examiner found the drug was illicit fentanyl and present at several times the amount considered lethal.
Prosecutors have also charged her with attempted aggravated murder, alleging in court filings that she tried to poison him weeks earlier. That accusation is expected to resurface as testimony unfolds.
Prosecutors outline financial motive
During opening statements Monday, Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth argued the killing was deliberate and rooted in financial pressure. He described significant liabilities tied to Richins’ real estate ventures and told jurors her husband’s assets were substantial.
“The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life,” Bloodworth told jurors. He said she sought “to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence and success.”
Bloodworth said in court, writes ABC News, that investigators uncovered text messages between Richins and a man described as her boyfriend. One message read, “If he could just go away and you could just be here, life would be so perfect.” He presented the messages as part of the prosecution’s theory of motive.
He also told jurors about internet searches made after Eric Richins’ death, including questions about deleting phone data and whether police could retrieve erased messages. Those details, described in his opening statement, will be addressed later through digital evidence testimony.
Defense takes a different tack
After the prosecution concluded, the defense approached the lectern with a quieter tone.
Attorney Kathy Nester played the 3:21 a.m. 911 call from March 4, 2022. Jurors listened intently; several wrote notes as Richins’ voice told a dispatcher her husband was cold and not breathing. When the recording ended, the courtroom sat still.
“Those were the sounds of a wife becoming a widow,” Nester told the panel.
ABC News reports that she acknowledged that her client obtained pain medication but maintained it was Oxycodone purchased at her husband’s request, emphasizing that no oxycodone was found in his system. The fentanyl, she suggested, could have come from another source. Eric Richins had recently traveled to Mexico, she noted, which U.S. authorities have identified as a major entry point for illicit fentanyl.
Before her arrest in May 2023, Richins publicly described her husband’s death as “unexpected” and said it “completely took us all by shock” while promoting a self-published children’s book about grief.
Richins remains in custody at the Summit County Jail. She also faces separate mortgage fraud charges in another case, according to court records, and has not yet entered a plea on those allegations.
As the trial continues, jurors will hear from forensic specialists and investigators about toxicology findings, financial records and digital data, evidence that could ultimately determine whether prosecutors have met their burden of proof.
Source: ABC News
