A Utah children's book author accused of killing her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail will face a murder trial after new testimony suggested she was having an affair with a man and bought the deadly drugs from their housekeeper.
Kouri Richins, a 34-year-old mother of three, is accused of poisoning her 39-year-old husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home in a small mountain town near Park City, with the goal of collecting millions of dollars in life insurance money, flipping their house, and being with his mistress.
A Utah judge ruled on the second day of Khoury's preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to proceed with a jury trial.
“There are always two reasons why people go crazy and commit murder: one is love and the other is money,” criminal defense lawyer Jonah Spielber told Fox News Digital, “and Kouri Richins had both, because we found out she was in contact with a man she worked with in the resale business.”
Utah children's book author accused of murdering husband speaks out for first time: 'This means war'
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about dealing with grief after the death of her husband, listens during a bond hearing, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Poole)
Digital forensic expert Chris Kotrodimos testified Monday that Khoury had been regularly texting Robert Grossman, Khoury's lover before her husband's death. Grossman worked as a handyman helping Khoury renovate a property she was trying to sell. New York Post According to reports, prosecutors had previously described her alleged lover as her “lover” in an indictment.
On the night Eric died, Khoury texted Grossman a photo of the two of them kissing with the caption “I love you,” court documents revealed. According to the Daily Mail, in the week after Eric's death, Khoury texted Grossman five times saying “I love you.”
“I don't text someone to tell them I love you or let them know where I am. I don't text someone every day unless I'm in a relationship,” Spielberg said.
“So, lo and behold, we now have evidence that Cooley Richins had a lover, a 'lover.' Motives abound… and I have no doubt that evidence of motives will come to the fore when this case goes to trial.”
“Things aren't looking good for Kouri Richins.”
Detective Jeff O'Driscoll with the Summit County Sheriff's Office said on the stand Monday that the housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, also allegedly sold Khoury fentanyl three times. Detective O'Driscoll said police first linked Lauber to Khoury Richins through a series of text messages and then arrested Lauber after drugs and other illegal items were found in Lauber's home.
Lauber told detectives he sold Khoury up to 90 blue-green fentanyl pills, and Lauber's dealer later admitted to detectives that he sold Khoury the fentanyl he requested. Investigators said they did not find any fentanyl pills in the Richins' home.
Utah children's author sent blaming emails to boyfriend before plotting to poison husband: documentary
Eric Richins' obituary describes him as “an avid outdoorsman and a devoted hunter.” He enjoyed helping out on the family ranch and running a “successful” and growing masonry business. The obituary also describes him as a dedicated family man. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)
Prosecutors allege Khoury killed Eric so he could collect millions in life insurance money and resell a $2 million Wasatch County mansion that was under construction at the time of Eric's death, but the family says Khoury disapproved of the investment.
In Summit County court documents, authorities say that on the night Eric died, he, Khouri and her mother, Lisa Darden, were celebrating Khouri's recent closing on the residence in question.
Khoury allegedly mixed a cocktail of fentanyl for her husband that night, and a medical examiner determined that Eric had more than five times the lethal dose of the illegal opioid in his system when he died.
According to the indictment, medical examiners also found “16,000 ng/ml” of quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic drug “widely used as a sleep aid,” in Eric Richins' gastric fluid.
The next day, after her husband's death was confirmed, Khoury allegedly signed a purchase and sale contract for the mansion.
Khoury pleaded “not guilty” to all 11 charges on Tuesday, the second morning of a preliminary hearing on an additional attempted murder charge filed in March for allegedly lacing fentanyl into her husband's favorite sandwich on Valentine's Day, causing a severe but non-fatal reaction.
Richins' lawyers, Cathy Nestor and Wendy Lewis of Nestor Lewis and Alexander Ramos of Langford Ramos, said in a statement Tuesday: “We understand that the prosecution was found extremely favorable at the preliminary hearing stage and we respect the court's decision. We are confident that the charges against Mr. Khoury do not withstand thorough scrutiny and are confident that a jury will find the same.”
“Our focus now is on ensuring justice is achieved through a fair trial. We firmly believe that truth will prevail and remain committed to defending Khoury against these charges. Over the past 15 months, Khoury and her three children have made great sacrifices and it is now time to end this ordeal, get her life back and allow her and her family to move forward.”
A Utah man allegedly murdered by his author wife has taken “highly unusual” steps to remove her from his will.
The home where Kouri Richins and Eric Richins lived, photographed in Frances, Utah, on May 11, 2023. Kouri Richins wrote a children's book about grief after the death of her husband and will face a murder trial in connection to his death. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth argued that Khoury learned her lesson only after the attempted assassination of her husband, which led her to carry out the murder 17 days later.
Spielberg told Fox News Digital that evidence that Khoury was having an affair and buying fentanyl pills through Lauber is damaging to her defense. She said prosecutors likely have more evidence that Khoury was romantically involved with Grossman, which she said will be crucial at trial.
“Based on the circumstantial evidence, they're really going to have to rely on that type of evidence to get a jury to say that she obtained the fentanyl, that the defendant died of fentanyl intoxication and that she was the last person to see the defendant alive,” Spielber said.
Spielvol also said evidence at trial would likely show that Khoury had significant debts in her property portfolio and that her husband was considering divorce and had sought to exclude Khoury from his will.
“There will be evidence that her husband had a reason for entering into a prenuptial agreement, and there will also be evidence that the only way Kouri Richins would really gain financially was not through divorce but through the death of her husband,” Spielber said, adding that prosecutors would not necessarily have to show evidence that the pills she purchased were fatally ingested by her husband.
“When all the potential evidence is pieced together, it won't be an issue for the jury if they can't precisely connect the fentanyl dots to the glass,” Spielber said.
Months before his arrest in May 2023, Khoury self-published a children's book, “Are You with Me?”, which depicts a father with angel wings watching over his dead infant son. The book could play a key role in helping prosecutors frame Eric Richins' death as a planned murder with an elaborate cover-up.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Kouri Richins, a mother of three from Utah, is accused of killing her husband of nine years, Eric Richins, with fentanyl. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer/Courtesy of family)
Spielber said that while one is not permitted to profit from a crime, writing a book is not in itself a crime, but it could infuriate jurors who would be inclined to convict her anyway.
“To be hiding in plain sight. To be trying to cover up such a horrible crime when she has three children, meaning they no longer have a father, and then to make money, write this book and act like she's the victim when in fact she is the perpetrator. I mean, that's the Hollywood way.”
“And that would be a real shock to jurors if they were inclined to believe all of the other evidence that would be expected to be against her.”
Fox News' Audrey Conklin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
