By Sam Metz - The Associated Press
Following her husband's death last year, a Utah woman wrote a children's book about grief and coping with the loss of a loved one. Now, she is accused of killing him.
Kouri Richins, 33, was arrested Monday for allegedly poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in Kamas, a small town near the city of Park City.
The woman was charged with first-degree aggravated murder and three counts of second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to authorities.
Kouri Richins, accused in her husband's death from a fentanyl overdose in Utah.KPCW.org via AP
Prosecutors allege the woman called authorities in the middle of the night in March 2022 saying the man was "cold to the touch."
The mother of three told officers that she prepared a vodka cocktail for her husband to celebrate selling a house and then fell asleep with one of her sons, whom she went to attend to because he was having a nightmare.
"She said she woke up around 3 a.m. and went back to her and Eric's bedroom. He felt Eric, [and explained] that he was cold to the touch. That's when the defendant called 911," according to court documents in the case cited by The New York Post.
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The woman also told police she had left the cellphone in the bedroom she shared with her husband, but phone records show she used it several times from her son's bedroom.
The autopsy determined that there were five times the amount of fentanyl admitted by the human body in the man's body.
The investigation found that the woman allegedly requested "prescription pain medication for an investor" between December 2021 and February 2022, according to court documents.
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In addition to the murder charge, Richins also faces charges for alleged possession of GHB, a narcolepsy drug often used in recreational settings, including nightclubs.
The charges — which are based on the agents' interactions with Richins that night and the account of an "anonymous acquaintance" who claims to have sold her fentanyl — come two months after the woman appeared on local television to promote Are You with Me?, an illustration book she wrote to help children cope with the death of a loved one.
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In an interview with Good Things Utah, Richins said her husband's death was unexpected and described how it caused her life and the lives of her children to be shaken. The children coped with grief by focusing on "making sure their spirit is always alive in your house," she explained.
"It's about explaining to my son that just because he's not present here with us physically, doesn't mean his presence isn't here with us," she told the presenters, who praised her for being a mother of great strength.