Kouri Richins, accused of murdering her husband, reportedly had a celebration the day after his death. According to an affidavit The Salt Lake Tribune obtained, she “invited her friends over for a large party” that day at her Kamas, Utah, home.
The mother of three allegedly poisoned her husband, Eric Richins, in 2022, according to the outlet. Summit County Sheriff’s Office deputies said they arrived at the residence at 3 a.m. on March 4 and found Eric Richins, 39, on the bedroom floor — where he was pronounced dead.
Kouri Richins claimed to have found him unresponsive in the middle of the night and said they celebrated closing on a house the day prior. She told investigators she made her husband a Moscow Mule, while a toxicology report revealed a fatal dose of fentanyl caused his death.
“The day after Eric’s death, Kouri closed on the home, alone,” stated the affidavit obtained by the Tribune and other outlets. “She later invited her friends over for a large party at her home where she was drinking and celebrating.”
She was charged Monday with one count of first-degree aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Investigators have since uncovered previous attempts on Eric Richins’s life.
“While investigating the death, I was told by Eric’s family members that they suspected his wife had something to do with his death,” Deputy Jayme Woody wrote in an affidavit. “They advised he warned them that if anything happened to him, she was to blame.”
The document suggested years ago, while vacationing in Greece that Eric Richins became “violently ill” after his wife made him a drink. He reportedly called his sister and said he thought Kouri Richins tried to kill him.
On Valentine’s Day 2022, he “broke into hives and couldn’t breathe” after eating a sandwich made by Kouri Richins, according to the affidavit obtained by the Tribune. He had to use his son’s EpiPen and took Benadryl before “passing out for several hours.” In addition, Eric Richins notably changed his will to benefit his sister rather than his wife before he died.
“He was looking for a divorce and wanted his kids taken care of,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
A family spokesperson and attorney recently hinted that Eric Richins also had suspicions of his wife’s alleged infidelity.
“He’d had concerns previously, and he also had reason to believe she was having a relationship and that was continuing through their marriage... apparently in person,” attorney Greg Skordas told Fox News Digital.
Investigators have since seized Kouri Richins’s phone and retrieved messages to someone identified as “C.L.” in February 2022 about acquiring “some of the Michael Jackson stuff.”
Kouri Richins went on to write a children’s book about grief titled, “Are You With Me?” which was removed from Amazon and Google Books Wednesday and previously marked itself as a “heartwarming and reassuring book that gently guides children through the difficult experience of losing a loved one.”
She told “Good Things Utah” in April, “My kids and I... wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we’ve experienced last year... hoping that it can kind of help other kids… deal with this, and… find happiness, some way or another,”
She was arrested one month later — and remains in custody at the Summit County jail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for May 19.