Sons of Kouri Richins say they'd feel unsafe if she wasn't in prison

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The young sons of Utah writer Kouri Richins said up of her sentencing proceeding Wednesday that they would consciousness unsafe if their parent was ever released from situation aft she was found blameworthy successful March of sidesplitting their father.

Richins, 35, faces respective decades to beingness successful situation connected 5 felony convictions, including aggravated murder.

Prosecutors said she laced her hubby Eric Richins' cocktail with 5 times the lethal dose of fentanyl successful March 2022 astatine their location adjacent the skis municipality of Park City.

She past self-published a children's publication titled "Are You With Me?" astir a lad coping with the decease of his begetter soon earlier her apprehension successful May 2023. She adjacent promoted the publication connected a section Utah tv quality program.

In the book, Eric Richins is portrayed arsenic an angel who is ever adjacent by.

"Yes, I americium with you connected Christmas," Kouri Richins writes, "You can't spot my grin but it's there. I'm here, and we're together."

Kouri Richins' attorneys declined to remark Tuesday earlier her sentencing hearing, which falls connected the time her hubby would person turned 44.

The statements from their sons, who were ages 9, 7 and 5 erstwhile their begetter died, came successful a memo from prosecutors urging Judge Richard Mrazik to condemnation Richins to beingness without parole.

The oldest child, present 13, said helium wants the tribunal to cognize that helium does not miss his mom.

"I'm acrophobic if she gets out, she volition travel aft maine and my brothers, my full family," helium said. "I deliberation she would travel and instrumentality america and not bash bully things to us, similar wounded us."

Prosecutors allege that the lad suffered affectional and carnal maltreatment from Kouri Richins aft his father's death, which they accidental is supported by findings from the Utah Division of Child and Family Services that are contained successful a sealed tribunal document.

Kouri Richins was a existent property cause with a house-flipping concern who was millions successful indebtedness and readying a aboriginal with different man, prosecutors said. She had opened galore beingness security policies connected her hubby without his cognition and falsely believed she would inherit his property worthy much than $4 cardinal aft helium died.

"He [Eric Richins] told his family, 'If I die, you request to instrumentality a look astatine her due to the fact that I deliberation she's trying to termination me,'" household spokesperson Greg Skordas told "48 Hours" successful a February 2024 interview.

Prosecutors alleged Kouri Richins had asked the household housekeeper to procure fentanyl for her successful aboriginal 2022, and the housekeeper admitted to investigators that she had sold fentanyl to her, tribunal documents obtained by "48 Hours" state.

"He wasn't an opioid user...This doesn't odor right," Skordas told "48 Hours" of Eric Richins' origin of death.

Jurors besides recovered Kouri Richins blameworthy of different felonies, including security fraud, forgery and attempted execution for trying to poison her hubby weeks earlier connected Valentine's Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him achromatic out.

And according to tribunal documents, Eric Richins' household suspected that his woman had besides attempted to poison him successful 2019 during a abrogation successful Greece, erstwhile helium fell sick aft she served him a drink.

The Richins' mediate child, present 11, refuted his mother's assertion that she slept successful his chamber with him connected the nighttime of his father's death. He recalled antithetic circumstances from that night, similar being enactment to furniture aboriginal without a bath, his parents' chamber being locked and the tv blaring from inside. The lad said his parent yelled astatine him to spell distant aft helium utilized a broom to effort to scope a cardinal to their bedroom, wherever Richins aboriginal told a 911 relation she recovered her hubby acold to the touch.

The 11-year-old told the justice helium is bittersweet that his dada tin nary longer instrumentality him camping and fishing, manager him successful sports oregon beryllium contiguous for large milestones. Like his older brother, helium said helium would consciousness unsafe if his ma wasn't down bars.

"With (her) successful jail, I volition beryllium capable to proceed to consciousness harmless and unrecorded a blessed and palmy beingness without fearfulness of (her) hurting maine oregon anyone I love," his connection read.

The youngest lad said helium feels "hateful and ashamed" erstwhile radical speech astir his ma due to the fact that "she took distant my dad." He said helium would beryllium "so scared" if his parent got retired of prison.

"Once she is gone I volition consciousness blessed and I volition consciousness safer and relaxed and spot radical more," said the boy, whose existent property was not provided successful the memo.

Kouri Richins besides faces much than 2 twelve money-related transgression charges successful a abstracted lawsuit that has not yet gone to trial.

Her aggravated execution condemnation unsocial is punishable either by a scope of 25 years to beingness successful prison, oregon a beingness condemnation without parole. Prosecutors did not propulsion for the decease penalty.

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