Why did Kouri Richins want her husband dead?

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What is the existent communicative of Eric and Kouri Richins' matrimony – a matrimony that would extremity successful tragedy? It begins astatine their wedding, successful June 2013.

June 15, 2013: A wedding and a pre-nup

On June 15, 2013, Kouri Darden, 23, and Eric Richins, 31, got joined successful the backyard astatine their location successful Utah. They already had 1 son, and their household would soon grow.

According to tribunal documents, the mates signed a prenuptial statement that day, establishing that each enactment did not person rights to 1 another's "present oregon aboriginal income, property, oregon assets" — but if Eric died portion the 2 were lawfully married.

April 2019: Kouri Richins starts her existent property business

Kouri Richins started her existent property business, K Richins Realty LLC, successful 2019. She began to bargain homes, hole them up, and merchantability them for profit. As the concern picked up, according to her family, Kouri Richins she would typically beryllium moving connected 3 houses astatine a time.

March-June 2019: "Stolen" funds

Prosecutors allege that successful 2019, Kouri began stealing from Eric's accounts and "misappropriating monies distributed from Eric Richins' business." Court documents assertion that "without Eric Richins' cognition oregon permission," Kouri utilized a "fraudulent" Power of Attorney to execute a $250,000 recognition deed of spot connected the household home, past withdrew the full $250,000 from this location equity enactment of credit.

Kouri Richins' household told "48 Hours" that she did not bargain from Eric Richins, and that Eric was ever alert of the family's finances.

November 2020: The Eric Richins Living Trust

in November 2020, Eric Richins met with an property readying lawyer, Kristal Bowman-Carter, to marque a caller property plan. He created the Eric Richins Living Trust and named his sister, Katie Richins Benson, trustee. In the lawsuit of his death, Katie – not Kouri – would negociate his estate.

Bowman-Carter said successful a connection filed with the court: "[Eric] told maine helium had 2 superior goals. His archetypal extremity was to support him successful the short-term from reasonably precocious discovered and ongoing maltreatment and misuse of his finances by his woman Kouri Richins. His 2nd was to support the 3 young sons helium and Kouri had unneurotic successful the semipermanent by ensuring that Kouri would ne'er beryllium successful a presumption to negociate his spot aft his death."

Kouri was not informed astir the spot and wouldn't find retired astir it until aft Eric died.

Early 2022: Kouri Richins buys illicit drugs

According to prosecutors, successful aboriginal 2022 Kouri Richins asked her housekeeper Carmen Lauber to procure symptom pills for her, allegedly for a concern capitalist who was dealing with pain. Lauber testified that she provided Kouri Richins with fentanyl.

Phone records shown successful tribunal indicated that texts betwixt Kouri Richins and Lauber from January 2 until soon aft Eric Richins' decease were deleted disconnected of Kouri Richins' and Lauber's phones.

Feb. 14, 2022: A Valentine's Day poisoning

Prosecutors accidental that connected Valentine's Day, 2022, soon aft Kouri Richins gave Eric Richins a sandwich, helium broke retired successful hives and had trouble breathing. He utilized his son's EpiPen and slept. According to the prosecution, Eric believed that helium had been poisoned, and told a person that helium thought his woman was trying to poison him. Defense attorneys for Kouri Richins alleged that Eric Richins had an allergic absorption to the sandwich.

March 4, 2022: A tragic death

Summit County Sheriff's deputies and EMS unit arrived astatine the Richins' location successful Kamas, Utah, astatine 3:31 a.m. connected March 4. They recovered Eric Richins deceased. According to tribunal documents, the responding paramedic thought "he'd been dormant a while."

At the scene, Kouri Richins told investigators she'd made her hubby a cocktail before furniture past went to slumber with her lad who was having nightmares. She said that erstwhile she returned to Eric's broadside astatine astir 3 a.m., helium was unresponsive, and she called 911.

Eric Richins' family's spokesperson, Greg Skordas, describes Eric's decease arsenic "a immense nonaccomplishment ... helium was this beauteous lad and – and brother, and father, and cared astir radical ... cared astir everything helium was doing."

March 5, 2022: The $3.9 cardinal mansion

The time aft Eric Richins' death, Kouri Richins closed connected a large acquisition she'd made for her location flipping business: this $3.9 million, 20,000 quadrate ft mansion successful Heber City, Utah, known arsenic the "Midway Mansion." Kouri Richins' household says Eric was connected committee with the program to hole up the location and merchantability it for a ample profit.

"[Kouri] and Eric sat down with an accountant 1 time," Lisa Darden told "48 Hours," "and helium said, if you tin get it done and enactment nether budget, you could locomotion distant with $12 million."

But according to a hunt warrant, Eric's household told investigators that Eric was not blessed with the purchase, and that helium Kouri were arguing astir the spot earlier his death.

"He was connected committee with supporting his wife," household spokesperson Greg Skordas said. "That doesn't mean helium agreed with it."

March 6, 2022: A combat breaks out

Two days aft Eric Richins' death, tribunal documents allege, Kouri Richins and Eric's sister, Amy Richins, fought astatine the household home. Prosecutors accidental Kouri Richins called a locksmith to effort to entree a harmless successful the house, and Amy objected. Amy allegedly told Kouri Richins that Eric's property, nether the trust, did not beryllium to her, and Kouri "became enraged" and "punched Amy successful the look and neck."

Kouri Richins was charged with battle and aboriginal pleaded nary contest.

April 2022: Five times the lethal dose

Following an autopsy successful April 2022, it was determined that Eric had died from an overdose of fentanyl. The aesculapian examiner said that Eric had 15 ng/mL of fentanyl successful his humor — and that successful different deaths caused by fentanyl, concentrations person been reported arsenic debased arsenic 3 ng/mL. This information indicates that the magnitude of fentanyl Eric ingested was 5 times the lethal dose.

March 7, 2023: A publication to header with grief

Kouri Richins' household says that aft Eric Richins' death, she and her sons were grieving. "The boys ... lashed retired a small spot due to the fact that they couldn't rather recognize what was going on," says Kouri Richins' member Ronney. "They needed immoderate assistance and Kouri needed immoderate help."

To assistance her sons header with their grief, according to Kouri and her family, Kouri published a children's book, "Are You With Me?" connected March 7, 2023. She sold the publication connected Amazon. It follows the communicative of a kid who mislaid his begetter but is reminded his beingness inactive exists each around.

In April 2022 Kouri promoted the publication connected a section TV amusement called "Good Things Utah." Just a period later, she was arrested for Eric's murder.

May 8, 2023: Kouri Richins arrested

On May 8, 2023, Kouri Richins was arrested and charged successful her husband's murder. Prosecutors alleged that erstwhile she made Eric Richins that portion conscionable hours earlier helium died, she deliberately poisoned him with fentanyl she purchased from Carmen Lauber.

Kouri Richins pleaded not guilty. Her defence argued that Eric Richins whitethorn person acquired the fentanyl himself connected a caller travel to Mexico, oregon accidentally taken thing – possibly a THC gummy – that helium didn't cognize was laced with fentanyl, and that his decease was a tragic accident.

Nov. 3, 2023: Accusations of witnesser tampering

This unsent letter, recovered successful Kouri Richins' jailhouse cell, has go known arsenic the "walk the dog" missive for the words scrawled astatine the apical of the page. Prosecutors argued this missive was grounds that Kouri Richins was attempting to tamper with witnesses.

In the letter, Kouri Richins writes to her parent and gives her instructions connected what her brother, Ronney, should accidental successful court. She writes that her defence lawsuit needs "some benignant of connection" betwixt Eric and drugs. She says, "Here is what I'm reasoning but you person to speech to Ronney. He would astir apt person to attest to this, but it's ace abbreviated not a batch to it." She appears to archer her parent to archer Ronney to recount a communicative wherever "Eric told Ronney helium gets symptom pills & fentanyl from Mexico".

Feb. 23, 2026: Kouri Richins trial

Opening arguments successful Kouri Richins' proceedings began connected Feb. 23, 2026 successful Park City, Utah. The proceedings lasted 3 weeks, and 40 witnesses were called to attest for the prosecution. When it came clip for defence to marque their case, they unexpectedly rested.

"I was truthful shocked and I was really truly disappointed," the assemblage foreperson told "48 Hours" successful an interview. "I felt similar determination was much to the story."

March 17, 2026: A blameworthy verdict

After deliberating for 3 hours, the assemblage recovered Kouri Richins guilty connected each charges, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, security fraud, and forgery.

"I thought the grounds was devastating against Kouri and that she was guilty," 1 juror told "48 Hours."

May 13, 2026: Kouri Richins sentenced to beingness without parole

On May 13, 2026, what would person been Eric Richins' 44th birthday, Judge Richard Mrazik sentenced Kouri Richins to beingness successful prison without the anticipation of parole. Several household members spoke astatine her sentencing.

"It's intolerable to afloat picture however devastating Eric's decease and Kouri's crimes person been to our family," said Eric's sister Katie Richins. "Nearly each facet of our lives has been permanently changed, and we person nary prime but to unrecorded with those changes and with Eric's nonaccomplishment forever."

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