The verdict came Monday in the high-profile murder case of a Utah grief writer accused of poisoning her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl in 2022.
Kauri Richins’ trial was expected to last until March 26 but ended with closing arguments on Monday. She did not testify at her trial and her defense team rested without calling any witnesses.
Richins was arrested in May 2023, a year after Eric Richins died at his home on March 4, 2022. She told investigators that she gave him a drink to mark the recent sale of a property for her real estate business and found him unresponsive in their bedroom.
According to court documents, the medical examiner said Eric, 39, had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system when he died. The medical examiner took the drug orally and said it was “illegal” and not medical-grade fentanyl.
A year after Eric’s death, Richins wrote a children’s book about grief, which she dedicated to her “wonderful” husband.
She is charged with aggravated murder, attempted criminal homicide, false/fraudulent insurance claim and forgery.
“For nearly three years, the public has heard allegations about Koury. Those allegations have created a narrative that has spread beyond this courtroom,” Richins’ attorneys Wendy Lewis, Kathy Nestor and Alex Ramos said in a statement Monday after closing arguments.
“But in a court of law, accusations are not enough. The law needs proof. … Kouri has maintained her innocence from the beginning. … In the end Kouri must go home to her three boys and start rebuilding her life.”
Prosecutors called more than 40 witnesses, including Eric’s friends and family, investigators and housekeepers who testified about Richins selling fentanyl pills.
The housekeeper’s testimony was key to the case. Carmen Labar, who cleaned the house for Richins, told the court that he had sold her the pills several times in early 2022.
After Eric’s death, Lauber said he spoke with Richins by phone.
“Please tell me these pills are not for him.’ I said. She said, ‘No they weren’t. Eric died of a brain aneurysm,” Lauber told the court.
He testified that investigators eventually told him that Eric had died of an overdose.
“It hit hard,” she said. “Just because it happened, I had to step up and take responsibility for my part in this.”
“At first, it took a minute to process everything,” she said, wiping away tears.
The prosecution called Richins’ ex-boyfriend as a witness. Robert Josh Grossman became emotional as he testified about their relationship and their hope for a future together. The relationship ended a few months after Eric’s death and he told the court he did not believe she was involved at the time.
It is a is developing Story Please check back for updates.
