Utah mother who self-published a children’s book about husband’s death now on trial for his murder

A year after her husband died, a mother of three in Utah self-published a children’s book that she said helped her sons cope with the sudden loss. Kouri Richins promoted her book “Are You With Me?” on a local TV station and drew praise for helping young children process the death of a parent.

Weeks after the book’s publication in 2023, she was arrested in her husband’s death and charged with murder.

The arrest sent shock waves through her small mountain town just outside Park City, where a 12-person jury is set to decide her fate in a monthlong trial that starts Monday.

Richins, 35, faces nearly three dozen counts in connection with her husband’s death, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud. She has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say she killed her husband, Eric Richins, at their home in March 2022 by slipping fentanyl into a cocktail that he drank. They say she was deep in debt and killed him for financial gain while planning a future with another man she was seeing on the side.

The chilling case of a once-respected local author accused of profiting off her own violent crime has captivated true-crime enthusiasts in the years since her arrest. ...