Kouri Darden Richins, a 33-year-old widow from Summit County, Utah, who wrote a children’s book on grief following the sudden death of her husband, has been arrested for allegedly poisoning her spouse. Eric Richins was found dead at their home in Kamas on March 4, 2022, and a medical examiner later found that he died of a fentanyl overdose. Ms. Richins had called the police that night and told them that she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink before finding him unresponsive hours later. She now faces a first-degree aggravated murder charge and three second-degree felony charges of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
According to court documents, between December 2021 and February 2022, Eric Richins had texted a person who was arrested on drug charges asking for prescription pain medication for an investor with a back injury. Ms. Richins then obtained hydrocodone pills and later requested something stronger. She ultimately obtained fentanyl, which the medical examiner found was the cause of Eric Richins’ death. He had five times the lethal dosage of the drug in his system.
Ms. Richins and Eric Richins had three children, and she had written a picture book titled “Are You With Me?” to help children cope with the death of a loved one. She had said in an interview last month that the book was meant to bring peace to her and her children, as well as other families going through the same thing. A detention hearing for Ms. Richins is scheduled for May 19.
