Kouri Richins, who poisoned her husband then published1 a book on grief for their own and others' children to read, will serve a life sentence for his murder. Convicted in March, Richins spiked Eric Richins' cocktail in 2022 with a lethal dose of fentanyl. Jurors also found her guilty of attempted murder over an earlier effort in which she fed him a fentanyl sandwich. She was also convicted of insurance fraud and forgery over life insurance policies she had secretly opened in his name.
Judge Richard Mrazik said Richins is "simply too dangerous to ever be free" when handing down the sentence on the day that her husband would have turned 44. Her attorneys said they will appeal the conviction and sentence. Richins has been adamant in maintaining she is innocent, saying Wednesday that the verdict was "an absolute lie." Richins stood at the podium in a lime-green jail uniform as she asked her sons, who were not present in court, "Please just don't give up on me." She encouraged them to always "be like your dad."
The three sons are not fooled ("The oldest son, now 13, said he also felt like he had to take care of his siblings and noted that his mother often would lock him inside his room while she drank.") and now live with Eric's family.
"You took away my dad for no reason other than greed, and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends," said the middle son, now 11. He described having to "be a parent" to his younger brother because his mother did not watch over them. Richins made the boy paranoid about sitting on his dad's side of the bed, saying he might die, too, he alleged.
Jurors took three hours to find her guilty on all counts; she was nailed because of extensive planning exposed by her online search history, including "queries about the lethal dose of fentanyl, luxury prisons and how poisoning is marked on a death certificate."
1. Nominally authored, but court testimony evidenced a ghostwriter's involvement.
