Eric Richins told friends and family he believed his wife was trying to kill him in the months before he died of a drug overdose, but he may have  stayed as long as he did to preserve “the family relationship,” an attorney for Richins’ family says.

Richins’ wife, Kouri Richins — who wrote a children’s book about dealing with the sudden loss of a husband and father after his death last year — was arrested earlier this week and charged with his murder. Investigators say she bought drugs — first oxycodone and then fentanyl — from an acquaintance, corresponding with times her husband became unwell. She bought a last batch of fentanyl just days before he died, affidavits say.

The affidavits also say that Eric Richins was planning on seeking a divorce, as CrimeOnline reported. But family spokesman Greg Skordas didn’t mention those plans when he spoke with KUTV.

“It appears Eric may have stayed in a relationship that wasn’t good because he loved his boys, and wanted to keep the family relationship together,” Skordas said. “Maybe he was hopeful things would change, but his number one concern was for his boys.“

“He was his kids’ soccer coach, baseball coach,” he said.

In a similar interview with the New York Post, Skordas said, “He lived for those boys. I believe he would have stayed in a less than desirable relationship if it meant he could do right by them.”

“Eric was a good father. … He was a philanthropist. He cared about a lot of people. … He did the best he could to make the most of his marriage,” Skordas told NBC News.

Skordas told NewsNation that “the state has put together a very compelling case” against Kouri Richins. He discussed a possible financial motive for the murder, although investigators have not revealed a motive. Eric Richins is from a well-to-do Utah family, he said, while his wife did not grow up with the kind of access her husband had.

“This is a homicide that occurred just over a year ago, it’s taken a long time to get the evidence together and put together a case, but the case has been filed. The family feels very comfortable that the case is in good hands and that justice will be served,” Skordas told KTVX.

The Richinses’ three sons are 10, 9, and 6, Skordas told British tabloid The Daily Mail.

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[Featured image: Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook]