The Utah woman accused of killing her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl and then writing a book about grief has filed a civil lawsuit from jail claiming a prenuptial agreement entitles her to her husband’s assets.
Eric Richins, 39, transferred most of his assets into the Eric Richins Living Trust before his death in March 2022 and assigned the remainder of his estate to the trust in his will, KTVX reported.
But Kouri Richins, who has previously challenged both her late husband’s estate and the trust, filed a new lawsuit on June 9 claiming that the prenuptial agreement the couple signed on June 15, 2013, entitles her to the family’s home, her husband’s 50 percent interest in a masonry business, and the rest of his “tangible personal property.”
Eric Richins’ sister — Katie Richins, who is the representative of her brother’s estate — previously denied a claim by Kouri Richins against the estate. An earlier claim against the trust is still in process. Katie Richins has filed a petition disqualifying her sister-in-law from benefiting from the estate due to homicide, but the motion can’t be finalized until Kouri Richins faces trial for her husband’s murder.
Investigators have charged that she laced a cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in March 22, after making “a series of illicit fentanyl purchases,” as CrimeOnline has reported. She is being held without bond.
Court documents allege that Kouri Richins tried to poison her husband on other occasions before his death, that he suspected she was trying to kill him, and that she made a series of changes to family financial documents to benefit herself in the event of Eric’s death — changes that Eric Richins caught and reversed before he died. He also reportedly changed his will, making his sister the executor of the trust and writing his wife out of it.
Kouri Richins’ lawsuit claims that the prenup guarantees her half of C&E Stone Masonry in the event of her husband’s death “while the two are lawfully married.” But Eric assigned his portion of the business to the trust, which sold it to his business partner, Cody Wright. Kouri Richins claims she still has a right to the business.
She also claims she is entitled to 50 percent of the family home but says she would settle for 50 percent of the increase in value of the home since their marriage.
The lawsuit also discusses changes Eric Richins made without her authorization or knowledge — some of which have been previously reported as changes he made directly because he suspected his wife was trying to kill him.
The bottom line, the lawsuit says, is that the couple “executed a prenuptial agreement on June 15, 2013, which has not been revoked or amended.”
The lawsuit makes no mention of the charges against her.
A scheduling conference is set for this week in Kouri Richins’ murder trial.
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[Featured image: FILE – Kouri Richins, center, at a bail hearing on June 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool, File)]
