The Utah woman accused of killing her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl and then writing a children’s book about dealing with grief now faces a $13 million lawsuit from her husband’s estate.
The suit, filed on behalf of Katie Richins-Benson — Eric Richins’s sister and the trustee of his estate — was filed Tuesday in response to a suit filed earlier this month by Kouri Richins claiming ownership to his home and business assets, KUTV reported.
Kouri Richins’ lawsuit claims that a prenuptial agreement makes her the rightful owner of her husband’s property even though he placed it in a trust with his sister at the held before his death because he suspected his wife was trying to kill him, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Richins-Benson’s lawsuit was followed by a motion asking the court to prevent Kouri Richins from profiting from her husband’s death.
The lawsuit says that Kouri Richins forged documents to secure a $250,000 loan, using the family home as collateral, and obtained a line of credit — both without her husband’s knowledge.
“… To obtain the Fraudulent $250,000 Loan, Kouri intentionally used Eric’s personal identifying information, including without limitation his name, social security number, birthdate, address, telephone number, and place of employment” without his consent, the complaint says.
The suit accuses her of signing a Deed of Trust on her husbands behalf and then depositing the money into her real estate business accounts, a move that prompted Eric to put his assets into a trust when he learned what had happened.
“Eric confronted Kouri about the Fraudulent $250,000 Loan in September 2020,” according to the estate’s complaint. “Kouri admitted that she had wrongfully taken out the $250,000 Loan and promised to pay it back. Kouri also admitted that she had wrongfully taken the Stolen Bank Account Money and incurred the Fraudulent Credit Card Charges. Kouri repeated this promise to pay back the Fraudulent $250,000 Loan, along with the Stolen Bank Account Money and the Fraudulent Credit Card Charges as late as just a few days before Eric died on or about March 4, 2022.”
The lawsuit repeats claims that Eric Richins suspected his wife of trying to kill him and that he spoke with friends and family about those fears. To date, however, there has been no indication that he, his family, or his friends ever spoke to police about those concerns.
The suit also accuses Kouri Richins of stealing other property worth more than $300,000 after her husbands death, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The lawsuit also refers to Utah’s “Slayer Statue,” which prevents a murderer or murder suspect from profiting from a victim’s likeness or name. Kouri Richins’ self-published book, “Are You With Me?” features a likeness of Eric Richins throughout, as an angel. The book was removed from Amazon’s publishing platform after her arrest.
The suit specifically asked for the court to put Kouri Richins’ assets into a trust under the Slayer Statute, which would prevent her from making money during the trial, although she would retain ownership.
Kouri Richins is being held without bond. Her next court hearing is scheduled for September.
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[Featured image: FILE – Kouri Richins during a bail hearing June 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool, File)]
