Kouri Richins, the Utah grief book author accused of killing her husband with a fentanyl-laced drink, will finally go on trial next April.
Judge Richard Mrazik ruled Tuesday, after a two-day preliminary hearing, there was enough evidence to try the case and set a start date for April 28, KTVX reported. The trial is expected to last four weeks.
Richins was arrested in May 2023, accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule drink. Later, she self-published a children’s book, “Are You With Me?”, about dealing with the death of a father.
In addition to aggravated murder, she has been charged with attempted murder, assault, and drug-related offenses relating to her husband’s death. Richins also faces charges of mortgage fraud, forgery, and insurance fraud for allegedly forging loan applications and making fraudulent insurance claims after her husband’s death.
Attorneys devoted significant time arguing about the attmpted murder charge, which took place on February 14, 2022. On that date, Kouri Richins brought her husband a sandwich from a diner. Later, he texted that he wasn’t feeling well and might go to the hospital.
“What she says is chilling. She says take a nap. And then she doesn’t check on him for two hours,” prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said, according to KTVX.
Bloodworth said the best evidence for the attempted murder charge was the alleged murder itself 17 days later. He noted that Richins had allegedly gotten fentanyl two days before February 14 and afterward requested stronger drugs.
“The defendant learned from the attempt and applied it to the homicide,” he said.
Bloodworth also said there was evidence Richins was with “her paramour” — secret boyfriend Robert Grossman — on the day Eric Richins texted he wasn’t feeling well.
Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts. After the judge said there was probably cause to hold the trial, the defense issued a statement whining that the hearing “favors the prosecution to an extraordinary degree” but that they “respect the court’s decision.”
“We firmly believe the charges against Kouri do not withstand thorough scrutiny and are confident that a jury will find the same,” the defense said. ” … These past fifteen months have taken a heavy toll on Kouri and her three children. It’s time to bring this ordeal to an end, restore her life, and allow her and her family to move on.”
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[Featured image: Kouri Richins, center, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children’s book about grieving, lowers her head following a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)]
