Kouri Richins spent years building the image of a devoted wife and mother in the mountains of Utah. She flipped houses, raised three boys, and after her husband Eric died, she wrote a children's book about grief. The book had angel wings on the cover. The father in the story watched over his son from heaven.
Then prosecutors said she was the one who put him there.
Richins, 35, is currently on trial in Park City, Utah, accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. The trial began on February 23, 2026, and is scheduled to run through March 27. She has pleaded not guilty.
The case has drawn national attention not just for the crime itself, but for the layers underneath it: a collapsing real estate business, a secret affair, a prenuptial agreement she felt trapped by, and a children's book written while prosecutors say she was planning her husband's death.
Who Is Kouri Richins? The Utah Mother Behind the Headlines
Kouri Richins grew up in Utah and built her adult life in Summit County, the same mountain community where she and Eric would eventually settle in Francis, a small town near Kamas. She started a house-flipping business called K Richins Realty in 2019, funding early projects through a home equity line of credit on the family home.
Eric Richins worked in masonry. He and his business partner, Cody Wright, ran C&E Masonry together, a company that employed 90 people by the time Eric died. Friends described him as hard-working and someone who powered through illness without complaint. His partner told the court he had never seen Eric use drugs, prescription or otherwise.
The couple had three sons together. Both had separately consulted divorce attorneys in 2020 and 2021. Neither filed.
Kouri Richins Trial 2026: What the Prosecution Says
The trial began on February 23, 2026, at the Summit County Justice Center in Park City. CNN has covered the proceedings in detail</a>, with prosecutors calling close to 40 witnesses through the first three weeks.
Chief prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told the jury in his opening statement that Kouri Richins murdered her husband for money, to escape the financial trap her business had become, and to start a new life.
Prosecutors say she poisoned Eric twice.
The first attempt, they allege, came on Valentine's Day 2022. Eric called his business partner that afternoon, sounding frightened in a way his partner said he had only heard twice before: when Eric's mother died and when he was in a serious accident. Eric fell ill that day. Prosecutors say Kouri laced his food.
The second attempt came in early March 2022. Prosecutors say Kouri gave Eric a Moscow mule cocktail laced with fentanyl. He died in their bed. She called 911 and told the dispatcher that he was cold and not breathing. Toxicology results showed Eric died from fentanyl intoxication at five times the lethal dose.
Prosecutors say the drugs came through Carmen Lauber, the Richins family housekeeper, who allegedly purchased fentanyl from a supplier named Robert Crozier and passed it to Kouri. Cell phone records showed Kouri's phone messaging Lauber's throughout the days the drugs were allegedly purchased.
The defense has maintained throughout the trial that prosecutors cannot prove how the fentanyl entered Eric's body, that no fentanyl was ever found in the home, and that Eric could have ingested the drug himself during the six hours Kouri was not with him on the night he died.
Kouri Richins Motive: Debt, Insurance, and a Prenuptial Agreement
Forensic accountant Brooke Karrington testified that Kouri's real estate business was in severe financial distress by the time Eric died.
K Richins Realty was collapsing. Kouri had maxed out the home equity line of credit on the family home and allegedly taken out a second $250,000 HELOC using Eric's power of attorney without his knowledge. Eric's brother-in-law found the second line of credit in property records. Witnesses testified that Eric was deeply upset when he found out.
Eric had also, unknown to Kouri, created a trust naming his sister as trustee of his assets. Kouri did not learn about the trust until the day after Eric died. According to live trial coverage from KPCW</a>, she received $1.4 million in life insurance after Eric's death. Less than half went to pay off debts. About $25,000 went to her boyfriend.
Prosecutors allege Eric's life was insured for approximately $2.2 million across several policies. Kouri allegedly forged an application for one of those policies that went into effect on February 4, 2022, ten days before prosecutors say she first tried to poison him.
Two friends testified at trial that Kouri told them separately she felt trapped in her marriage and that a divorce would leave her with nothing. One friend, Becky Lloyd, told the jury Kouri said it would be better if Eric were dead. Under cross-examination, Lloyd stood by that testimony.
The Affair: Who Is Kouri Richins' Boyfriend?
Prosecutors say Kouri was involved in an extramarital relationship at the time of Eric's death.
Robert Josh Grossmann testified that he and Kouri were in a romantic relationship and had been planning a trip together around the time Eric died in March 2022. He said the relationship changed after Eric passed. About a month after Eric's death, he testified, Kouri sent him a text message saying she thought she wanted him to be her husband one day.
Grossmann said he appeared to see Kouri grieving in the weeks after Eric died. After Kouri's arrest in May 2023, a private investigator hired by Eric's family contacted him and told him what prosecutors believed Kouri had done.
"I was blown away," Grossmann told the jury, "and then I'm like, looking at everything in our past with a different set of goggles on."
The Children's Book: Are You With Me?
In the months after Eric's death, Kouri Richins published a children's book titled Are You With Me?
The book features a father with angel wings watching over his young son. She said publicly that it was written to help her three boys process the loss of their father.
Prosecutors pointed to the book as evidence of a calculated public image maintained while allegedly planning and then covering up a murder. The book became one of the most widely reported details of the case after Kouri's arrest in May 2023.
The Walk the Dog Letter: Evidence From Jail
Among the more dramatic evidence introduced at trial was a letter prosecutors call the "Walk the Dog" letter.
Prosecutors allege Kouri wrote the letter from jail to her mother, instructing her on how to coach her brother's testimony to defense attorneys. Lead investigator Detective Jeff O'Driscoll read the letter aloud in court. The jury was told the letter was found among Kouri's personal possessions. The letter allegedly referenced her attorney's plan to argue that Eric obtained fentanyl-laced marijuana edibles in Mexico, making his death appear accidental.
After the letter was discovered, the State of Utah filed a motion to prevent Kouri from contacting her mother or brother.
The defense also filed two motions for mistrial during the proceedings. Judge Richard Mrazik denied one. A second was still pending as of the end of the first week of March 2026.
Where Is Kouri Richins Now in 2026?
Kouri Richins is standing trial in Park City, Utah.
As of March 12, 2026, the prosecution is in the final stage of presenting its case, with lead investigator Detective Jeff O'Driscoll expected to be among the last prosecution witnesses. After prosecutors rest, the defense will present its own case and may recall some prosecution witnesses. Closing arguments are expected later in March.
She faces charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, insurance fraud, and forgery. A conviction on the aggravated murder charge carries a potential life sentence.
Whether Kouri Richins will testify in her own defense is a decision her attorneys have not announced publicly. The verdict, if the schedule holds, is expected by the end of March 2026.
For readers following this story alongside other true crime cases, the trial shares themes of financial motive and public image with cases like the Katelyn Faber settlement, where public perception and private truth rarely matched.
Kouri Richins Fast Facts
| Full name | Kouri D. Richins |
| Age | 35 |
| Location | Francis, Utah (Summit County) |
| Husband | Eric Richins (died March 2022) |
| Children | Three sons |
| Business | K Richins Realty |
| Charges | Aggravated murder, attempted murder, insurance fraud, forgery |
| Plea | Not guilty |
| Trial dates | February 23 to March 27, 2026 |
| Potential sentence | Life in prison |
Frequently Asked Questions About Kouri Richins
Who is Kouri Richins, and what did she do?
Kouri Richins is a 35-year-old Utah mother of three accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022. Prosecutors say she also attempted to poison him on Valentine's Day weeks earlier. She is currently on trial in Park City, Utah, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including aggravated murder.
What is the Kouri Richins trial about in 2026?
The Kouri Richins murder trial, which began on February 23, 2026, centers on whether she intentionally killed her husband, Eric, for financial gain. Prosecutors argue she was motivated by a collapsing real estate business, a prenuptial agreement trapping her financially, and a $1.4 million life insurance payout she received after his death.
Who is Eric Richins?
Eric Richins was a Utah masonry business owner and father of three who died in March 2022 from fentanyl poisoning at five times the lethal dose. He co-owned C&E Masonry, which employed 90 people. Friends and colleagues described him as hardworking and someone who had no history of drug use.
Did Kouri Richins write a children's book?
Yes. After Eric's death, Kouri Richins published a children's book called Are You With Me?, featuring a father with angel wings watching over his son. She said it was written to help her three boys process their father's death. Prosecutors have used it as evidence of a deliberate public image she maintained after his death.
When is the Kouri Richins verdict expected?
The trial is scheduled to conclude by March 27, 2026. As of mid-March, prosecutors are finishing their case. The defense will then present witnesses and evidence before both sides deliver closing arguments. Jury deliberations will follow.
What is the Walk the Dog letter in the Kouri Richins trial?
The Walk the Dog letter is a document prosecutors allege Kouri Richins wrote from jail to her mother, instructing her on how to coach her brother's testimony to defense attorneys. Lead investigator Detective O'Driscoll read the letter aloud in court. It allegedly suggested Kouri's attorney planned to argue Eric died from drug-laced marijuana he obtained in Mexico.