Utah woman who wrote a book on dealing with grief accused of her husband’s murder

A Summit County woman who wrote a book about helping children deal with the grief of losing a loved one was charged Monday in the deaths of her husband and father of their children.

Kouri Richins, 33, was charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, along with three charges of possession with intent to distribute.

Richins is the author of the book Are You with Me?, which according to the Amazon description “follows the story of a child who has lost his father but is reminded that his presence still exists all around him, eh.” an angel watching over them.”

The book was released on March 7, 2023, nearly a year after the death of Richin’s husband, Eric. Court documents show Eric Richins died on March 4, 2022 after deputies arrived at the family home and found him at the foot of his bed.

Kouri told police she prepared an alcoholic drink for her husband and brought it to him in her bedroom. Later that night, she said she felt Eric, claiming he felt “cold.”

An autopsy revealed Eric had died from a fentanyl overdose, with the coroner claiming the amount of the drug in his system was approximately five times the lethal dose.

During an investigation into Eric’s death, an acquaintance of Kouri’s told police she asked if she could get her “a prescription pain reliever for an investor with a back injury.” After getting kouri hydrocodone pills, the acquaintance said she was asked to be given something stronger, specifically “some of the Michael Jackson stuff.” The acquaintance was able to deliver 15-30 fentanyl pills to Kouri.

Three days later, the documents show that Eric and Kouri had dinner at their home and that he became “very ill” and believed to have been poisoned. “Eric told a friend he thought his wife was trying to poison him,” the documents read.

Kouri asked the acquaintance for another batch of fentanyl pills about two weeks later. Six days after receiving the new pills, Eric was found dead of a fentanyl overdose.

An obituary said Eric and Kouri had been married for nine years at the time of his death and that the couple had three children.

“Eric has done absolutely everything in his power to give his family every opportunity he could to learn, grow and have fun,” the obituary reads.

This story was first published by Fox 13 News. The Salt Lake Tribune and Fox 13 News are content sharing partners.