PARK CITY, Utah — The estate of Eric Richins filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Kouri Richins, a Utah woman who is accused of killing her husband before authoring a book on grief.
The lawsuit seeks damages worth more than $13 million.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children’s book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. A judge ruled to keep her in custody for the duration of her trial. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Kouri Richins faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins.
Her husband, Eric Richins, was found dead in their home in March 2022 and it was later determined he died from an overdose of fentanyl.
Kouri told investigators at the time that she made her husband an alcoholic drink and brought it to him in the bedroom and later found him “cold to the touch.”
In the subsequent investigation, officials reported Kouri had asked an acquaintance for fentanyl pills, and she was given the pills in the weeks leading up to her husband’s death.
The lawsuit filed by the estate of Eric Richins, led by a family representative, alleges that Kouri stole “hundreds of thousands” of dollars from her husband and obtained fraudulent loans while Eric was alive.
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In 2020, after Eric discovered money had been stolen from him by Kouri, the lawsuit states he created a trust and transferred the house along with other assets into it.
After his death, the lawsuit alleges Kouri stole property and money from the estate and wrote an “unlawful book” talking about how to help children cope with the loss of a loved one.
On June 12, Kouri appeared in court, where a judge determined she would remain in jail without bail while she awaits trial.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Salt Lake City, an E.W. Scripps Company.
