Utah Children's Book Author Kouri Richins Found Guilty of Aggravated Murder
Utah Children's Book Author Kouri Richins Found Guilty of Aggravated Murder
Christine Pelisek, Charna FlamTue, March 17, 2026 at 2:59 AM UTC
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Kouri RichinsCredit: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer -
Kouri Richins, the Utah children’s book author accused of killing her husband, has been found guilty of murder
Richins was accused of lacing her husband's drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl
A friend testified Richins said she "was feeling trapped" in her marriage before the murder
Kouri Richins, the children’s book author accused of killing her husband Eric, has been found guilty of murder.
Richins, 35, was accused of lacing her husband's Moscow Mule with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022.
On Monday, March 16, Kouri was found guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, as well as two counts of falsifying insurance claims and forgery, according to The New York Times.
The verdict was read after the jury deliberated for three hours, which found that the attempted homicide was committed for financial gain. The weeks-long trial began on Feb. 23, and the prosecution called 40 witnesses, while her defense team did not call any, CBS News reports.
Richins now faces 25 years to life in prison. Her sentencing was scheduled for May 13, which would have been Eric’s 44th birthday, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Prosecutors alleged the mother of three, who had started a house-flipping business, was millions in debt, per the . Believing she would be the beneficiary of life insurance policies on her husband that would cover her debt, Richins, who wrote a children’s book about her husband’s death, allegedly laced his drink with the opioid, prosecutors argued.
Kouri and Eric RichinsCredit: Kouri Richins/Facebook
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During the trial, Richins friend Becky Lloyd testified that Richins told her less than three months before Eric died that “she was feeling trapped; she was feeling like there wasn’t an easy way forward out of her marriage,” per the Salt Lake Tribune.
Richins allegedly also said “in many ways, it would be better if he were dead,” according to the Tribune.
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Also testifying was Richins' ex-boyfriend Robert Josh Grossman, who told the jury that he began a romantic relationship with Richins in early 2020 after he moved to Utah for a job working with her. Richins allowed him to stay at a home she was flipping, he testified, per NBC News.
Kouri RichinsCredit: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Prosecutors showed the jury texts between the former lovers.
In one text exchange prior to Eric’s death, Richins allegedly texted Grossman, "If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would?"
"Yes. In Love with Y O U! Of course I would," he responded, per KSL.
"If he could just go away and you could just be here! Life would be so perfect!!!" she allegedly texted a few days later.
Richins’ search history allegedly showed she searched “what is a lethal.dose.of.fetanayl (sic),” “luxury prisons for the rich America” and “if someone is poisned (sic) what does it go down on the death certificate as,” per a digital forensic analyst, according to AP.
Defense attorneys argued that Eric had access to drugs from a previous trip to Mexico and that there was no fentanyl found in the house, per the Tribune.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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