A Utah mother of three who has been charged with murdering her husband appeared last month on a local TV show to promote a book she wrote about processing grief – chillingly declaring his death “completely took us all by shock.”
Kouri Richins, 33, allegedly poisoned her hubby, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl, which she mixed into a Moscow mule cocktail, on March 4, 2022.
She then later wrote a children’s picture book titled, “Are You With Me?” to help kids cope with the death of a loved one.
Appearing on ABC4’s “Good Things Utah” on April 6 to promote the book, Kouri spoke about the “unexpected” death of her husband.
“My husband passed away unexpectedly last year. March 4 was a one-year anniversary for us. He was 39,” she said.
“It completely took us all by shock. We have three little boys, 10, nine and six, and my kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we’ve experienced in the last year.
Asked how she managed to process the death, she said she “went on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to try to find something to help us cope at night, nights are the hardest.”
“I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night and I couldn’t find anything that suited them, so I was like, ‘Let’s just write one,’” Richins said.
She told the hosts she began researching “to try and understand not only how to grieve as a widow, as a wife, but also with my kids, how to help them, how to help them understand what just happened.”
During the interview, Richins described the “three C’s” she wrote about – “connection, continuity and care.”
She said “connection” is the most important component, which teaches kids that the spirit of the deceased loved one “is always in your home.”
Richins explained that the best way to accomplish that is by bringing up memories and taking part in activities their loved one enjoyed doing in their life.
She said “continuity” refers to keeping routines and schedules as normal as possible, and that “care” is showing your kids love and affirming their feelings.
“Just because he’s not present here with us physically, that doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” Richins told “Good Things Utah.”
“Dad is still here, it’s just in a different way.”
The hosts commended her for being an amazing mother.
“Are You With Me?” is no longer available on Amazon.
Kouri allegedly told police she had made her husband the mixed vodka cocktail and served it to him in bed at their home in Kamas, a small mountain town near Park City, to celebrate him selling a home.
She told investigators she then fell asleep with one of their kids, who was having a nightmare.
When she woke around 3 a.m., she told police she found Eric “cold to the touch” and called 911.
Police discovered him lying at the foot of the couple’s bed.
Eric died of an oral overdose of fentanyl — with a level in his system that was five times the lethal dosage, an autopsy found.
Kouri now faces charges of aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
In addition to the murder charge, the mom also faces charges involving the alleged possession of GHB, a narcolepsy drug frequently used in recreational settings.
The charges are based on police interactions with Richins that night and the account of an “unnamed acquaintance” who claims to have sold her the fentanyl.
The couple apparently had issues long before Eric’s death.
One of his two sisters reportedly told police that he called her from a vacation in Greece with his wife years earlier claiming that she made him a drink that made him very sick.
She alleged that Eric believed his wife had tried to kill him at the time.
On Feb. 14, 2022, the couple had a Valentine’s Day dinner in which Eric “became very ill,” according to a probable cause statement.
He reportedly broke out in hives, couldn’t breathe and passed out after using his son’s EpiPen and taking Benadryl.
“Eric believed that he had been poisoned. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him,” the document states.
Kouri’s attorney Skye Lazaro told The Post in an email: “Given how early we are in the case I am not able to comment at this time.”
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