The three young sons of Utah murderer Kouri Richins will be in the care of the family of the man she killed — as the twisted grief author rots behind bars for the rest of her life.
Richins’ boys notably asked that she not have the option to be freed on parole — a request that Judge Richard Mrazik granted after she was convicted by a jury of fatally poisoning her husband and the father of her kids, Eric Richins.
The children, now ages 9, 12, and 13, have been in the custody of Eric’s sister, Katie Richins-Benson and her husband Clint Benson since after Kouri was arrested — a fact which Kouri whinged about during her defiant statement before she was hit with the book Wednesday. Katie and Clint have daughters.
Kouri — a failed home flipper who then wrote a book about grief after killing her hubby — cried as she spoke for roughly 30 minutes Wednesday in a rambling a statement largely aimed at her sons.
She said once temporary custody was given to the boys in 2024 “against my wishes, they cut off all communication.”
Richins said her mom and others on her side of the family “fought a long, hard battle” to keep custody of the boys “but that was denied.”
“No more video calls, no more visits,” Richins said. “They blocked the phone number from the jail so I can’t call you.”
“All of my contact was cut off more than two years ago,” she said. “Please ask [Katie and Clint] for your cards, for your letters, if I’ve tried calling you — whether it’s now or in 10 years.”
Meanwhile, the children gave written statements to the judge that were read by three social workers saying they were scared of their mom and didn’t ever want her to be free.
The boys described a wicked and petty mother who took away their dad, mistreated them and killed their household pets through neglect.
One of the sons said Kouri would lock him in his room and he would only eat when his brother brought him food. The same son said he believed Kouri drugged him once with the same drug she used to kill his dad.
Katie and Clint both addressed the judge at sentencing, calling for the harshest penalty possible.
Katie recalled through tears how the oldest son lamented to her that the three boys “did not even get 10 years with their dad.”
“His three sons are going to grow up and live nearly their entire lives without their dad,” Katie said. “By the time they are age 44 years old — which is how old Eric would be today — they will have little to no memories of him.”
“She could not have done anything more selfish or more cruel to those boys,” Katie said. “Kouri gave the boys permanent trauma.”
“Please do not leave those boys to wonder whether Kouri might track them or their children down in the future,” Kouri’s sister-in-law continued. “Please do not create a possibility for Kouri to endanger Eric’s boys, my daughters, my family, or anyone else ever again.”
Kouri was convicted in March of aggravated murder and related crimes for lacing Eric’s Moscow Mule with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, killing him as their boys were sleeping at home. She tried, but failed, to kill him two weeks prior by putting the drug in his sandwich.
Clint said in his Wednesday statement that “Eric was killed in his home by a traitor sleeping next to him in one of the most cowardly acts possible.”
Prosecutors claimed she was motivated by the misinformed belief she would inherit Eric’s $4 million estate to help her clear her real estate business debts and run away with her handyman lover.
She wasn’t arrested until a year later and after she published a children’s book to help her sons cope with the loss of their dad. She went on TV and radio shows to promote the book, titled, “Are You With Me?”
But Kouri Wednesday maintained her innocence, saying: “Murder? No, absolutely not. I will not accept that and I will not be blamed for something I did not do.”
Kouri and her lawyers said they plan to appeal.
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