Utah mom accused of killing husband with fentanyl in drink tried to poison him multiple times before, family says
Despite the suspicions, Eric Richins stayed in the marriage with Kouri Richins because of his children, his family's spokesperson said.
www.nbcnews.com
May 10, 2023, 6:16 PM EDT / Updated May 11, 2023, 9:18 AM EDT
By Minyvonne Burke, Antonio Planas and Andrew Blankstein
A Utah man who died after his wife allegedly spiked his drink with fentanyl — and then wrote a children's book about grief — had suspected she tried to poison him multiple times and said “she was to blame” if anything happened to him, according to court records.
Despite the suspicions, a family spokesperson told NBC News on Wednesday that Eric Richins stayed in the marriage with Kouri Richins because of his children.
Eric Richins, 39, died March 4, 2022, at his home in Kamas, about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, after he was found unresponsive in his bedroom. Kouri Richins, 33, was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
An attorney for Kouri Richins, Skye Lazaro, declined to comment Wednesday.
According to affidavits for search warrants obtained Wednesday from the Summit County Sheriff's Office, relatives of Eric Richins told investigators to look into his wife's involvement.
"They advised he warned them that if anything happened to him she was to blame," the records said. Eric Richins, according to the records, suspected his wife had tried to poison him on multiple occasions.
"According to a sister, Eric and his wife went to Greece a few years ago and after his wife gave him a drink he became violently ill and called his sister saying he believed his wife had tried to kill him," the records said.
"On Valentine’s Day of 2022, his wife brought him a sandwich, which after one bite Eric broke into hives and couldn’t breathe. He used his son’s epi-pen as well as Benadryl before passing out for several hours," according to the records.
He was looking into a divorce and had changed his power of attorney, his will and the beneficiary of his life insurance policy from his wife to his sister, the records said.
Two family members said Eric Richins told them he was worried “Kouri would kill him for money and he wanted to make sure the kids were taken care of financially,” the records said.
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The medical examiner said that he had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system and that it was "illicit" fentanyl, not medical-grade. It is also believed he ingested the drugs orally, according to the statement.
It appears she never performed CPR on him as she claimed, the search warrant records said, because of the large amount of blood that came from his mouth.
His family said that Eric Richins never told his wife he had “cut her out of the will” and that the couple were also arguing over buying a $2 million home that she wanted to flip, according to the records.
The family said he was planning to tell her he wasn’t going to sign the papers, but the day after his death, she signed the closing papers on the home, the records said.
After she closed on the home, she invited her friends over for a large party at her home where she was drinking and celebrating, an affidavit for a search warrant said.
