Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Kouri Richins Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Fentanyl Murder of Her Husband

The case drew wide attention after she published a children's grief book about her husband's death.

Overview

  • Richins received life without parole Wednesday after a Utah judge called her "too dangerous to be free."
  • Prosecutors said she slipped the synthetic opioid fentanyl into her husband's cocktail at five times a lethal dose after an earlier failed sandwich poisoning.
  • Letters from the couple's sons, read by their psychologists in court, said they fear their mother and want her to stay in prison.
  • The state argued she gained about $4 million in inheritance and about $2 million in life insurance and that she forged real-estate documents soon after the death.
  • Richins has denied the murder, addressed her children in court, and says she will appeal.