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Utah Author Kouri Richins Gets Life Without Parole for Killing Her Husband

The ruling caps a case built on forensic fentanyl evidence that pointed to a financial motive.

Overview

  • Judge Richard Mrazik in Park City on Wednesday ordered Kouri Richins to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering her husband, Eric Richins.
  • An eight-person jury in March convicted her of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder tied to an earlier poisoning attempt, insurance fraud, and forgery.
  • The medical examiner found about five times a lethal dose of fentanyl in Eric’s system, and jurors heard from a housecleaner who said she sold pills to Richins under an immunity deal.
  • Victim impact statements read in court said the couple’s three sons fear their mother’s release, and the boys are now being raised by their father’s family.
  • Richins maintains her innocence and will appeal, and she still faces more than two dozen separate financial crime charges that have not yet gone to trial.