'Won't leave his money': Children's author found guilty of poisoning husband to inherit Rs 3.7 crore estate

Kouri Richins convicted of poisoning husband. (Image credit: AP)

• Author Kouri Richins convicted of killing husband with fentanyl
• She aimed to claim his Rs 3.73 crore fortune and life insurance
• Richins also convicted of forgery and insurance fraud

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A children’s author has been convicted of murdering her husband to claim his Rs 3.73 crore fortune. Kouri Richins fatally poisoned him by slipping fentanyl into his cocktail on March 4, 2022.

According to a BBC report, the Utah-based author allegedly killed her husband at home by putting a lethal dose of fentanyl in his drink.

After about three hours of deliberation, the jury found Kouri Richins guilty on Monday.

During the trial, it was revealed that the 35-year-old author had amassed millions in debt. Prosecutors described her as a social climber who had an affair and took out life insurance policies on her husband.

According to prosecutors, Richins wrongly believed she would inherit her husband’s estate, worth more than Rs 3.73 crore, after his death.

After killing her husband, Richins wrote a children’s book titled “Are You With Me?” which addressed grief and the loss of loved ones.

Among the 40 trial witnesses was the woman who sold Kouri Richins the fentanyl she later used to murder her husband, Eric Richins.

According to the New York Post, Kouri Richins, a mother of three, appeared downcast during her courtroom appearance Monday, bowing her head as the guilty verdict was read.

She was also convicted of attempted aggravated murder, forgery, and two counts of insurance fraud related to Eric’s life insurance policies.

The Utah author had previously attempted to poison her husband on Valentine’s Day 2022, weeks before the fatal attack, by lacing his sandwich with fentanyl, which caused him to black out.

Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth revealed that Richins’s home-flipping venture carried Rs 4.17 crore in debt when she plotted to kill her husband, portraying her as an “incompetent” businesswoman who feigned success.