Mum who wrote book to help kids grieve dad she’s accused of murdering sobs as texts are read in court

A widowed mum-of-three who's charged with murdering her late husband and wrote a book to help children deal with grief sobbed in court as her text messages were read aloud.

Kouri Richins, from Summit County, Utah, was arrested in May, more than a year after the death of her husband, Eric Richins.

Kouri, 33, released a picture book in March titled Are You With Me? which 'follows the story of a child who has lost their father, but who is reminded that his presence still exists all around them, just like an angel watching over them'.

Kouri couldn't contain her emotions on Monday when confronted with evidence against her.

Eric's sister Amy Richins told a Utah court: “I never knew evil like this existed,” regarding her former sister-in-law, Law & Crime reported.

She addressed the 'horrendous circumstances' he died under and 'how little' he meant to Kouri, KUTV2 said.

She said he faced 'betrayal and terror' in his final moments.

“I am haunted by the horror of it," she said.

Walker Mortuary

The detention hearing at Summit County court saw Kouri ordered to be held in jail without bail.

Kouri was seen wiping away tears with a tissue as text messages she allegedly sent to her 'best friend' were read aloud.

One read: “I pumped so damn hard, so hard, screaming at him to come back to life.”

But prosecutors have evidence suggesting that it was EMS responders - not Kouri - who first performed CPR on Eric.

Eric was confirmed to have died on 4 March, 2022, after Kouri called the police in the middle of the night to report that her husband was 'cold to the touch' after attending to her child in another room.

She told police she'd made Eric a Moscow Mule to drink and took it to him in the bedroom - but it's alleged that it was laced with five-times the lethal dose of fentanyl.

Kouri claims that when she returned from dealing with her child's 'night terror' she found her husband unresponsive and deputies found Eric at the foot of the bed.

An autopsy revealed Eric had died of a fentanyl overdose, with the medical examiner reporting that he had enough of the drug in his system to kill him five times over.

ABC4

Evidence showed that Kouri Richins had a second cell phone which revealed several internet searches.

According to reports, these included 'luxury prisons for the rich in America', whether it's possible to change the cause of death listed on a death certificate and whether police could force someone to take a polygraph test.

She allegedly also clicked on articles including: 'Delay in Claim Payment for Death Certificate with Pending Cause of Death', and 'Signs of Being Under Federal Investigation'.

During an investigation into Eric's death, an acquaintance of Kouri told police that the wife had asked them to get her some 'prescription pain medication'.

When they delivered hydrocodone pills, Kouri allegedly asked for something stronger and they provided Kouri with 15-30 fentanyl pills.

Three days later, Eric became 'very ill' after having dinner with Kouri at their home.

Court documents say Eric 'told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him'.

Approximately two weeks later Kouri allegedly asked the acquaintance for another batch of fentanyl pills.

Six days after she received them, her husband of nine years was dead.

An obituary for Eric read: "Eric did absolutely everything in his power to provide his family with every possible opportunity to learn, grow, and have fun."