A woman who wrote a children’s book about dealing with grief after the death of her husband has been charged with murdering him.
Kouri Richins was arrested in Utah and is accused of poisoning him with fentanyl.
Eric Richins had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system after his March 2022 death at their Kamas home, according to prosecutors.
Ms Richins is alleged to have told police that she made a mixed vodka drink to celebrate him selling a house but found him “cold to the touch” when she returned after checking on one of their children.
The charges come after an “unnamed acquaintance” is said to have admitted selling her fentanyl - a painkiller 100 times more potent than morphine.
She is also charged with allegedly possessing GHB, an odourless substance often associated with ‘date rape’ cases due to its ability to make people drowsy or relaxed.
Two months ago, Richins promoted her grief book on local TV.
She told a segment called ‘Good Things Utah’ she’d written it to help the family deal with her husband’s death.
Richins said children needed to feel that a loved one’s “spirit is always alive in your home”.
“It’s - you know - explaining to my kid just because he’s not present here with us physically, doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” she told the programme.
Her lawyer, Skye Lazaro, declined to comment on the charges.
