- Eric and Kouri shared three boys together and were a picturesque suburban family, although the couple had their ups and downs
- On Valentine’s Day, Kouri brought Eric a hot bacon and egg sandwich, which left him struggling to breathe after eating
- Unfortunately, Eric died a few weeks later from fentanyl poisoning
- It wasn’t until his sister Katie, pointed her finger at an unlikely culprit that the truth came to light
Gazing into her husband Eric’s eyes, Kouri Richins looked every inch the besotted bride in her white gown.
With friends, family, and the couple’s young son, Carter, watching, their June 2013 wedding was a picture of happiness.
Kouri, 23, and Eric, 31, seemed a perfect match.
Eric had been raised on the family cattle property and remained close to his sisters, Katie and Amy, and parents, Eugene and Linda.
He ran a stone masonry company and, after he and Kouri welcomed two more boys, Ashton and Weston, Eric grew into a devoted, hands-on father, even coaching their soccer and basketball teams.
Kouri loved her family but craved independence. In 2019, she launched a business, buying, renovating and selling homes.
Meanwhile, Eric, who’d spent years doing long days on the tools, developed severe back pain, which he managed with pain medication.
Like any couple, they faced ups and downs, but were committed to each other and their boys.
On Valentine’s Day 2022, Kouri made a simple, but sweet gesture. She brought Eric a hot bacon and egg sandwich, leaving it for him with a love note.
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Soon after eating, Eric broke out in hives and struggled to breathe. He injected himself with his son’s adrenaline, which he had for allergic reactions, took antihistamines, and lay down to rest.
He later joked to friends that his wife had tried to poison him.
Weeks later in March, the couple were on cloud nine as Kouri was close to finalising the purchase of a $5.5 million mansion.
The couple took a celebratory alchohol shot, before Kouri made Eric a Moscow Mule cocktail.
That night, one of their sons had a nightmare, so Kouri went to comfort him and fell asleep.
When she returned to her bed at around 3.00am, she was horrified to find Eric’s cold, lifeless body.
In a panic, she called emergency services, recalling how he’d complained of chest pains earlier that night.
Tragically, Eric, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene. First responders believed he’d suffered a fatal brain aneurysm.
Kouri and her sons were devastated. But when Eric’s sister Katie visited soon after, she was struck by Kouri’s composed demeanour. She noted her sister-in-law wasn’t crying and was neatly dressed with her hair styled.
Tensions escalated two days after Eric’s death when Kouri attempted to access a family safe. Eric’s sister Amy intervened, revealing that Eric had changed his will, placing his estate in a trust managed by Katie. Furious, Kouri punched Amy.
‘ Eric broke out in hives and struggled to breathe’
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Shockingly, the following month, an autopsy determined Eric had died from a fentanyl overdose.
The amount in his system was five times the lethal dose, prompting police to launch a homicide investigation.
Meanwhile, as her sons struggled with grief, in 2023 Kouri published a children’s book, Are You With Me? She dedicated it to Eric and appeared on local TV saying writing it brought ‘a little peace’ to her and her boys.
Two months later, though, in May 2023, Kouri was arrested and charged with Eric’s murder, along with possession of drugs with intent to distribute.
Was it really possible that Kouri wasn’t the grieving widow she’d portrayed?
In March 2024, Kouri Richins was slapped with additional fraud charges and attempted murder in connection with the bacon sandwich she had given him the month prior to his death, as authorities believed it had been purposely poisoned.
She denied it all.
‘An autopsy determined Eric had died from a fentanyl overdose’
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In February 2026, Kouri Richins’ trial began in the Summit County Courthouse, Utah. Her defence argued Eric had become dependent on painkillers, suggesting he had accidentally overdosed.
But prosecutors labelled Kouri as a ‘black widow’ who killed her husband for his money and planned to start a new life with her secret boyfriend, Robert Grossman.
The court heard how Kouri, who had mounting debt, had taken out a $350,000 loan against their home without Eric’s knowledge, as well as taking money from his accounts.
When Eric discovered this in September 2020, he consulted a divorce lawyer, changed his will, and placed his estate under the control of his sister Katie for the benefit of his children.
Damningly, at the time of Eric’s death, four life insurance policies had been taken out in his name by Kouri, totalling around $2.8 million.
But where had suburban mum Kouri bought drugs to poison her husband?
Text messages on a secret phone in her room revealed Kouri had asked her house cleaner Carmen Lauber to buy illicit drugs several times, claiming they were for an investor suffering pain.
Prosecutors told the court Kouri laced the cocktail she made Eric with a lethal dose of fentanyl.
The phone also showed incriminating internet searches, including What is a lethal dose of fentanyl? and Can cops uncover deleted messages?
‘She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money,’ prosecutor Brad Bloodworth claimed.
In March, the jury found Kouri Richins, 35, guilty of aggravated murder, forgery, fraud, and attempted murder.
Richins, who split from lover Robert, will be sentenced in May. She faces 25 years to life for the murder charge alone.
‘Our family lost the brightest light. Eric is deeply loved and missed every single day,’ his sister Amy said outside court.
‘Our focus is now on honouring Eric’s life and supporting his boys.
