Kouri Richins Faces Opening Statements in Trial Over Husband’s Fatal Overdose

kouri richins, 35, sat through opening statements Monday as a Summit County jury heard competing accounts of how her husband, Eric Richins, died in March 2022 — a case that prosecutors say matters because it speaks to motive, method and a plan tied to millions of dollars. The trial is expected to run through March 26.

Kouri Richins and the Park City-area Home

Prosecutors say the death occurred at the couple's home just outside the ski town of Park City, where Eric Richins drank a Moscow mule cocktail laced with fentanyl in March 2022. The prosecution alleges that Kouri Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into the drink. She has vehemently denied the allegations.

Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth on Motive and Debt

Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told jurors that Richins was $4. 5 million in debt and believed she would inherit an estate worth more than $4 million if her husband died. Bloodworth said the evidence will show she killed Eric to obtain his money and to start a new life with another man she was seeing on the side. "The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life, " he told the panel, adding that more than anything she wanted his money to perpetuate a facade of privilege and affluence.

Defense Attorney Kathryn Nester and the 911 Call

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester began her opening by playing the 911 call from the night of Eric's death. On the recording, Richins was sobbing and at times barely able to answer the dispatcher, a sound Nester described simply: "Those were the sounds of a wife becoming a widow. " CBS affiliate KUTV aired portions of the call in which Richins says she did not know what happened and that she did not know how to do CPR but was willing to try.

Nester urged jurors not to make judgments before hearing the defense's evidence, saying Eric had Lyme disease and an addiction to painkillers and suggesting he may have overdosed. She told the jury the couple had endured a difficult year, had at times considered divorce, sought marriage counseling and ultimately decided to stay together; she said they were celebrating the closing on a property deal the night he died.

Alleged Poisoning Timeline: Valentine’s Day and March 2022

Prosecutors say the fatal March incident followed an attempted poisoning a month earlier on Valentine’s Day, when Eric was allegedly given a sandwich laced with fentanyl that led to hives and a blackout. The state has framed the two events as part of a calculated effort to kill, while the defense offers illness and addiction as alternate causes.

Charges, Evidence and Expected Witnesses

Richins faces nearly three dozen counts, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud. The aggravated murder charge alone carries a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Prosecutors say a housekeeper will testify that she sold fentanyl to Richins on three occasions, and the man with whom Richins was allegedly having an affair is also expected to be called to the stand.

In the months before her arrest in May 2023, Richins self-published an illustrated children's book, "Are You with Me?" about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after passing away. Prosecutors previewed how the book and the author's promotions on local TV and radio could fit into their narrative of a calculated killing followed by an elaborate cover-up. Defense counsel has argued the book was written to help Richins' young sons and other children cope with grief.

The courthouse drew public attention: a few dozen people camped outside in lawn chairs starting at 4 a. m., four and a half hours before the first day of the trial. What makes this notable is the collision of a domestic tragedy, disputed medical and toxicological causes, and financial claims that prosecutors say show motive—facts jurors will weigh as testimony unfolds.

Opening statements concluded as both sides signaled a tour of evidence: the prosecution with forensic and financial threads, the defense with medical history and the 911 call. The case is scheduled to proceed through March 26, when the court calendar indicates further hearings and testimony will continue.