Kouri Richins Goes on Trial in Husband’s Fentanyl Death

kouri richins is standing trial nearly four years after her husband, Eric Richins, was found dead in their Utah home, a case prosecutors say began with a private celebration and ended with a fatal dose of fentanyl.

Kouri Richins on trial: charges and opening statements

Prosecutors opened the case saying Kouri Richins faces charges of aggravated murder, attempted criminal homicide, false/fraudulent insurance claim and forgery; she has pleaded not guilty. Chief prosecutor Bradley Bloodworth told the jury that "the evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life. "

Bloodworth said that before Eric’s death, Kouri Richins’ boyfriend had texted her an image of two people kissing, and that she replied, "Love you, " before making her husband a drink. He told jurors Kouri was in debt at the time of Eric’s death and that Eric's estate was worth $4 million, a sum prosecutors say she believed she would inherit.

Prosecutors allege motive, insurance fraud and repeated poisoning attempts

Court documents alleged Kouri Richins had significant debt, fraudulently took out life insurance policies on her husband and attempted to poison him multiple times. The case drew national attention after she published a children’s book about grief following Eric’s death and later proclaimed her innocence on NBC's "Dateline. "

Family and friends described the couple as appearing to have a "perfect" marriage. The documents note Kouri Richins ran a real estate company, Eric owned a stone masonry business, and the pair shared three children.

Defense plays 911 call and points to gaps in the evidence

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester began her opening statement by playing the 911 call Kouri Richins made saying that Eric wasn’t breathing; Kouri appeared to be crying on the recording. Nester told jurors, "Those were the sounds of a wife becoming a widow. "

Nester said the couple had a "celebratory shot" and that Kouri made a Moscow mule before Eric’s death, and that the drinks were not finished and law enforcement never tested the cups for evidence. She also noted an empty pill bottle with an expiration date of 2016 was found near Eric's body.

Nester framed the timeline for the jury: "Between 9 p. m. and 3 a. m., somewhere in that time, Eric Richins died, " and added, "Somewhere in that time, he ingested a fatal dose of fentanyl. What you will never hear, after four years of investigation... is how that fentanyl got inside of him because there is zero evidence of that. "

Sequence at the home and medical examiner's findings

kouri richins told investigators she found her husband unresponsive in the couple’s bedroom on March 4, 2022, after they had celebratory drinks at their home to mark her recent sale of a property. Court documents say she made him a Moscow mule in the kitchen and brought it into the bedroom, where he drank it, then went to sleep in a child’s bedroom.

When she went back to her room, she said Eric was cold to the touch. Emergency personnel found Eric at the foot of the bed, administered CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A medical examiner concluded Eric, 39, had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system, that the fentanyl was "illicit" rather than medical-grade, and that the drug had been orally ingested, court documents.

What comes next

It is unclear in the provided context what the next scheduled court date or trial milestone is.