Utah judge to decide if author of children’s book on grief will face trial in her husband’s death

[Pelican Press 0]

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Utah judge to decide if author of children’s book on grief will face trial in her husband’s ******

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah woman who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then published a children’s book about coping with grief is set to appear in court Monday for the start of a multiday hearing that will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence against her to proceed with a trial.

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, 34, faces several felony charges for allegedly ******** her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. Prosecutors say she slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule ********* that Eric Richins, 39, drank.

Additional charges filed in March accuse her of an

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with a spiked sandwich on Valentine’s Day. She has been adamant in maintaining her innocence.

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik had

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in May after prosecutors said they would need three consecutive days to present their evidence. The case was further slowed when Kouri Richins’ team of private attorneys

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. Mrazik determined she was unable to continue paying for private representation, and he appointed public defenders Wendy Lewis and Kathy Nester to take over her case.

In the months leading up to her arrest in May 2023, the mother of three self-published the children’s book “Are You with Me?” about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after passing away. The book could play a key role for prosecutors in framing Eric Richins’ ****** as a calculated ******** with an elaborate cover-up attempt. Prosecutors have accused Kouri Richins of making secret financial arrangements and buying the ******** ***** as her husband began to harbor suspicions about her.

Both the defense and prosecution plan to call on witnesses and introduce evidence to help shape their narratives in the case. Mrazik is expected to decide after the hearing whether the state has presented sufficient evidence to go forward with a trial.

Among the witnesses who could be called are relatives of the defendant and her late husband, a housekeeper who claims to have sold Kouri Richins the drugs, and friends of Eric Richins who have recounted phone conversations from the day prosecutors say he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years.

Kouri Richins’ former lead defense attorney, Skye Lazaro, had argued the housekeeper had motivation to lie as she sought leniency in the face of ***** charges, and that Eric Richins’ sisters had a clear bias against her client amid a battle over his estate and a concurrent ******** case.

A petition filed by his sister, Katie Richins, alleges Kouri Richins had financial motives for ******** her husband as prosecutors say she had opened life insurance policies totaling nearly $2 million without his knowledge and mistakenly believed she would inherit his estate under terms of their prenuptial agreement.

In May, Kouri Richins was found guilty on misdemeanor charges of assaulting her other sister-in-law shortly after her husband’s ******. Amy Richins told the judge that Kouri Richins had punched her in the face during an argument over access to her brother’s safe.

In addition to aggravated *******, ******** and ***** charges, Kouri Richins has been charged with mortgage ******, forgery and insurance ****** for allegedly forging loan applications and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after her husband’s ******.

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