Documents from the Utah court system reveal secret life insurance policies and stolen money. They also detail a contentious legal battle, as well as the hiring of an investigator to investigate the death of the man, whose wife is accused of poisoning him with a spiked beverage.
Kouri Richins was charged with the murder of Eric Richins in Kamas (Utah), about 40 miles south-east of Salt Lake City. She had closed on a house for her business and held a celebration there.
Medical examiners said that he had five-times the lethal dose of fentanyl at the time of death, March 4, 2022.
According to search warrant affidavits obtained by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Eric Richins suspected that his wife tried to poison him several times. He warned his family she would be responsible if anything bad happened to him. According to a family spokesperson, he stayed with his wife because of their children.
Here are the key dates of the investigation as Richins prepares to appear at a hearing for detention next month.
Between 2015 and 2017,
Richins has been accused of buying at least four policies of life insuranceon husband, totaling almost $2 million. This is according to a court document amended on May 18, which led to a postponement of the detention hearing that was originally scheduled for may 19. The document said that Eric Richins was unaware of the policies.
September 2020
According to an amended court document, Eric Richins learned that his wife had obtained and used a $250,000.00 home equity line-of-credit on their Kamas home, had taken out at least $100,000 of his bank account and had spent over $30,000 with his credit cards. Richins allegedly “appropriated distributions from Eric Richins’ business to make federal and state quarter tax payments, and not pay the taxes.” According to the filing, the stolen tax payments amounted to at least $134 346.
The court documents stated that he confronted her and asked for the money, and she agreed to repay him.
October 2020
Eric Richins sought the advice of both a divorce attorney and an estate planning attorney. According to the amended court documents, Eric Richins changed his will and formed a trust, placing his estate in the hands of his sister Katie Richins Benson.
The document also stated that he transferred his partnership interest in the business to the trust, and designated the trust the beneficiary of his $5000 life insurance policy.
Jan. 1, 2022
According to an amended court document, Eric Richins, his business partner, and themselves had a $2 million life policy that named each other as beneficiaries. However, prosecutors allege that Richins, on Jan. 1, 20,22, changed the policy so that she was listed as the beneficiary.
The document states that her husband was notified of the change and re-assigned his business partner as the beneficiary.
According to the document, “she caused an application to be submitted for a $100,000 life insurance policy to cover Eric Richins.”
Feb. 12, 2022
Richins texted or called C.L. The document said that Richins asked for fentanyl. Richins’ data showed that she had contacted C.L. Richins contacted C.L.
C.L. According to the document, C.L.
Feb. 14, 2022
The document said that a Valentine’s Day dinner turned into a nightmare after Eric Richins, “broke out with hives and was having difficulty breathing,” after eating the sandwich made by his wife.
In the document, prosecutors claimed that Richins had made her husband a lunch and placed it in his truck seat with a note of love. After eating the sandwich, Richins’ husband fell ill and had to use his son’s EpiPen. According to the document, Eric Richins thought he was poisoned. He “told a close friend that he believed his wife tried to poison him.”
Early February 2022
Richins, according to the document, contacted C.L. The document states that Richins told C.L. that the fentanyl tablets “were too weak and requested that she obtain some stronger fentanyl.” C.L. Richins allegedly told authorities she “asked for some Michael Jackson stuff” during this request for the fentanyl. However, the defendant later admitted that Michael Jackson may have been mentioned during her initial request for the fentanyl. The pop star died in 2009 after receiving a lethal dose propofol at his Los Angeles residence.
C.L. C.L.
March 3, 2022
Richins, according to the document filed by the prosecutors, owed over a million dollars when her husband died. Prosecutors said that the day before her husband’s death, Richins spoke to a lender who she owed at minimum $1.8 million to and she had a long telephone conversation with the IRS. In the document, it was stated that she owed $189,840 in state and federal taxes, and her husband $514,346.
March 4, 2022
Eric Richins died after being found unresponsive after drinking to celebrate his wife’s business deal.
According to the medical examiner who stated that it was not medical grade fentanyl, but “illicit” fentanyl, he had five times as much fentanyl than the lethal dose in his body. According to the medical examiner, it is believed that he also ingested these drugs orally.
The details of that night are different in the search warrant affidavit compared to the probable cause statement.
Richins, in a statement, told authorities she and her spouse were celebrating the closing of a home for her business. It said that Richins made a Moscow Mule for her husband in the kitchen, and then brought it into their bedroom to drink while he was lying in bed. The prosecution has said that she put five times as much fentanyl in the cocktail.
The affidavit, however, stated that Eric Richins had one shot of alcohol and a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) gummy.
Both documents state that Richins informed authorities that her husband was cold when she went into her bedroom after falling asleep in her children’s room. Richins’ affidavit stated that she attempted CPR to her husband, but that when the medical and fire departments arrived they did not believe that Richins had performed CPR because of the amount of blood coming from Eric’s mouth.
The statement also said that the woman told authorities she had left her mobile phone in her bedroom, but investigators discovered that it was unlocked and locked several times before 911 was called and that there had been movement.
According to the online obituary , Eric Richins and his wife had been married for nine years. They have three children.
March 6, 2022
According to an amended court document, Richins had a lock pick drilled into the safe of her late husband, which held between $125,000 and $155,000 in cash. Katie Richins Benson, Eric Richins sister, told Richins that she should leave the safe alone. Prosecutors alleged in their filing that Richins was angry and punched Richins Benson in the neck and face when Richins refused.
Sheriff’s deputies called and spoke to the attorney of Eric Richins estate.
Richins learned that her husband created a living will.
March 9, 2022
Richins, according to the document, wrote a check for $1300 with a backdate in order to purchase fentanyl tablets from C.L. C.L. C.L.
July 15, 2022
Richins-Benson hired an investigator to follow and monitor Richins. This is according to documents Richins filed in court to remove her sister as trustee of Eric Richins trust. Richins has been fighting with her sister-in law over the trust since Eric Richins died.
Richins stated in the documents that a private investigator would park her car outside her house “to watch and monitor her” and question her neighbors regarding her and her husband.
Greg Skordas told NBC News, a family spokesperson, that the private investigator had been hired to investigate the death. The private investigator refused to comment on the case.
March 7, 2019
Richins, a year after the death of her husband, published a book entitled “Are you with me?” It was dedicated to “my wonderful father and my amazing husband.” Amazon’s description said the book was written to provide comfort and peace for children who lost a parent.
A boy asks in the 41-page book if his father is there for him when he’s sad or mad, and if he’s with him on special occasions. The father assures the boy that his presence is with him at all times.
The book has been removed from Amazon.
April 6, 2019
Richins discussed her book in an interview she gave to KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City. She also spoke about her husband’s sudden death.
It took us all by surprise. She told KTVX journalists, “My kids and I wrote this book about the different emotions and grief processes we experienced last summer in hopes that it could help other kids to deal with this situation and find happiness.”
Richins went on to say that she would tell her kids their “dad’s still here in a new way” after seeing how they struggled with the death of their father.
Later, the station updated its report to say that it was unaware of her suspicion in the death of her husband.
May 8,
Richins has been arrested for aggravated murder, and three counts of possessing a controlled substance in order to distribute. She hasn’t entered a guilty plea, and she is expected in court on June 12, which is the new date of the hearing.
Her lawyer has not responded to the allegations.
