Mormon mom accused of poisoning husband allegedly hosted large house party day ... trends now
The Mormon mother accused of poisoning her husband with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule last year allegedly hosted a large house party just one day after he died.
Kouri Richins, 33, and her husband, Eric, 39, had been arguing about her plans to purchase and flip a $2million home in the days before he was found dead at their home in Kamas on March 4, 2022, according to court documents.
But just one day after his death, affidavits for search warrants show, Kouri signed the closing papers on the 10-acre property and invited her friends over for a party at her house where she was drinking and celebrating.
Authorities now say Kouri poisoned Eric with a lethal amount of fentanyl in his Moscow Mule on March 3 in an apparent effort to get money from his life insurance policy, only to later write a children's book about grief for her three young sons.
Kouri is now facing charges of aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Kouri Richins, left, is accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, right, by giving him a Moscow Mule on March 3, 2022 filled with fentanyl
The couple had apparently been arguing about Kouri's plans to buy and flip a $2million home (pictured)
Prior to his death, family members said, Eric had changed his will to make his sister the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy and was even thinking of getting a divorce from Kouri.
He was afraid she was trying to kill him, family members claimed, citing two separate instances in which he became violently ill after drinking or eating with his wife.
In one instance, one of Eric's two sisters said, he and his wife were on a trip to Greece about three years ago when she got a phone call from her brother.
He claimed Kouri gave him a drink that made him feel violently ill, and said he believed she had tried to kill him.
By January 2022, authorities say, Kouri changed Eric's joint life insurance policy, which he shared with his business partner Cody Wright, so that she was the only beneficiary.
But when the insurance company told the partners, who own the business C&E Stone Masonry, of the change, they were able to change it back.
After finding out that Richins had tried to change his life insurance policy, Eric changed the beneficiary of his will and his power of attorney to his sister without telling his wife because he was scared she might 'kill him for the money', a warrant states.
Then on Valentine's Day 2022, family members said, Kouri brought Eric a sandwich — and after just one bite, he broke out into hives and couldn't breathe.
He had to use his son's epi-pen and Benadryl to recover, and passed out for several hours.
A medical examiner said they found five times the lethal dose of fentanyl - a painkiller 100 times stronger than morphine - in Eric's system after he died on March 4 last year. Pictured: Richins and Eric with one of their sons
Eric's family told investigators shortly after he died they suspected Richins had killed the father-of-three. Pictured: Kouri and Eric Richens with their three children
Eric had even been thinking of getting a divorce from Kouri prior to his death, family members said, but decided to stay in the marriage for the sake of his young sons.
'They had three boys, three young boys, and think Eric, being so involved in their lives as a soccer coach, baseball coach, basketball coach, wanted to keep the family together,' family spokesman Greg Skordas told NBC News.
'Eric was a good father... He was a philanthropist,' Skordas added. 'He cared about a lot of people' and 'he did the best he could to make the most of his marriage.'
Still, he is said to have had financial concerns about Kouri's $4 to $6million renovation of a home that could sleep 60 people.
In fact, family members say he was not planning to sign the deed, but
