The Utah mom who has been dubbed the ‘Moscow mule killer’ will appeared at a bail hearing this morning to determine whether or not she should be released from prison pending her trial over the March 2022 death of her husband, Eric.
Kouri Richins, 33, is charged with murder and drug possession. The mom of three later self-published an illustrated book about an angelic father watching over his sons.
Prosecutors say in court documents that she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow mule cocktail she made for her husband, Eric Richins, amid marital disputes and fights over a multimillion-dollar mansion she ultimately purchased as an investment.
‘The state has provided no evidence that there was fentanyl in the home. Nor have they provided any evidence that Kouri gave the fentanyl at issue,’ Richins’ lawyer Skye Lazaro said. The author will appear in court in Park City at 1pm Eastern time.
It has subsequently emerged that Richins had googled ‘luxury prisons for the rich in America’ and ‘Is naxolone similar to heroin,’ reports ABC 4.
Kouri Richins, the mother-of-three accused of poisoning her husband in Utah, appeared calm as she listened to the arguments for and against bail
Richins’ lawyer Skye Lazaro, pictured here, has said that the state has provided no evidence that there was fentanyl in the home’
The case became a true-crime fixation when charges were filed last month, prompting people to pore over the children’s book and scrutinize remarks she made while promoting it as a tool to help children grieve the loss of a loved one.
Lazaro referred to Eric Richins as a ‘partier’ who consumed ‘alcohol and THC.’ ‘Law enforcement never investigated an alternative theory that perhaps Eric’s alcohol and drug use had escalated,’ she added.
It has now been revealed that Richins also searched if police can see deleted texts, if cops can force you to take a lie-detector test, and how long life insurance payouts take.
Bizarrely, Richins also searched to find out how to commission someone to write a book, suggesting that her now-infamous tome Are You With Me? may have been ghost-written.
According to the ABC 4, Kouri allegedly used her personal devices to access an article titled, ‘Signs of Being Under Federal Investigation.’
Another article with the headline, ‘Delay in Claim Payment for Death Certificate with Pending Cause of Death,’ was in the woman’s browser history.
This last article connects to other financial documents previously released, such as her seeking to claim at least $2 million following his death.
Other less-sinister search inquiries included ‘how to undo microblading,’ ‘what kind of doctor was dr. pepper,’ and ‘Lil Nas X married.’
The mom also allegedly Googled ‘how to hire someone to write a book for you.’
The Mosow Mule ‘killer’ Kouri Richins who wrote a book for children about coping with grief after her husband’s death reportedly googled ‘luxury prisons for the rich’ after his murder
In court, Lazaro questioned the lead detective in the case about what police found in Richins’ home following her husband’s death
Criminal Defense Attorney Clayton Simms said she may have been trying to understand the process and how long it could take to investigate his death
After Eric’s death, Kouri wrote a book titled ‘Are You With Me?’ – a picture book that aspires to help children cope after the death of a loved one.
She at one point after Eric’s death went on a local TV program to promote the book and said she wrote it alongside her three children after their father’s death.
Her search history also revealed that the woman had Googled several times whether her family had donated money to the Summit County Police Department.
One attorney who spoke with ABC 4 said they don’t believe the searches for sure indicate guilt on her behalf.
Criminal Defense Attorney Clayton Simms said she may have been trying to understand the process and how long it could take to investigate his death.
Simms did however state that he doesn’t believe the searches are ‘insignificant.’
‘I think her state of mind, what she’s looking at, what she’s researching, could be important, but certainly, I think there’s nothing there that indicates guilt,’ he said.
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
Following Eric’s death, Kouri wrote ‘Are you with me?’ – a picture book she wrote to help children cope after the death of a loved one
Just last week, DailyMail.com reported that Kouri is allegedly talking to documentary filmmakers from behind bars as she awaits trial.
The Summit County district attorney’s office asked a judge for a gag order in the case of Kouri to bar those involved from talking with the media.
Prosecutors claim at least four documentary teams in North America and Europe who have expressed interest in making a documentary about the case.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik on Friday denied the request.
If the case goes to trial, it could hinge largely on an unidentified informant who prosecutors say sold Richins the drugs that medical examiners later found in her husband’s system.
Charging documents and warrants detail interviews in which the informant said she sold Richins hydrocodone and fentanyl in the weeks and months before her husband’s death.
Prosecutors say the drug purchase timeline corresponds with Eric Richins’ death and their allegation that his wife laced a Valentine’s Day sandwich with hydrocodone weeks prior.
After her husband survived the first alleged poisoning, Kouri Richins asked for stronger drugs, ‘some of the Michael Jackson stuff,’ the dealer told investigators, according to prosecutors.
When the pop star died of cardiac arrest in 2009, medical examiners found prescription drugs and powerful anesthetics in his system, not fentanyl.
Richens repeatedly denied her involvement on the day of his death in March 2022, even telling police, ‘My husband is active. He doesn’t just die in his sleep. This is insane.’
In a motion calling for her release filed on Friday, Richins’ attorneys argued the evidence against her is circumstantial because police never seized fentanyl from the family home.
They also called into question the credibility of the key witnesses expected to support the prosecutors’ request to keep her in custody.
The attorneys said prosecutors ‘simply accepted’ the narrative from Eric Richins’ family that his wife had poisoned him ‘and worked backward in an effort to support it’ by spending about 14 months investigating and finding no evidence to support their theory.
The case also has shined a spotlight on Kamas, Utah, an agricultural town on the backside of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains near Park City, one of the American West’s preeminent destinations for skiing, hiking and outdoor recreation.
Richins and her husband had been arguing about her plans to purchase and flip a 10-acre $2 million home, pictured here, in the days before he was found dead
Prosecutors say Eric found out that his wife had taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it in the months leading up to his death
The couple and their three sons lived in a new development in the town of Francis, roughly 50 miles east of Salt Lake City.
Charging documents suggest the case likely will revolve around financial and marital disputes as possible motives. The couple had argued over whether to purchase an unfinished, 20,000-square-foot mansion nearby and discussed divorce prior to his death, court filings allege.
Prosecutors also say Kouri Richins made major changes to the family’s estate plans before her husband’s death, taking out life insurance policies on him
with benefits totaling nearly $2 million.
They also allege Richins took out and spent a $250,000 home equity line of credit, withdrew $100,000 from her husband’s bank accounts, spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards and stole about $134,000 meant for taxes for his businesses.
Some of the allegations correspond to civil court filings
submitted in different cases after Eric Richins’ death in which his blood relatives and widowed wife filed competing claims over how to split a masonry business with his former partner and whether Kouri Richins can benefit from a trust set aside for his next of kin.
Greg Skordas, an attorney and victims’ advocate working with Eric Richins’ relatives, said Richins’ three children are staying with a relative while their mother awaits trial. Katie Richins-Benson, who is Eric Richins’ sister and the trustee to his estate, has filed for guardianship.
