In a real story that sounds straight out of a Stephen King novel, a lady, 33-year-old Kouri Richins, is accused of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule cocktail that she served him within the bed room of their Kamas, Utah dwelling whereas she slept with their son within the different room. A 12 months after his demise, she authored a youngsters’s ebook about grieving a cherished one. She even went on ABC 4’s “Good Issues Utah” in April 2023, to speak concerning the ebook she wrote to assist her youngsters deal with their father’s demise, only a month earlier than her arrest.
She’s now suing his property, alleging she’s owed $3.6 million for the worth of their household dwelling, his enterprise pursuits and different funds she made to take care of the house.
Kouri is at the moment being held with out bail on costs of felony murder, aggravated homicide and three counts of possession of a managed substance with intent to distribute in relation and seems to have had a monetary motive behind the alleged killing.
Bother in Paradise
Whereas Kouri carried on as a sufferer till her arrest, her slain husband’s household lengthy suspected her involvement in his demise. Prosecutors and members of the family of Eric paint an image of a troubled marriage, alleging that Kouri, a realtor, was dealing with a monetary hardship and stealing cash from Eric to flip homes. In line with prosecutors, Kouri withdrew cash from Eric’s financial institution accounts with out his information and tried to alter a life insurance coverage coverage to make herself the only real beneficiary. Moreover, a petition by Eric’s household in a separate civil swimsuit alleges that she spent $30,000 on his bank card, fraudulently used his energy of lawyer to safe a $250,000 mortgage and repeatedly took checks from his enterprise and cashed them for her personal profit. A forensic doc examiner within the felony case probably backs up that allegation, discovering that a few of Eric’s monetary paperwork might have been solid.
Different proof of bother for the 2 included an e mail within the filings, during which Kouri talked about Eric’s affair and that he was wanting right into a divorce.
Indicators All Alongside
It seems that Eric might have been on to Kouri; a search warrant affidavit disclosed that Eric informed his household that “if something occurred to him, she was accountable” and that his sisters “informed police that in a earlier journey to Greece, he grew to become ‘violently ailing’ after [Kouri] served him a drink.” (She additionally allegedly tried to poison him once more on Valentine’s Day, simply weeks earlier than his demise.) In line with Fox Information, the warrant additionally said that Kouri wished to buy and flip a $2 million beneath building mansion, whereas Eric thought the property was too costly. Kouri allegedly closed a deal on the mansion alone, the day after her husband’s demise.
Property Plan Intentions Made Clear
The felony case additionally reveals that Eric made very particular requests concerning his property plan. In line with his property planner, he requested his spouse not be designated as his well being care agent ought to he ever want one and that Kouri and their three youngsters ought to be supplied for on his demise however that Kouri shouldn’t be capable to management the cash. Six months earlier than he died, Eric additionally modified his will to make his sister his trustee. Eric apparently didn’t focus on these choices with Kouri, as his property planner said Kouri was extraordinarily upset throughout a cellphone dialog between the 2 after Eric’s demise, throughout which she defined the phrases of the belief to her.
Who Will Prevail in Property Go well with?
In line with the civil swimsuit, a pre-nuptial settlement entered into by Kouri and Eric states that Eric’s enterprise is to “stay the only real property of the husband,” until he ought to die whereas the 2 are nonetheless married, during which case “Husband’s partnership curiosity in mentioned enterprise shall switch to the spouse.” Additionally, per the swimsuit, the authorized title to the house was in Eric’s identify however mortgage funds have been produced from the couple’s joint account.
Whereas this proof might lean in Kouri’s favor (although the pre-nup phrases may be used as proof of a motive to kill her husband), most states have a slayer statute, which prevents killers from cashing in on their crime. Utah, the place the couple lived, has a slayer statute. Utah Code Part 75-2-803 states {that a} assassin can’t retain a property curiosity of their sufferer’s property. Due to this fact, the result of the civil swimsuit will hinge on whether or not Kouri is discovered responsible of killing Eric, which might disqualify her from inheriting from his property, treating her as if she had predeceased him.
“Legislation faculty felony regulation makes a lot of mens rea (motive) as a vital aspect of a criminal offense,” mentioned Benny Roshan, chair of Greenberg Glusker’s Belief and Probate Litigation Group in Los Angeles, “and in Richins’ case, given the growing info surrounding her husband’s demise, we will’t rule out that cash might have been a motivating issue within the murder. Definitely, the truth that Richins’ civil lawsuit makes no point out of the homicide costs in opposition to her would give rise to that suspicion.”
For what it’s price, a choose has denied the pretrial launch of Kouri, citing the “substantial proof” in opposition to her, which along with the aforementioned proof, included web searches previous to her husband’s demise for “Luxurious prisons for the wealthy in America,” “What’s a deadly dose of fentanyl” and “Learn how to completely delete info from an iPhone remotely.”
