A man allegedly murdered by his wife was suspecting her of having an affair, his family claims.
Eric Richins, a man who was allegedly poisoned with fentanyl by his wife, Kouri Richins, in March 2022, had "reasons to believe" that she was cheating on him during their marriage, according to Greg Skordas, a spokesperson for the family.
Kouri Richins, a children's book author, is accused of poisoning Eric with fentanyl at their home in Kamas, outside of Park City in Utah, while their three young sons were sleeping.
After her husband passed, and before she was charged with his murder, she wrote a book about children coping with grief, which came out a year after his death, in March 2023.
Earlier this week, the 33-year-old was charged with one first-degree felony count of aggravated murder, as well as three second-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Court documents seen by KPCW suggest that the couple had also been arguing about the purchase of a multi-million dollar property just before Eric Richins' death.
His wife reportedly went ahead to close the deal on the 22,000-square-foot home a day after his death.
According to a statement from Eric Richins' family obtained by Fox News, the deceased had told some members of the family that he thought his wife was trying to hurt him.
At one point he said, "If something happens to me, check out Kouri. I think she’s trying to kill me," according to the family.
Eric Richins' close ones insist that he was a "good man" who "didn't take drugs" or have any kind of drug problem, pointing to the fentanyl poisoning.
A warrant said that the night prosecutors allege that Kouri Richins killed her husband, she served her husband a cocktail to celebrate a home sale. Kouri owns a real estate firm called K Richins Realty LLC.
While promoting her book, titled 'Are You With Me?', Kouri Richins gave interviews about how she was moved by the topic and how she wanted to help her and other children face the memory of a deceased parent.
During the promotion of her book, Richins told KTVX: "My kids and I wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving process that we’ve experienced in the last year, hoping it could help other kids deal with this and kind of find happiness someway or another."
"It’s comforting for them that they’re not living this life alone. Dad is still here, but in a different way."
Moreover, adding to the family's allegations against Kouri Richins, Eric's sister claimed that his wife had tried to poison him before.
The woman reportedly told investigators that Eric had called her a few years ago, while the couple were on vacation in Greece.
During this phone call, Eric Richins reportedly told his sister that his wife had handed him a drink that made him violently ill.
Eric Richins held a joint life insurance policy with his business partner, Cody Wright, together with whom they ran the business C&E Stone Masonry.
According to a warrant, Kouri Richins had logged into the two men’s life insurance policy two months before his death and removed them as each other’s beneficiaries, naming herself as the policy’s only beneficiary.
