Real Estate Agent Convicted of Poisoning Husband for $4 Million

A mother of three who wrote about grief after her husband's death has been sentenced to life in prison after prosecutors said she poisoned him with fentanyl to collect millions in insurance money.

Kouri Richins gained national attention after publishing a children's book about coping with loss following the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins.

Prosecutors said Richins secretly purchased multiple life insurance policies and later killed her husband with a fatal fentanyl dose at the couple's home in Park City.

Several Murder Attempts

Richins poisoned her husband with fentanyl more than once. She spiked a sandwich with a lethal dose that made him very ill, but he recovered after taking Benedryl and using an EpiPen, according to the New York Times.

The deadly dose was in a Moscow Mule cocktail that included five times the lethal dose that she served him in their home in Park City. They were celebrating a real estate deal she had closed.

She Wrote a Children's Book About Grief

In the year after her husband's death, Richins wrote and published a book called "Are You With Me?" written for children who are grieving, which her three young boys were. She promoted the book on local news outlets. It was sold on Amazon but is no longer available for purchase.

From one article, "Kouri Richins is an incredible mother who touched our hearts by sharing her personal story of loss. Her husband of nine years unexpectedly passed away just one year ago, leaving behind his wife and their three young sons.

While learning to navigate grief in a new normal, Kouri and her sons began to write a children's book to help others cope with the loss of a loved one. She tells us she needed the distraction, and a way to channel and articulate the family's feelings."

Rather than retract the article, the editor updated the article with a note acknowledging that she was later arrested and became a murder suspect one month after the interview.

Richins faces life in prison without parole, but she is planning an appeal.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 2:56 PM.