US Woman Who Wrote Book On Grief After Husband's Death Charged With His Murder

A widow from Utah who wrote a children's book about grief, after the sudden death of her husband, was arrested on Monday on charges of murdering her spouse.

According to a KUTV report, Kouri Darden Richins, 33, of Summit County, was arrested Monday for allegedly poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, at their home on Willow Court in Kamas on March 4, 2022. The mother of three is facing a first-degree aggravated murder charge. The woman has also three second-degree felony charges of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, officials said.

According to media reports, the police arrived at their home at about 3:20 am on the night of Eric's death to find him lying at the foot of the bed. "Life-saving measures were attempted, but Eric was declared deceased," according to documents cited by KSL-TV.

In March 2022, Ms Richins called the police late one night and said her husband, Eric Richins, was "cold to the touch", a BBC report said.

She told the officials that she had made her husband a mixed vodka drink before finding him unresponsive hours later. A medical examiner later found Mr Richins died from a fentanyl overdose.

The medical examiner said that Mr Richins had five times the lethal dosage of the drug in his system.

According to court documents, between December 2021 and February 2022, Mr Richins had texted a person who was arrested on drug charges asking for prescription pain medication for an investor with a back injury.

The court documents further revealed that Ms Richins got hydrocodone pills and she later requested something stronger.

After three days, Ms Richins obtained the drugs and the couple had a Valentine's Day dinner, after which he fell sick.

After two weeks, Ms Richins obtained more fentanyl. On March 4, Ms Richins called the police late at night and complained that her husband was unresponsive.

Ms Richins also wrote a picture book "Are You With Me?" to help children cope with the death of a loved one.

In an interview with KPCW, the woman said that the book was to bring peace to her and her three children. "We wrote this book and we're really hoping that it provides some comfort for not just obviously, our family, but other families that are going through the same thing," she said in an interview last month.

A detention hearing is scheduled on 19 May.