Utah prosecutors are asking a court to make Kouri Richins return more than $1.4 mn in life insurance proceeds paid after her husband’s death. The request follows her March murder conviction, according to People.
Eric Richins, a Utah businessman, died on March 4, 2022, at age 39. His wife was arrested on May 8, 2023, after an autopsy found he died from a fentanyl overdose.
Prosecutors said Kouri Richins caused the overdose by spiking her husband’s drink. In the 14 months between his death and her arrest, she collected life insurance benefits as the named beneficiary.
According to a prosecution memo filed before her May 13 sentencing hearing, Richins received $1,017,018.49 from Auto Owners Insurance Company. She also received $352,562.61 from TruStage Insurance Company.
Prosecutors said Richins still possesses the funds. They are asking the judge to order repayment as restitution to the life insurance companies.
The memo says Richins murdered her husband with poison for money while their young children were in the home. Prosecutors also argued that her conduct supports a life sentence without parole.
During trial, prosecutors said Richins collected the payouts after lying to both insurers about how Eric overdosed on fentanyl. They also said she concealed her role in his death.
Jurors convicted Richins on two counts of insurance fraud. They also convicted her on one count of forgery after prosecutors accused her of obtaining additional life insurance policies in Eric’s name with a counterfeit signature.
Prosecutors also cited an alleged earlier attempt to kill Eric on Valentine’s Day 2022. Jurors convicted Richins on one count of attempted murder tied to that allegation.
Richins continues to maintain her innocence. She remains in custody at the Summit County Jail, where she has been held since her arrest.
Before her arrest, Richins published a children’s book about grief after losing a father, Are You With Me? She said at the time that the book was meant to help her three sons cope with their father’s death.
Prosecutors said those children now fear her. In excerpts from interviews included in the memo, the boys said they are scared of their mother and afraid she would hurt them if released.
The prosecution memo also says Richins still maintains insurance policies on the lives of her children. Prosecutors argued the family would not be safe if she ever received parole.
They asked the judge to keep Richins in prison for life.
