Utah Woman Accused of Murder Weaves Twisted Tale of Fiction and Reality

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Kouri Richins, a woman from Utah stands accused of murdering her husband by administering a deadly dose of fentanyl. She was subsequently implicated in an act of witness tampering. This accusation stemmed from a letter that she allegedly wrote, suggesting her brother provided a false testimony that would exonerate her from the homicide charges. Yet it is Richins’ assertion that the letter is nothing more than an excerpt from a fictional novel she is working on, as per the court documents revealed.

Eric Richins, her husband, fell victim to a lethal mixture of fentanyl that Kouri purportedly offered him as a drink in March 2022. The charges of murder and drug withholding against her remain pending as she has not yet entered a plea.


The six pages of a handwritten letter discovered in Richins’ jail cell became a subject of controversy last week. The prosecution believes it indicates witness tampering because it carries instructions aimed at Richins’ brother. The letter encourages him to share a concocted story stating that the deceased had traveled to Mexico to acquire pain-relief pills and fentanyl. The prosecution filed this opinion in a motion last week.

Challenging this assertion, Richins insists that the controversial letter is rather a narrative excerpt from her “fictional mystery book”. In the book, it is she, along with her father, who go on a quest to Mexico in search of drugs. She confided this rationale to her mother during a phone call on a recent Saturday. “When I first got in here I was telling you I was writing a book … those letters were not a paper to you guys, they were a part of my freaking book”.

The said letter urges Lisa Darden, Richins’ mother, to convince her son to fabricate the story of Eric Richins acquiring fentanyl from Mexico. The intent is to attribute his death to these substances. This allusion was drawn from the letter, as stated by the prosecutors in their motion.

This saga has engendered a flurry of legal proceedings documented in the Tuesday memorandum. It was a response to the defense motion that eyes the public exposure of the letter as a violation of the court-issued gag order related to this case. The defense attorney posits that it might undermine the impartiality of future jury pools.

Furthermore, Richins’ attorney, Skye Lazaro, highlights that the procurement of the letter in question might have come as a result of a potentially illegal search. The letter was discovered in an envelope labeled “Skye Lazaro (Attorney Privilege)”. The prosecution dismissed these claims, arguing that the contentious letter originated from Richins’ LSAT prep book during a legal search of her cell.

A judge ruled in June that Richins must remain in custody while awaiting trial, justified by the “substantial evidence” against her. The deceased, a 39-year-old gentleman, was discovered dead at the foot of the couple’s bed upon authorities’ arrival. His autopsy and toxicological examination revealed that he bore around five times the lethal amount of fentanyl in his system.

Richins claimed that after serving her husband a cocktail in the bedroom of their Kamas, Utah home, she found him lifeless.

Nearly a year later, Richins published a children’s book titled “Are you with me?” It empathetically addresses the pain of grieving a lost loved one.

Prosecutors have cited several dubious web searches made from Richins’ phone as incriminating evidence. These include searches on lethal doses of fentanyl and queries about life insurance payouts in the event of pending death certificates.

She also allegedly made numerous unapproved transactions from his bank account, and there were attempts to adjust a life insurance policy to make herself the sole beneficiary.

Richins’ legal counsel maintains that there is insufficient evidence to validate the purchase of fentanyl attributed to her. The state hasn’t proved she administered the fatal dose of fentanyl to her husband. The defense further established that Joint accounts allowed Kouri the right to withdraw funds, and the computer implicated in the attempt to change the life insurance policy remains unidentified.

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Melinda Cochrane is a poet, teacher and fiction author. She is also the editor and publisher of The Inspired Heart, a collection of international writers. Melinda also runs a publishing company, Melinda Cochrane International books for aspiring writers, based out Montreal, Quebec. Her publication credits include: The art of poetic inquiry, (Backalong Books), a novella, Desperate Freedom, (Brian Wrixon Books Canada), and 2 collections of poetry; The Man Who Stole Father’s Boat, (Backalong Books), and She’s an Island Poet, Desperate Freedom was on the bestseller's list for one week, and The Man Who Stole Father’s Boat is one of hope and encouragement for all those living in the social welfare system. She’s been published in online magazines such as, (regular writer for) ‘Life as a Human’, and Shannon Grissom’s magazine.