Utah author of children's grief book Kouri Richins sentenced to life in prison for fentanyl poisoning of husband

Kouri Richins, the Utah mother convicted of killing her husband and writing a grief-themed book for her children, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The 35-year-old mother was sentenced after being convicted of aggravated murder and other charges in connection with the 2022 death of her husband, Eric, whom prosecutors said she poisoned with a fatal dose of fentanyl.

During sentencing, Richins delivered a 30-minute statement; much of it directed at her three sons, who are now in the care of their late father’s sister.

"Murder? No, absolutely not. I will not accept that and I will not be blamed for something I did not do,” she said.

“There is always going to be someone out there ready to tear you down, misrepresent you, lie about you, tell you half-truths and judge you,” she added.

Richins told her children, whom she reportedly had not spoken to since 2024 after losing custody, that she was "desperately trying to get into contact” with them. She also told her sons to find peace “on the top of a mountain somewhere” and to be like their father.

The judge in the case rejected the defense’s request for a lighter sentence, ruling that Richins was “simply too dangerous to ever be free.”

Eric’s sister, Katie Richins-Benson, said that he had believed Richins was “the most evil person he had ever met.” She revealed that Eric did not divorce his wife because he didn’t want to risk her sons being alone with her half the time.

"He knew her sons did not like her and preferred to be far away from her. He said he could never allow his children to spend half of their time alone with her,” she explained.

The court also considered statements from Richin’s own children, now ages 9, 12, and 13, who reportedly expressed fear over the possibility of their mother’s release.

“I’m afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family,” her oldest child said, according to the New York Post. “I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us.”