Utah grief author mom accused of poisoning husband is sued for $13M by his sister 

A Utah mom accused of fatally poisoning her wealthy husband to 'actualize a horrific endgame' has been sued for $13 million by his sister.

Katie Richins-Benson is suing Mormon mother-of-three Kouri Richins for myriad financial wrongdoings including stealing more than $200,000 from her partner's accounts and running up debts of more than $30,000 on credit cards in his name. 

Former real estate agent Kouri Richins is accused of murdering her millionaire husband of nine years Eric Richins with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule, before publishing an illustrated children's book about coping with grief. 

Prosecutors have said the 33-year-old thought she would inherit their multi-million-dollar home and her husband's interest in his co-owned masonry business - but Eric had changed his will and power of attorney to give his sister Katie, 38, full control. 

According to a police warrant, this was because he had been worried his wife might 'kill him for money' after several failed attempts on his life. 

Murder-accused Mormon mother-of-three Kouri Richins is facing a fresh lawsuit from the sister of her late husband, Eric Richins, over alleged myriad financial interferences with his finances including stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his accounts 

Mormon former real estate agent Richins, pictured with her late husband, has been held in Summit County Jail since her arrest on May 8 charged with criminal homicide, aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance

The sister of Eric Richins, Katie Richins-Benson, 38, is suing his murder-accused wife for myriad financial wrongdoings including stealing more than $200,000 from his accounts 

Katie filed a fresh lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that Richins' unlawful interference with Eric's finances has damaged her inheritance, along with that of his three sons. 

It also aims to prevent Richins from continuing to sell her picture book. 

The millionaire businessman was found dead aged 39 at the foot of his bed at their family home in the town of Kamas, near Park City, on March 4 last year. 

Richins has been held in Summit County Jail since she was charged on May 8 this year with criminal homicide, aggravated murder and possession of a controlled substance.

The latest lawsuit launched by Katie accuses her of stealing money from his bank accounts, diverting funds which had been saved to pay his taxes, and obtaining a fraudulent loan before he died.

'Kouri committed these acts in calculated, systematic fashion and for no reason other than to actualize a horrific endgame - to conceal her ruinous debt, misappropriate assets for the benefit of her personal businesses, orchestrate Eric´s demise, and profit from his passing,' the lawsuits says. 

It also seeks to bar Richins from selling her $14.99 grief book, called 'Are You With Me?' and to turn over any proceeds.  

Lawyers have argued the book, which features an angelic father watching over his sons, profits from Eric's life by making references to details about him and his relationship with his children - Carter, 9, Ashton, 7, and Weston, 5. 

Her illustrated children's book about an angelic father watching over his sons, Are You With Me? was on sale for $14.99 

The lawsuit outlines how Eric had been earning $1 million each year from his growing lanscaping business, C&E Masonry, which he co-owned with a partner, Cody Wright. 

Richins' 'unlawful pattern of activity' came at a loss of $1,500,000 to Katie, through 'medical expenses, funeral expenses, estate administration expenses, and other economic and general damages', the lawsuit says. 

Eric's children also 'lost the future sharing of love and companionship with their father' and along with Katie, they lost shares of his 'estate, his reasonably-anticipated net financial productivity and his substantial annual income from C&E'.  

June 15 this month would have marked the Richins' 10-year wedding anniversary and a decade since they signed a Premarital Agreement which initially provided Eric's interest in C&E would pass to Richins if he died. 

The lawsuit says Richins ran into 'serious financial troubles' in 2016, and her problems worsened in 2019 after she founded a real estate business, KRR. 

She allegedly 'began stealing money from Eric to help infuse KRR with money and address her financial troubles' without his consent, and started 'taking money from Eric's bank accounts and running up debts on credit cards' in his name.

The Mormon mom is accused of forging his signature to borrow money, while stealing more than $200,000 from his accounts, and charging an excess of $30,000 on the credit cards. 

Despite this, by the end of 2021, KRR was approximately $6 million in debt, and the company's bank account was overdrawn by approximately $22,000. 

Eric discovered the stolen money in September 2020, and Richins admitted her deception to him when he confronted her, the lawsuit says.  

Katie Richins-Benson filed a fresh lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that Kouri Richins' unlawful interference with Eric's finances has damaged her inheritance, along with that of his three sons Carter, 9, Ashton, 7, and Weston, 5

Eric's family told investigators shortly after he died they suspected Richins had killed the father-of-three. Pictured: Kouri and Eric Richins with their three children

Richins' attorney, Skye Lazaro, did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. 

Police believe the Utah mom killed Eric by giving him five times the lethal dose of fentanyl disguised in a Moscow Mule - a cocktail comprising vodka, ginger beer and lime juice. 

According to a search warrant, Kouri procured the drugs by texting a friend asking for 'the Michael Jackson' stuff in an apparent reference to fentanyl, claiming they were for a real estate investor who had a back injury. 

Jackson was killed in 2009 by a cocktail of prescription drugs like OxyContin and Demerol.

Prosecutors have said that in the months before, Richins tried to make herself the sole beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy - though Eric had given his sister full control by this point. 

In May, the DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Kouri launched a legal dispute against his family within weeks of his death in a bid to secure an estate valued in excess of $3.6 million. 

She claimed that Eric had tried to 'defraud' her by secretly transferring the family home, all personal property and interest in the masonry business he ran with friend and partner, Cody Wright, into a Trust owned by his sister in November 2020.

Richins also took out multiple life insurance policies on him worth close to $2 million, and attempted to 'drill into his safe' just 48 hours after he died, his family has said. 

She allegedly attempted to poison him on several other occasions - including on Valentine's Day 2022 when Eric broke out in hives after consuming a sandwich which Richins had placed on the seat of his truck alongside a love note.

In the days before Eric died, the couple had been arguing about Richins' plans to purchase and flip a $2 million home in the days before, according to court documents.

On March 3 - the day before the alleged murder - Kouri signed the closing papers on the 10-acre property and invited her friends over for a party at her house where she was drinking and celebrating, affidavits for search warrants show.