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Damning new details emerge in case of Utah mom who allegedly poisoned husband to death then wrote children's book on grief
Moscow Mule 'murderess' Kouri Richins, who allegedly poisoned her husband with a drug-spiked cocktail, looked somber in court on Monday as detectives revealed damning new details in her case.
Kouri, 33, from Kamas, Utah, has been accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, 39, after serving him a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule on March 3, 2022.
During the first day of her preliminary hearing, Detective Jeff O’Driscoll said authorities believe that Kouri's housekeeper Carmen Marie Lauber, 51, sold the mother fentanyl on three separate occasions - including one time after Eric died.
O'Driscoll said that although Lauber initially had 'difficulty remembering all the details,' detectives found messages between the women about fentanyl transactions. He could not say for certain that those pills were the ones used to kill Eric.
The preliminary hearing will determine if Kouri, who wrote a children's book on grief shortly after her husband's death, will go to trial or not.
Kouri Richins, 33, who allegedly poisoned her husband with a drug-spiked cocktail, looked somber in court on Monday as detectives revealed damning new details in her case
Kouri, from Kamas, Utah, has been accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, 39, by serving him a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule on March 3, 2022
She said in an interview that she was motivated to write the book after searching Amazon and Barnes and Noble and finding 'nothing' to help them 'cope' and dedicated the book to Eric.
Kouri promoted it on television and radio, describing the book as a way to help children grieve the loss of a loved one.
In March, Utah State Representative Brett Garner, who was a high school friend of Eric, introduced a new law that would ban convicted murderers from receiving money through a prenup.
If the new bill is passed and she is convicted, Kouri could lose millions from the sale of the home she shared with Kevin, and rights to her book.
Prior to his death, the couple fought over financial issues in regard to their 10-acre $2 million home and signed an agreement that would grant her the sale of the home.
The home sold in January 2020 to Alec and Taryn Wright, who went on to sue Kouri and her realty firm after they claimed they had to vacate the property due to hazardous levels of mold along with a slew of unexplained health issues.
On the same night Eric died, Kouri and her mother, Lisa Darden, celebrated her recent closure on the mansion. Kouri owned a real estate company and her husband owned a successful masonry business.
Detective Jeff O’Driscoll said authorities believe that Kouri's' housekeeper Carmen Marie Lauber, 51, sold the mother fentanyl on three separate occasions - including one time after Eric died
Although Lauber had 'difficulty remembering all the details' during her initial police interview, detectives found messages between the women about fentanyl transactions. (pictured: Kouri in court on Monday)
One day after his death, affidavits for search warrants showed that Kouri signed the closing papers on the couple's $2million property and invited friends for a party where she was drinking and celebrating.
Kouri and her husband had previously been arguing about her plans to purchase the home in the days before he was found dead, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Eric found out that his wife had taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it, withdrawn $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards.
Kouri also stole about $134,000 from her husband's business meant for tax payments, the documents stated.
The documents also said that she agreed to repay her husband back when he confronted her about the missing money.
Prosecutors alleged that Kouri purchased four different life insurance policies, which totaled more than $1.9million between 2015 and 2017.
Court documents also claimed that Kouri first attempted to kill her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl just a month before she allegedly served him the spiked cocktail.
Prosecutors have alleged that a sandwich that she got for him on Valentine's Day was left with a note in the front seat of his truck.
Shortly after her husband's death, the mother of three self-published a children's book titled 'Are You with Me?' about an angel wing-clad deceased father watching over his sons
Kouri and her husband had previously been arguing about her plans to purchase the home in the days before he was found dead, according to court documents
She purchased the sandwich from a local diner in town, and in the same week, witnesses said she bought several dozen fentanyl pills.
Two of Eric's friends said that they remembered he called them that same day, after he ate the sandwich, and told them, 'I think my wife tried to kill me,' according to witness testimony.
The legal documents said that prior to making that concerning phone call, Eric had rushed to inject himself with his son's EpiPen and downed a bottle of Benadryl after he reacted to the drugs.
When he woke up from a deep sleep, he called his friends and told them he thought he was going to die and that it was his wife's fault, documents said.
The housekeeper, Lauber, told police that she had sold drugs to Kouri just a couple days before the alleged first poisoning attempt.
According to the latest documents, Kouri allegedly told Lauber that she needed stronger drugs because the initial pills provided weren't strong enough.
A month after that attempt, Kouri called 911 and reported that she found Eric 'cold to the touch' at the foot of their bed, according to the police report.
Medical examiners later found that her husband had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.
Summit County Chief Prosecutor, Patricia Cassell, has alleged that Kouri slipped the obscene amount of drugs into Eric's cocktail that night, even though the wife's family said his death was accidental.
The preliminary hearing will determine if Kouri will go to trial or not for her late husband's death. (pictured: Kouri in court in May 2024)
Kouri's brother Ronney said that 'Eric loved to party, he loved to have a good time.'
'The simplest answer is often the correct one, it was most likely an accidental overdose.'
Kouri was then slapped with additional charges, including attempted murder, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud for allegedly forging loan applications and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after Eric's death.
Prior to his death, Eric had changed his will to make his sister the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy and was even thinking of getting a divorce from Kouri, according to his family.
Family attorney and spokesperson Greg Skordas previously told DailyMail.com that Eric was afraid Kouri was trying to kill him after two separate instances in which he became violently ill after drinking or eating with his wife.
His family has insisted that Kouri is the one responsible for his sudden death.
Family members for both Richins and her husband are expected to attend her hearing, including her mother and Eric's sisters, KUTV reported.