Following two years of motions, a trial date has been set for Kouri Richins, a Utah woman accused of poisoning her husband.
Richins’ murder trial is scheduled to start February 23, 2026, with jury selection starting February 10, according to ABC 4. The trial is schedule to last for around five weeks.
Prosecutors have charged Richins with felony murder for the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who died from a fatal dose of fentanyl. Police allege she spiked his Moscow Mule drink with the drug as part of a plan to kill him for his life insurance.
She also faces financial charges, including mortgage and insurance fraud.
“After two years in jail, we are relieved Kouri has a trial date. She is ready for the truth to come out — and for the false narratives that have defined this case to be confronted in a court of law. We are confident that once the facts are heard, it will be clear to all that Kouri is innocent,”Kouri’s attorneys, Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis, told Court TV.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors said Kouri Richins mixed five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a cocktail that Eric consumed.
She later self-published a children’s book titled “Are You with Me?” about a father, depicted with angel wings, watching over his young son after his death.
Additional charges filed last year accused her of a previous attempt to kill him by spiking a sandwich on Valentine’s Day.
“After one bite, Eric broke into hives and couldn’t breathe,” an arrest affidavit read. “He used his son’s EpiPen and Benadryl “before passing out for several hours.”
Prosecutors also accused Kouri Richins of making secret financial arrangements and purchasing illegal drugs as her husband began to suspect her actions.
A few years before his death, Eric took a trip to Greece with the defendant, where he “became violently ill” after his wife served him a drink, an arrest affidavit stated. He survived that particular incident and told his sister about it.
Two months before his death, Kouri Richins allegedly logged into Eric’s life insurance policy and changed the beneficiary from his business partner to herself. She also changed the business partner’s policy, removing Eric Richins as beneficiary and changing it to herself.
The insurance company reversed the changes after contacting the two men and inquiring about the switch.
Richins, a mother of three children, has maintained her innocence.
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[Feature Photo: Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook]
