'Please come home': Utah author Kouri Richins accused of killing husband made eerie post to promote book
KAMAS, UTAH: Kouri Richins, the author of ‘Are You With Me?’ who was accused of killing her husband Eric, made a bizarre Facebook post to promote the self-published book she wrote about his death just before her arrest on May 8, 2023. Richins reportedly posted a video reel speaking about missing her late husband. “Life is just so… hard without you here!” she wrote in the caption.
“The cards I have been dealt seem like a game that just can’t be played,” Richins stated. She also added the hashtag “#pleasecomehome” as part of her post. The content has since been removed from the page. The mother-of-three shared several tributes for Eric on social media, remembering her husband and expressing grief over his death. The majority of those posts have been deleted after her arrest. Her book has also been removed from Amazon since the revelation.
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Kouri Richins: Author accused of murdering husband tried to poison him repeatedly, family says
Kouri Richins 'wrote the book to help her children cope with the grief'
Richins’ Facebook post came after she appeared on ‘Good Things Utah’ ABC4 to discuss her book and open up about losing her husband. The mother-of-three said she wrote the book to help her children cope with the grief of their father’s death. During the interview, Richins claimed that her husband “suddenly” died a year ago and that his death “completely took [them] all by shock.”
The author said she began researching “to try and understand not only how to grieve as a widow, as a wife, but also with my kids, how to help them, how to help them understand what just happened.” She explained that nights were the most challenging time for her children and she wanted to write a book to help them deal with their loss. “I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night and I just could not find anything,” Richins shared at the time.
Later in the interview, she also highlighted the “three C’s” mentioned in her book, to define connection, continuity, and care. Richins shared that link is the most important of the three and involves teaching children that the spirit of their loved one “is always alive in your home.” “Just because he’s not present here with us physically, that doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” Richins said during the interview. “Dad is still here, it’s just in a different way,” she added.
What are the charges against Kouri Richins?
Richins was arrested on allegations of poisoning her husband on Monday, May 8, and charged with aggravated murder and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Eric was found dead from a fentanyl overdose at his house in Kamas, Utah. An autopsy report later confirmed that he had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his body at the time of his death.
According to a probable cause statement, Eric allegedly told a friend that his wife was trying to poison him. In the wake of Eric’s death, Richins told the police that she and her husband were celebrating the closing of a house for her business before heading to bed. She also said that she made a Moscow Mule for Eric and he drank it. Richins claimed that she left the bedroom to tend to one of their children and ended up sleeping in the child’s room on the night of her husband’s death.
Further investigation revealed Richins’ communication with an acquaintance who had previously been arrested on multiple counts of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and other drug-related charges. She reportedly asked for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” specifically fentanyl from the dealer, and bought fentanyl pills worth $900.
Richins now stands accused of her husband’s murder and is scheduled to appear in court next on May 19.