Who killed Eric Richins? NBC's 'Dateline' to investigate murder accusations against writer Kouri Richins
KAMAS, UTAH: The chilling murder case of Eric Richins has made it back to the headlines after a whole year as his wife came under the suspicion of the investigators.
Eric died last year, in March 2022, due to a lethal fentanyl dosage.
Around his death anniversary, his wife, Kouri Richins, authored a children's book inspired by their own children's encounters with grief and loss.
Shortly afterward, she was accused of being the one behind her husband's death.
NBC's 'Dateline' will unravel the investigation of this ongoing case against Kouri as she remains the major suspect.
The new episode called 'Page Turner' will air on the channel on Friday, September 22, 2023, at 10 pm.
How did Eric Richins die?
Eric was reported to have been unresponsive when wife Kouri found him at the foot of his bed in their Kamas home in a posh area on March 4, 2022. He was 39 when he was declared dead on the same day.
The autopsy reports unveiled that he had a fentanyl concentration in his system that was five times the lethal dosage, and it was revealed to have been consumed orally.
The medical examination also directed that the drugs were of the non-medical kind, meaning that they could have been obtained from a drug dealer.
While Kouri was not initially considered a suspect at that time, months after Eric's death anniversary, she found herself accused of the murder. And there was more than one reason for the suspicions to rise against her in the investigation.
Eric Richins was allegedly poisoned multiple times before death
On further investigation into Eric's death, it was found that the businessman had told friends and family that Kouri had attempted to poison and kill him multiple times, as reported by NBC News.
Eric had reportedly gotten severely sick on different occasions right after he ate or drank something given to him by Kouri. This had happened once when they went on a trip to Greece, and again on Valentine's Day, a few weeks before his death.
An excerpt from the records of statements taken from the family members said, "He used his son’s epi-pen as well as Benadryl before passing out for several hours."
Additionally, Eric had started planning on divorcing his wife and had removed Kouri from the potential inheritance of his property through a life insurance policy change by replacing her with his sister.
The couple had three children at the time.
Kouri Richins charged with husband's murder
Kouri released her children's book titled 'Are You With Me?' on March 7 of this year, aiming to "guide" children to navigate through grief, drawing from the experiences of her own three sons.
The investigator believed that Kouri had poisoned the Moscow Mule that she had prepared for Eric that night with the fentanyl.
This is not only aligned with her statement but also with the records found of the writer being in contact with a drug dealer named 'CL' who had allegedly provided her with the fentanyl, as reported by CNN.
There were also records of her internet search related to drug, and life insurance policies and some related to police investigations as well, which the prosecutors called "incriminating evidence".
The investigation is currently ongoing while Kouri remains arrested and in custody.