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News & Current Events May 13, 2026 at 9:30 PM

Kouri Richins, author of a children’s book on grief, gets life sentence for killing her husband

Posted by HorrorAd6729

Kouri Richins, author of a children’s book on grief, gets life sentence for killing her husband
AP News
Kouri Richins, author of a children’s book on grief, gets life sentence for killing her husband
A judge has ruled that a Utah mother who wrote a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death will serve life in prison without parole for his murder.
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Tyrrox May 13, 2026 +454
"Richins stood at the podium in a lime green jail uniform as she asked her sons, who were not present in court, “Please just don’t give up on me.” She encouraged them to always “be like your dad.”" What the absolute f***. Killing their father for money and then telling her sons to be like him. The absolute wretch of a human being. "Richins made the boy (her son) paranoid about sitting on his dad’s side of the bed, saying he might die, too, he alleged."
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alexlp May 13, 2026 +224
The speech she gave at sentencing is f****** vile. Talks about how her and their father never gave up on their love, giving the boys advice for their future relationships. She called the marriage a "crazy beautiful mess". I hope they never have to hear a word of it.
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VanessaAlexis May 14, 2026 +66
May that love never find me. 
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nerfedbeyblade May 13, 2026 +96
Basically told them to get successful so she can leech off them
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Tyrrox May 13, 2026 +75
Between the two quotes I took it to mean "I didn't make the money I wanted killing your dad so forgive me so I can do the same to you later"
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Meocross May 14, 2026 +7
Ding Ding!
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Successful-Try-8506 May 13, 2026 +24
Lime green is the new orange?
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Gooeslippytop May 14, 2026 +5
I like it. Shit let me get booked in Utah!
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epidemicsaints May 13, 2026 +493
Commissioned a book to be written about grief. She did not write it herself. The emails and receipts are part of the court case, it was a $2500 job. [https://www.courttv.com/news/texts-show-ghostwriter-wrote-childrens-book-not-kouri-richins/](https://www.courttv.com/news/texts-show-ghostwriter-wrote-childrens-book-not-kouri-richins/)
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nina_qj May 14, 2026 +309
I watched the whole thing. Her sons notably used her first name, expressed how scared they were that she or her family would still come for them, and asked the judge to lock her up forever so that they could live without the fear of her popping back up into her lives, called her a drunk and told her she was more interested in her boyfriend, that she would lock them in their rooms (lock on the outside of the door) when they pointed out her drinking. She deserves exactly what she got. Today is Eric's birthday. Happy birthday Eric, rest in peace
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byneothername May 14, 2026 +30
Those poor kids. How agonizing it must be to know that their mother did this.
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Comfortable-Suit-202 May 14, 2026 +71
Rip Eric!!! This story is so sad. I’m glad Eric’s Family have made sure the boys are protected from their former selfish Mother, a murderer, a liar, a thief, a total disgrace. Eric’s family, you have my sympathy for your loss. This entire story is a complete, unimaginable nightmare. God Bless those Boys & your entire family.
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 -78
Did god bless them????🤦🏻‍♂️
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Tyrrox May 14, 2026 +27
What's wrong with you?
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 -75
Please don’t tell me, “evil”, is what drives Kouri.
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beemojee May 14, 2026 +9
What part of this definition do you disagree with? evil /ē′vəl/ # adjective 1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked. "an evil tyrant."
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 -5
That is the literal definition, yes. Sadly, we still have too many humans who believe pure evil of the spiritual nature is the cause of such acts, and the cause of humans turning out so broken. The reality of root causes for humans developing in such a broken way is far more complex, supported by fact based science.
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beemojee May 14, 2026 +4
And yet nobody here, excepting yourself, mention Kouri being driven by evil.
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +1
What do you believe? And do you believe, God or the devil, had anything to do with this?
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beemojee May 14, 2026 +6
I have a science degree and I have worked as a nurse specializing in the care of patients with mental health issues. That's all you're getting because I don't owe you any answers about my spiritual beliefs or lack there of. I didn't bring them into this conversation and you aren't going to either.
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +2
Wonderful. Very rewarding. And yeah, nobody owes anyone anything here. I admit my comment didn’t fit into the general commentary, and did not offer anything to the conversation. I would hope that we are advancing to a place where we understand pure evil in the spiritual sense has nothing to do with how an adult or a child/adolescent ends up becoming a disturbingly violent with psychopathic behavior. Sorry, my comments were misguided☺️
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upgrayedd69 May 14, 2026 +5
Are you a 14 year old atheist? Do you feel enlightened by your own intelligence? I’m an atheist and this shit is pathetic bro. You don’t have to inject your anti-religiosity into every topic especially when you the one bringing it up in the first place
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026
It’s ok bud. Get over it. Read what I wrote below🤙🏼
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026
It’s not anti-religious. I’m agnostic. This is about humans making real progress. So many deny how much parents and childhood development contribute to the development of behavioral issues in later adolescents and adulthood. If we all understand contributions of the complex of the bio-psycho-social dynamic, and Epigenetics, to development of the human mind, we will have a better chance as a human race to use this for progress as a whole. I believe this progress is happening, though I do also believe the more traditional religious types are also more likely to deny when they themselves play a role, especially as parents, and blame everything on God, the devil, good, and evil.
0
Garbage_Out_Of_Here May 14, 2026 +33
She also pulled dumb faces and looked shocked while their statements were read.
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nina_qj May 14, 2026 +34
She pulled so many shocked and incredulous faces through the entire Ritchins Family impact statements, especially for those boys, and then had the audacity to spend 40 rambling minutes telling them to love like her and Eric did, telling them to be like their father. It was disgusting.
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blacktransampinkguy May 14, 2026 +56
She cried when her brother spoke, but not her kids.
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PrestigiousSeat76 May 13, 2026 +313
She earned it, that's for sure. It came out just yesterday that she lied about sleeping with her kids that night. Instead, their own affidavits show that she locked herself in the bedroom with her husband. She watched him die. Made sure he died. All the while yelling at two of her sons that night to go back to their rooms when they wanted to come in the master bedroom. Imagine the type of person you have to be to watch your spouse and father of your children die, slowly, taking their last gasps of breath. Imagine that.
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fireflygirl1013 May 14, 2026 +58
It was all planned for a while; such a vile human. I just listened to the Dateline episode. He had already changed his will to keep her out of it because he knew she was trying to kill him months before this fatal episode happened.
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Comfortable-Suit-202 May 14, 2026 +32
Thank God he did that! What a smart & observant man he was. The horror of living day to day knowing she was actually attempting to kill him, the thought of never seeing his boys again, nor his own family must have been terrifying. For that alone, she deserved life in prison/no parole.
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CloudstrifeHY3 May 14, 2026 +12
Hold up did you just call the guy that knew his wife was trying to take him out for months Smart and observant when he literally stayed and got taken out? That's the opposite. That's Observant and compliant or negligent or something. If I knew for a fact my wife was trying to end so much so that I felt the need to take her off my life insurance policy I wouldn't be sleeping in the same house or eating/drinking anything she gives me.
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fireflygirl1013 May 14, 2026 +5
1000% agree. I’m a true crime podcast junkie and the podcasts that stick with me the most are the ones where a spouse warns other people to look at the other if they die. I can’t imagine living that nightmare.
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jwilphl May 14, 2026 +26
The "Slayer Rule" prevents a murderer from taking as beneficiary when they kill the decedent. He didn't necessarily need to change his will for that reason, though I suppose he might have wanted to avoid relying on a successful prosecution.
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beemojee May 14, 2026 +14
Eric Richins put his assets into a living trust for his kids and named his sister as trustee. He did this because he found out Kouri had withdrawn $100,000 from his bank accounts, borrow $30,000 from his credit cards, borrowed money using a fraudulent power of attorney, and opened a bank account with a revolving line of credit and borrowed $250,000. She opened the account with a deed of trust that she'd signed Eric's name to. Kouri kill Eric on March 3, 2022. She wasn't arrested until May 8, 2023. She could have burned through a lot of money in that year if Eric hadn't safeguarded it for his sons with that living trust.
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srsh May 15, 2026 +1
Right, but if her original plan succeeded then there would be no "Slayer Rule" to enforce. His death would've been ruled an overdose. He prevented that possible scenario with the trust and naming his sister as trustee
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Butterflymisita May 14, 2026 +5
I'm new to this case. She passed him a laced cocktail? How'd she manage that if he thought she was trying to kill him? This seems like a very bizarre case.
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fireflygirl1013 May 15, 2026 +1
Listen to the Dateline episode called Book of Lies. It really doesn’t answer that question but what I perceive is that it was complicated. She had put them deeply in debt and was basically running a shady house flipping business and scamming people out of money/running a Ponzi scheme. He had more assets than her, and it appears to me from the podcast that he really didn’t figure out what was going on until closer to his death. Something must have happened a year and half before that triggered him to make the change to his will, but in that time, she would go on and try to kill him a total of 3x! But they were celebrating a “win” for her business when she handed him that drink. I feel the worst for her two young boys and the manipulative shit she said to them in her statement.
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Tyrrox May 13, 2026 +156
And if they had an ambulance there in time, he could have been given Narcan and survived. She was actively still killing him while her kids were right outside the door.
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Public-Cod1245 May 13, 2026 +52
very disturbing. I hope her kids find a way to cope.
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +7
Lots of therapy over the years
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Flynn58 May 13, 2026 +30
Those poor children are gonna need all the therapy in the world, wondering if they could have saved their dad if they were more forceful with their mom. That kind of psychological torture against her own kids is horrific.
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lemonlime45 May 13, 2026 +58
I wonder why they didn't include the part about her not sleeping in the boy's room that night at her trial. I am sure they did not want to have the kids testify...maybe there was no way to introduce that information without direct testimony from the boys. Well, the verdict and sentence are correct. This is one greedy, selfish, horrible person.
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Deranged40 May 14, 2026 +39
> I wonder why they didn't include the part about her not sleeping in the boy's room that night at her trial. Realistically, the only person who can bring that evidence in is the children (it was indeed brought in via them). The prosecutor did an insanely good job here by not having to bring those kids in. Because it would be something they remember for the rest of their lives, even the youngest of them, and it would not be a good memory. They were able to build their case without it hinging on that fact. Even though that would've been a very beneficial fact for the prosecution to work with.
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Ginger_Anarchy May 14, 2026 +14
If she had testified my bet is the kids were part of the prosecutions rebuttal case to refute her saying that.
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lemonlime45 May 14, 2026 +3
I guess, but that was a really big gamble, since it is pretty rare for a defendant to testify.
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dburr10085 May 13, 2026 +22
Nester complained about that being released yesterday while giving them no chance to respond.
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Curious_Octopus99 May 14, 2026 +11
It was released on 05/11 and they have 3 lawyers on the team.
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srsh May 15, 2026 +1
Would that require the children to take the stand?
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SquishyBeatle May 13, 2026 +5
Life sentence is too good for her
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Sunshinetrooper87 May 14, 2026 -12
Am pretty sure if I was murdering someone I'd yell at my kids to go back to their own room too. Why is that significant?
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Dashwood_Benett May 14, 2026 +62
Everything else aside, the way her first name is spelled is revolting to read. 
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Comfortable-Suit-202 May 14, 2026 +33
I believe her Mother & Brother are naive, covered for her probably everytime she made mistakes/broke the law, and treated her like a baby girl who could do no wrong. She was a spoiled brat her whole childhood & when things didn’t go her way in this marriage, this was her idea of a solution. She is a total failure.
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +11
Spoiled is one thing, but this kind of result in a human has an even more complex dynamic behind it. People like her who were spoiled also were not given the love and encouragement they need. Combine the dysfunctional nature of nurture in her childhood with the predisposed genetics of psychopathy, and it can be a deadly combination in adulthood.
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siouxsian May 13, 2026 +45
Good. And her sons actively hate her as they should. Someday the hate will turn to simply not even remembering she existed.
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SnooMemesjellies1522 May 14, 2026 +23
I doubt that. Hating your mother screws you up for life, even if it is deserved.
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VanessaAlexis May 14, 2026 +10
Yep. In my 30s and my hatred for her has not dimmed. 
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SnooMemesjellies1522 May 14, 2026 +7
I understand
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Ok-Memory-4781 May 14, 2026 +20
She is a total and complete package of “a piece of sh*t”. She doesn't even sound human. It was just straight ChatGPT talk, just so robotic and rehearsed. She is fake as hell. The cringe in that courtroom had to be unbearable. But in the end, she got exactly what she deserves...a life sentence. What a b*tch! And honestly, I just feel terrible for those kids. Not only did they lose their father, but they also had to sit there in court and listen to that cold, emotionless performance she gave. No authenticity, no real emotion... she is just so creepy and disturbing.
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Icy_Cat4821 May 14, 2026 +8
On the plus, the children were not actually in the courtroom. Their victim impact statements were read by their therapists and they were not present when she made her statement. Hopefully they never even have to hear it, but I’m sure at some point they will. This whole nightmare will live forever on the internet and when they’re a bit older, they may want to watch/read about the whole case. I’m so happy they have Eric’s family to take care of them and help them try to heal. 
8
Aleyla May 14, 2026 +9
The only real emotion she showed was when her brother spoke. Any normal person would have broken down into a puddle when the kids statements were read.
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Booni3 May 13, 2026 +32
The nerve of this animal. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Should have been the death penalty 
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lala4now May 14, 2026 +6
What an absolute sociopath. Glad she got the sentence she deserved. I hope her sons are able to find some measure of peace.
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RecordOfTheEnd May 13, 2026 +23
My wife and I randomly knew her and her husband. Lived in the same neighborhood. 
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +9
Wanna add more?
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RecordOfTheEnd May 14, 2026 +20
By know, we might say hi at the grocery store, but didn't spend much time with them. I could maybe say she was weird, but not kill your husband weird. More like I'm not like the other girls weird. 
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MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +6
Got it. Weird enough always has potential for the worst of the worst, ya just never know.
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Hrmerder May 14, 2026 +2
Dude... I just watched this like night before last on Dateline.. (conviction but not yet sentenced)
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Jealous_Lawfulness_2 May 13, 2026 -28
well what kind of mixed messaging is this?
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WhereasParticular867 May 13, 2026 +31
It's not mentioned in this article, but she actually didn't even write it. A ghostwriter did. Which came up because the defense argued that suspicious notes about her husband were notes for her next manuscript. The prosecution produced text messages about the ghostwriter.
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Tyrrox May 13, 2026 +11
She wrote a book about the grief of her and her kids after her husband's death. Whom she killed
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Comfortable-Suit-202 May 14, 2026 +8
And then went on live television to lie about the whole thing. She’s a Psychopath. Not to mention the Psychological harm that book did to those little boys.
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Embarrassed_Quail910 May 14, 2026 -38
We all grieve in our own ways.
-38
MorganMiller77777 May 14, 2026 +2
Bad joke, if that was meant to be one
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