SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (Court TV) – Kouri Richins, the Utah mother accused of killing her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail, may have been texting a secret love interest the night her husband died, court documents allege.
Three separate references to an anonymous person prosecutors called “her Paramour” were made in the Mar. 26 filings in which prosecutors added seven more charges to Kouri Richins’ wrap sheet, including two counts of mortgage fraud, two counts of insurance fraud, and three counts of forgery.
On March 3, 2022, the night of Eric Richins’s death, prosecutors say Richins’ “Paramour” texted her a photograph of two people kissing that was captioned, “Love you.” Then, a little more than an hour later, Kouri Richins allegedly responded, “…love you 😘”
Later that night, Kouri Richins told investigators that she made her and Eric each a celebratory drink that they drank sitting in the bed, then went to sleep shortly after. But Eric never woke back up again.
Prosecutors believe it was the drink that killed him: A Moscow Mule laced with illicit fentanyl that was five times the lethal limit, as well as a sedative antipsychotic medication, Quetiapine, which had been prescribed to Kouri Richins.
The Valentine’s Day Incident
According to authorities, this wasn’t the first attempt on Eric’s life or the first exchange with Kouri’s secret “Paramour.”
On Valentine’s Day of 2022, Kouri allegedly purchased a sandwich from “the Diner” for Eric that she left for him on the seat of his truck. Eric told a witness that the sandwich caused him to break out into hives after one bite. Eric told a witness that he had to use his son’s epi-pen and drink a bottle of Benadryl before taking a two-hour nap. When Eric woke up, he allegedly told a witness that he thought he was going to die and said, “I think my wife tried to poison me.”
That same morning, prosecutors say Kouri texted her “Paramour,” saying “Headed that way…” along with a screenshot of her navigation app on her cell phone which showed her projected arrival at an unknown destination at 10:47 a.m.
Eric Richins texted Kouri at 1:43 p.m. asking, “Are you home?” Kouri replied, “No in Provo, waiting for my cabinet installer guy…”
Flash forward three and a half months after Eric Richins’ death; Prosecutors say Kouri Richins texted her best friend with an entirely different account of the Valentine’s Day incident, writing,
“It was Valentine’s Day and Eric and I were both working from home that day and I ordered lunch from [the Diner]!!!!!!!! He never broke out in hives or used an epi pen!! I was (expletive) with him! … He said the sandwich hurt his stomach so he was going to take a nap! No hives, no epi pen!”
The Richins Family Feud
The third mention of the Paramour occurred in the immediate aftermath of Eric Richins’ death after Eric Richin’s sister Amy Richins got into an argument with Kouri that ended in Kouri striking Eric’s sister several times. Amy Richins allegedly told Kouri that Eric had placed their home into a trust and that Eric’s sister, Katie Richins-Benson, was the trustee.
Following the fight, Kouri Richins sent a text message to her Paramour, saying:
“I lost in (sic) on eric’s sister finally and punched her.. (sic) couple of times 😡 my brother ripped me off of her before it got too intense.. (sic) she called the cops. It was at my own house because I told her to leave and she wouldn’t! Said this is her brothers (sic) and she didn’t have to. So I said get out or I’ll get you out.. (sic).”
The Alleged Affairs
Kouri was arrested in May, a little more than a year after Eric’s death on March 4, 2022. Before her arrest, she had been cooperating with investigators and sent them an email, which was later shared with Court TV by the attorney representing the Richins family, Greg Skordas.
In the email, Kouri Richins did not say it was her having an affair; rather, it was her husband doing the cheating – an allegation Skordas says was “simply untrue.”
“Eric’s affair was the same year I “moved out,” the trust was created as well as him looking into a divorce,” Kouri Richins wrote.
She clarified that she had never actually spent a night outside the family home but that she moved her clothes out one weekend to make her husband understand that she was serious about leaving him if things didn’t end with the other woman, whose name was redacted.
Kouri concludes her letter to investigators saying despite everything, the couple had gone to counseling a handful of times and worked through their issues.
“I just want this over, I just want our lives back and to move on and grieve and mourn my husband without looking over my shoulder constantly for you guys, or the idiotic Private Investigator or the Richins family. Whatever I can do to help close this out, just ask I’ll give you or tell you whatever you want to know!”
