Author of children’s book about grief who is accused of killing her husband files suit against his estate

By Cheri Mossburg, CNN

(CNN) — A Utah woman accused of killing her husband before she authored a children’s book about grieving a loved one, is suing his estate to obtain proceeds from his business and their family home, a new court filing shows.

Kouri Richins, 33, is being held without bail on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in relation to the death of Eric Richins. She has not yet entered a plea.

The civil lawsuit makes no mention of the charges against Kouri Richins.

Eric Richins, 39, was found dead at the foot of the couple’s bed in March 2022. An autopsy and toxicology report showed he had about five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system, according to a medical examiner.

Richins told investigators at the time that she brought her husband a Moscow Mule cocktail in the bedroom of their Kamas, Utah, home, then left to sleep with their son in his room and returned around 3 a.m. to find her husband lying on the floor cold to the touch.

Around a year to the day after her husband died, Richins published a children’s book, “Are You With Me?” about navigating grief after the loss of a loved one.

In her civil lawsuit, she is seeking half of all equity in the couple’s home, which is estimated to be worth “at least $1.9 million,” according to the filing. The couple bought the home in 2012 for $400,000, the lawsuit said.

The legal title to the home was in Eric Richins’ name but mortgage payments were made from the couple’s joint account, according to the filing.

“Kouri is entitled to half of all equity in that Family Home,” the suit says.

Kouri Richins is also seeking about $2 million in proceeds from the sale of Eric Richins’ share of a stone masonry business after his death.

A pre-nuptial agreement signed by the couple states in part that while Eric Richins’ business is to “remain the sole property of the Husband,” unless he should die while the two are still married, in which case “Husband’s partnership interest in said business shall transfer to the Wife,” the civil filing states.

But the proceeds are being held in an estate managed by Eric Richins’ sister, documents show.

Before his death, Eric Richins met with an estate planner and intentionally directed that his estate be managed by his sister rather than his wife, according to documents filed in the criminal case.

He set up a trust to “provide for both my wife and our children during any time that I am incapacitated and after my death,” the documents said.

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