Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Murder, She Wrote: The Kouri Richins Trial’ of ABC’s ’20/20,’ the primary focus is on the mysterious homicide of Eric Richins in his home in March 2022. Upon investigating the case, the detectives uncovered a financial motive and a deadly plot that involved purchasing fentanyl pills. The documentary features exclusive, insightful interviews with Eric’s loved ones and the officials involved in the investigation, providing a detailed account of the case.
Eric Richins Was Found Dead in His Utah Home in 2022
Born on May 13, 1982, in Bountiful, Utah, Eric Eugene “Rico” Richins was the beloved son of Gene and Linda Richins and an elder brother to two sisters, Katie Benson and Amy Richins. Growing up around the family cattle ranch, Eric helped out his father and found joy in feeding and tending the horses and cows. He was also into all kinds of sports, including baseball, basketball, and soccer. As a dedicated and skilled hunter, he had collected several trophies from countries like Mexico and Africa. He also had a collection of motorized vehicles, from four-wheelers to snowmobiles. The member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a minor in Spanish from the University of Utah.
His passion for sports led him to become the coach and assistant coach on his boys’ teams, coaching them for several hours. Thanks to his insane drive and determination, he managed to establish a successful masonry business from scratch. In 2005, he got married for the first time to Julie Ann Jorgenson, who unfortunately passed away in 2011. Within a couple of years, he decided to give love another try and tied the knot with Kouri Richins, a realtor by profession. In the years that followed, the couple became parents to three sons — Carter, Ashton, and Weston.
Eric lived a fulfilling life with his wife and kids, so it came as a shock to his loved ones when he suddenly passed away in the early hours of March 4, 2022. After 3 am that fateful morning, the police received a 911 call from his wife, Kouri, who reported that she had found Eric unresponsive. When the authorities arrived at the Richins’ residence in the town of Kamas, they found the 39-year-old man dead, and his autopsy revealed that he had died of a fentanyl overdose, as his system had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl. The medical examiner also determined that the drug had been ingested orally by the deceased.
The Killer Was Revealed to be Someone Close to Eric Richins
Since only Kouri Richins and the three young children were at home at the time of Eric Richins’ death, the detectives interviewed Kouri about the incident. She told them that she made him a cocktail, which Eric drank in bed. As per her account, one of the kids had a night terror, because of which she claimed to have slept with in the child’s bedroom. She alleged that she woke up around 3 am and went back to her and Eric’s bedroom, where she found him unresponsive. However, the investigators found several holes in her story. For instance, she claimed to have left her phone in her room while she slept in her son’s room. But the cell phone data showed that it was used during that time.
As suspicions raised against Kouri, the authorities searched the Richins residence and seized all her electronic devices, including another phone from her bedside drawer. That phone was used to conduct a series of suspicious online searches, such as “can cops.uncover deleted.messages iphone,” “what is a lethal.does.of.fetanayl,” “women utah prison,” “luxury prisons for the rich in america,” and “death certificate says pending, will life insurance still pay?,” and “if someone is poisned what does it go down on the death certificate as.” Meanwhile, her other phone contained text conversations with Carmen Lauber (C.L.), from whom she obtained fentanyl pills.
The Killer Had Attempted to Poison Eric Richins in Another Instance
A few weeks before his demise, Eric had reportedly gotten sick after eating a Valentine’s Day dinner made by Kouri. He struggled to breathe but managed to self-administer his son’s EpiPen. According to a witness, he suspected that Kouri was trying to poison him. As the detectives dug deeper, they found out that Kouri had bought 15-30 fentanyl pills from Carmen before the Valentine’s Day incident as well. Not long before Eric’s death, the couple had reportedly got into an argument over investing in a $2 million house as he believed that it was too expensive.
The investigators discovered that Kouri also reportedly tried to make herself the beneficiary of Eric’s life insurance policy, but failed to do so. They believed that the suspect spiked his cocktail with lethal amount of fentanyl and hoped to inherit his estate, but she was unaware that he had also taken her out of his will shortly before his death. Not long after the tragedy, Kouri reportedly bought the property the couple had been arguing about and even hosted a party to celebrate the purchase. About a year later, the suspect self-published a children’s book titled ‘Are You With Me?,’ which was about dealing with grief and healing. Several weeks later, on May 8, 2023, Kouri was arrested in her Kamas home and charged with aggravated murder and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Kouri Richins is Awaiting Her Sentencing, Following Her Conviction
Kouri Richins maintained her innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her, deciding to take the matter to court. In February 2026, her trial got the murder of Eric Richins got underway. During the trial, she declined to testify in her defense. The prosecution presented a series of incriminating evidence against her and brought several witnesses to testify against her, including Carmen Lauber who claimed that she provided illicit drugs to the defendant on four different occasions between December 2021 and March 2022. The defense argued that Eric battled Lyme disaease and was addicted to painkillers.
After three weeks of testimonies, on March 16, 2026, the jury deliberated for three hours and found Kouri Richins guilty of aggravated murder and other four charges, including forgery and fraud related to the opening of Eric’s life insurance policies without his knowledge. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 13, 2026. The convict is also facing 26 other felony charges, including money laundering, mortgage fraud, and issuing bad checks.
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