PARK CITY, Utah (NewsNation) — A Utah mother of three accused of fatally poisoning her husband and then writing a children’s book about grieving is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing Monday.
A judge will determine whether Kouri Richins, 33, should remain detained or have an opportunity to post bail. The hearing is set for 11 a.m. ET.
Richins is charged with murder and drug possession.
In court documents, prosecutors said Richins slipped her husband, Eric Richins, five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow mule cocktail amid marital disputes and fights over a multimillion-dollar mansion she ultimately purchased as an investment.
The mother of three self-published an illustrated book about an angelic father watching over his sons. She gained fame by promoting her book on TV stations across Utah. Yet, the case became a true-crime fixation when charges were filed last month, prompting people to pore over the children’s book and scrutinize remarks she made while promoting it as a tool to help children grieve the loss of a loved one.
Richins’ lawyers said she shouldn’t have to wait out her trial in jail, as they claim the state doesn’t have enough evidence to back up the charges against her.
In a motion calling for her release filed on Friday, her attorneys argued there was no evidence Richins would financially benefit from her husband’s death, that no illegal drugs were found in the family home and that investigators failed to look into the possibility that Eric Richins died of an accidental overdose.
They also called into question the credibility of the key witnesses expected to support the prosecutor’s request to keep her in custody.
They claim prosecutors “simply accepted” the narrative from Eric Richins’ family that his wife had poisoned him “and worked backward in an effort to support it” by spending about 14 months investigating and finding no evidence to support their theory.
Richins attorneys also argued that she’s neither a flight risk nor a threat to her community and has attempted to cooperate with the investigation and therefore should be released.
If the case goes to trial, it could hinge largely on an unidentified informant who prosecutors say sold Richins the drugs that medical examiners later found in her husband’s system.
Charging documents and warrants detail interviews in which the informant said she sold Richins hydrocodone and fentanyl in the weeks and months before her husband’s death. Prosecutors say the drug purchase timeline corresponds with Eric Richins’ death and their allegation that his wife laced the cocktail weeks prior.
Charging documents suggest the case likely will revolve around financial and marital disputes as possible motives. The couple had argued over whether to purchase an unfinished, 20,000-square-foot mansion nearby and discussed divorce prior to his death, court filings allege.
Prosecutors also say Kouri Richins made major changes to the family’s estate plans before her husband’s death, taking out life insurance policies on him with benefits totaling nearly $2 million.
They also allege Richins took out and spent a $250,000 home equity line of credit, withdrew $100,000 from her husband’s bank accounts, spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards and stole about $134,000 meant for taxes for his businesses.