- Kouri Richins to be sentenced for murdering husband Eric Richins on March 4, 2022.
- Her sons fear her release; eldest says she might harm them and family.
- Prosecutors seek life sentence, request no contact with Richins family.
PARK CITY — Eric Richins would have turned 44 on Wednesday. Instead, his family members will be speaking at the sentencing hearing for his wife who murdered him.
Kouri Richins, 36, a mother of three boys and a real estate agent, was found guilty in March of fatally poisoning Eric Richins four years ago on March 4, 2022. She was not arrested or charged until over a year later, and during that time, she hired a ghostwriter to help her publish a children's book about dealing with grief.
She will be sentenced for aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, first-degree felonies; two counts of insurance fraud, a second-degree felony; and forgery, a third-degree felony. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m.
Based on Utah statute for aggravated murder, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik will have the option to sentence her to either a term of 25 years to life in prison or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In a document prosecutors filed shortly before the sentencing, they asked for her to remain in prison the rest of her life, saying that is what is best for Eric and Kouri Richins' sons.
The document quoted her oldest son, who was 9 when his dad was killed, saying, "I'm afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family. I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us. ... I miss my dad, but I do not miss how my life used to be, I don't miss Kouri, I will tell you that."
The document also revealed that if another son had been called to testify at trial, he would have contradicted Richins' claim that she was sleeping in the 7-year-old's room the night her husband died. Instead, he would have testified that the TV was playing loudly in his parents' room and the door was locked. When he tried to retrieve a key from above the door frame, his mother yelled at him to go away.
It also said her youngest son tried to enter his parents' bedroom as he typically did that night and found himself locked out.
That son was also quoted in the document, saying, "If she got out, I would be so scared ... I'm worried that she would take me away. ... Once she is gone, I will feel happy, and I will feel safer and relaxed and trust people more."
Watch a livestream of the hearing here:
The three boys are being raised by Katie and Clint Benson, Eric Richins' sister and brother-in-law. Prosecutors asked the judge to order Kouri Richins not to contact any of the Richins family, and to pay their office over $1 million and another million in restitution to insurance companies.
In the document, deputy Summitt County attorney Brad Bloodworth wrote, "Such a person should never again lurk among the rest of us. Her children should never worry that they may one day encounter her."
It said after her verdict, Richins wrote in a text message that she would "expose" the county, judge, prosecutors and Richins family.
"I'm not going away, I won't be silent. ... They picked the wrong one. They think sentencing is 'the end' 'closure' it's just the beginning. ... They haven't seen anything yet," the message said.
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