Utah mother convicted of poisoning husband with fentanyl in cocktail, days after promoting grief book
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three, was convicted in 2026 of murdering her husband Eric by spiking his cocktail with fentanyl she purchased from the family housekeeper. Weeks before her arrest, Richins had appeared on a local talk show promoting a children's book she wrote about grief following her husband's sudden death. Prosecutors presented evidence of the fentanyl poisoning at trial earlier this year, resulting in a guilty verdict.
Verified
- ✓Kouri Richins was convicted of her husband Eric's murder. (Dateline NBC, mainstream coverage confirmed via 2 MSM articles found)
- ✓She poisoned him by spiking his cocktail with fentanyl. (Dateline NBC reporting; prosecutors' trial case)
- ✓Richins purchased the fentanyl from the family housekeeper. (Dateline NBC/prosecutors' case)
- ✓She promoted a children's book about grief on a local talk show before arrest. (Dateline NBC)
- ✓The book was written following her husband's sudden death. (Dateline NBC)
- ✓Trial occurred earlier in 2026. (Dateline NBC)
Interpretation
- ~The timing of the book promotion and subsequent murder charge represents a stark contrast between public narrative and actual events. (Dateline's framing of the case)
▸▾Why this is here
- Source
- @datelinenbc
- Source type
- Commercial Newsroom (Tier 6)
- Content type
- Reported
- Confidence
- Reported
- Coverage
- 1 of 15 major US outlets
- Published
- April 30, 2026 at 6:09 AM PDT
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