The mother, accused of mu:::rderi:::ng her husband and then writing children’s books about her grief over his de@th, allegedly did so “to extort money from him.”…

Kouri Richins during a status hearing Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, in Park City, Utah.Credit : Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

A mother allegedly killed her husband for financial gain, then wrote a children’s book about his death, according to prosecutors.

On Monday, Feb. 23, 35-year-old Kouri Richins appeared in court for the first day of the murder trial of her late husband, Eric Richins, whom she married in June 2013. The two shared three children. The author is accused of giving him a lethal dose of fentanyl in early March 2022 at their home near Park City, Utah.

After his death, she self-published Are You With Me? – a children’s book that tells the story of a boy dealing with grief over the loss of his father.

“The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life,” Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told jurors, per KTSM. “More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence and success.”

Kouri allegedly put five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in her husband’s drink.

She is also accused of serving Eric a fentanyl-laced sandwich that caused him to break out in hives and black out, the news station reported, citing court documents.

Bloodworth alleged that Kouri devised the plan because she owed approximately $4.5 million in debt and believed that she would stand to gain more than $4 million from his estate if he died. The prosecutor also alleged that she was seeing another man outside of her marriage.

However, defense attorney Kathryn Nester argued that Eric had Lyme disease and was addicted to painkillers and possibly overdosed.

Nester also played the 9-1-1 audio of Kouri speaking with a dispatcher on the night that her husband died.

“Those were the sounds of a wife becoming a widow,” Nester said of her client’s cries.

PEOPLE reached out to Nester for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

In the years leading up to Eric’s death, Kouri also allegedly took out life insurance policies on him that he was unaware of.

PEOPLE spoke exclusively with friends of Richins in August 2023, and they explained why they still supported the author.

“There’s a lot that will come out at trial,” a friend close to the case told PEOPLE at the time. “I’m certain that once it does, the jury will make the right decision.”

When the couple wed, his mother arranged a prenuptial agreement barring Kouri from claiming Eric’s 50 percent stake in his stone masonry business except in the event of his death, according to a civil suit over Eric’s estate filed by Kouri in the Summit County District Court in June 2023.

Some close to the couple also claimed Eric had begun drinking and taking illegal drugs during their marriage.

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“The family needs an answer — someone to blame,” Kouri’s best friend, Ali, told PEOPLE in 2023. “I believe Eric must have died from an accidental overdose.”

Kouri is charged with over 30 counts, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud, CBS News reported. She could get up to 25 years to life in prison solely with the murder charge.

Her trial is expected to run until March 26, according to CBS News.