Unexpected Payout: The $1.39 million life insurance money tied to Kouri Richins’ husband has taken a shocking turn
Prosecutors are now asking the court to make Kouri Richins return the money two insurance companies paid out after her husband’s death
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Kouri and Eric Richins.Credit : Kouri Richins/Facebook
Utah businessman Eric Richins died on March 4, 2022, at the age of 39.
His wife Kouri Richins was arrested and charged with his murder on May 8, 2023, after an autopsy determined he died from a fentanyl overdose, which she caused by spiking his drink.
In the 14 months between her husband’s death and her arrest, Kouri was able to collect more than $1.39 million from her husband’s life insurance policies.
Now, prosecutors are asking the court to make Kouri return those funds, which she still posesses despite being convicted of murder in March.
“[Kouri] murdered her husband in the presence of their young children, using a poison, for money,” prosecutors write in a memo that was filed ahead of her May 13 sentencing hearing and obtained by PEOPLE.
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Kouri and Eric Richins.Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook……
In the wake of Eric’s death, Kouri received $1,017,018.49 from Auto Owners Insurance Company and $352,562.61 from TruStage Insurance Company as the beneficiary of her husband’s life insurance policies, prosecutors state in the memo.
Prosecutors said during her trial that Kouri collected payouts on these policies after lying to both insurance companies about how her husband overdosed on fentanyl and the role she played in his death.
Jurors agreed, and convicted Kouri on two counts of insurance fraud in addition to a count of forgery, after prosecutors also accused Kouri of obtaining additional life insurance policies in her husband’s name by using a counterfeit signature.
In their memo, prosecutors ask the judge to order Kouri to return the funds as restitution to the life insurance agencies. Prosecutors also argue that Kouri’s actions support a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“To this day, the Defendant maintains insurance policies on the lives of her children,” prosecutors write. “The Richins family will not be safe if the Defendant is ever paroled.”
Prosecutors close out the memo by telling the judge that Kouri should remain in prison until the day she dies because of her “irredeemable character.”
During her trial, prosecutors cited Kouri’s attempt to kill her husband three weeks before his death on Valentine’s Day 2022 as an example of her character.
Jurors once again agreed and convicted Kouri on a single count of attempted murder.
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Kouri continues to maintain her innocence and is currently being held at the Summit County Jail, where she has remained in custody since her arrest.
Prior to her arrest, Kouri published a children’s book about dealing with the grief of losing a father, Are You With Me?
The book was meant to help her three sons cope with grief, Kouri said at the time.
A few years later, those three sons say they are “scared” of their mom and afraid she would “hurt us” if ever released from prison, according to excerpts from interviews with the boys that are included in the prosecution’s memo.
Kouri could get anywhere from 25 years to life in prison without parole when sentenced on May 13.
