Utah mother and children's book author Kouri Richins to stand trial in husband's death, judge rules

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him will stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik ruled on the second day of Kouri Richins’ preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence against her to proceed with a jury trial.

She faces a slew of felony charges for allegedly killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. Prosecutors say Kouri Richins, 34, slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail that Eric Richins, 39, drank.

Kouri Richins appeared stoic as the judge delivered the news that a jury would soon decide her fate. She has been adamant in maintaining she is innocent and entered pleas of “not guilty” to all 11 counts on Tuesday. Her trial is set to begin on April 28.

The second day of her preliminary hearing centered around an additional attempted murder charge filed earlier this year that accused her of slipping fentanyl into her husband’s sandwich on Valentine’s Day 2022, causing a severe but nonfatal reaction.

Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth defended the charge by describing how he thinks Kouri Richins learned lessons during the first unsuccessful attempt on her husband’s life that helped her carry out the killing 17 days later.

One bite of his favorite sandwich — left with a note in the front seat of his truck on Valentine’s Day — made Eric Richins break out in hives and black out, prosecutors allege. His wife had bought the sandwich from a local diner in the city of Kamas two days after she purchased fentanyl pills from the family’s housekeeper, according to witness statements and deleted text messages that were recovered by police.

Text messages and location data indicate Kouri Richins may have brought the sandwich home, then left to spend Valentine’s Day with another man with whom she was having an affair, Bloodworth said. A day after Valentine’s Day, she texted her lover, “If he could just go away ... life would be so perfect.”

In written testimony, two friends of Eric Richins recounted phone conversations from the day prosecutors say he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years. After injecting himself with his son’s EpiPen and chugging a bottle of Benadryl, he awoke from a deep sleep and told a friend, “I think my wife tried to poison me,” charging documents allege.

Housekeeper Carmen Lauber told police that Kouri Richins subsequently asked her to procure stronger fentanyl, Detective Jeff O’Driscoll said on the first day of the hearing Monday.

“She learned that putting it in a sandwich, where Eric Richins could take a bite, feel the effects, set the sandwich down, was not the proper way to administer a fatal dose of fentanyl,” Bloodworth told the judge. “She learned that it takes a truckload to kill him."

Days later, Kouri Richins called 911 in the middle of the night to report that she had found her husband “cold to the touch” at the foot of their bed, according to a police report. He was pronounced dead, and a medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.

Defense attorneys Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis argued that because police never found fentanyl in the Richins home, detectives could not be certain that the drugs Kouri Richins bought from the housekeeper matched those found in Eric Richins' system.

“These are great trial arguments,” Mrazik responded, but he wondered aloud whether any of their arguments were strong enough to make the case that there wasn't probable cause for the charges.

“We are aware that the preliminary hearing stage favors the prosecution to an extraordinary degree and respect the court’s decision,” Nester and Lewis said in a joint statement after the hearing. “We firmly believe the charges against Kouri do not withstand thorough scrutiny and are confident that a jury will find the same.”

Mrazik recently appointed the pair of attorneys to represent Kouri Richins after he determined she was unable to continue paying for private lawyers. Prosecutors say she mistakenly believed she would inherit her husband's estate under the terms of their prenuptial agreement and had taken out life insurance policies on him without his knowledge that totaled nearly $2 million.

Court records indicate Eric Richins met with an attorney in October 2020 to discuss the possibility of filing for divorce, which he never did, and to quietly cut his wife out of his will.

In the months before her arrest in May 2023, the Utah mother self-published the children’s book “Are You with Me?” about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after passing away. The book could eventually play a key role for prosecutors in framing Eric Richins’ death as a calculated killing with an elaborate cover-up attempt.

The judge scheduled a pretrial conference on Sept. 23 for the prosecution and defense to discuss jury selection.

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik looks on during a hearing for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins attorney Wendy Lewis looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth looks on during a hearing for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik looks on during a hearing for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a courthearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, center, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Residents of the Carrollton neighborhood in New Orleans are among thousands who remained without power Friday after Hurricane Francine passed through. Their frustration mounted as the city’s electrical provider, Entergy, sent out notifications informing some people their power had been “restored” even though they still had no electricity.

“Every single storm, every one, no matter how big or how small, the same thing happens,” said Rudy Cerone, 71, referring to the power outages. “Entergy just doesn’t seem to take the necessary preparatory actions to harden this system to provide the power that we’re paying through the nose for.”

An Entergy New Orleans spokesperson said the city had restored power to more than 40,000 customers since Thursday and that many more would regain electricity by the end of the day Friday. Around 6,500 Entergy customers in the city lacked power as of Friday afternoon, part of about 95,000 customers in Louisiana still without electricity, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.

The spokesperson also said the information used to update outage numbers comes from crews in the field.

“These steps take time, and our teams are committed to providing customers with the latest restoration information as it is available,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said electricity is the major issue facing the state since Francine rolled through.

“The biggest challenge we have had in this storm is utilities – trying to get the power back on,” Landry said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

Prior to Francine making landfall, utility crews were pre-positioned in areas that would likely be impacted by power outages, Landry said.

“The speed under which they’re putting those utilities online comes from the fact that prior storms have given us an opportunity to build grid resilience,” he said.

Another Carrollton resident, Alexandra Canary, 73, said she left to stay with her son in another part of the city where power had returned and she could sleep with the comfort of air conditioning. But she was annoyed at the inconveniences of the power outage, like having to throw away all the perishable food items in her refrigerator, and the stuffy heat of her own home.

“It’s not pleasant, I’ll survive it, but it just seems unbelievable that their system is not working,” she said.

Davante Lewis, an elected member of the state Public Service Commission that regulates utilities, did a ride along on Thursday with Entergy to assess the damage. He said much of it was broken branches and trees — likely weakened by recent drought conditions in the state — on power lines.

“I think what we are seeing right now is a lot of vegetation issues and we just don’t have enough hands to move it (debris) that fast or enough hours in the day to safely do so in sunlight,” Lewis said.

Utility crews from Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and elsewhere are working to restore power, Lewis said, with projections for full restoration by Sunday.

“Any amount of time without power in Louisiana, especially for vulnerable communities, is too long,” Lewis said. “But we have seen restoration times a lot shorter than some of the earlier predictions and we are faring better.”

The storm, which drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, came ashore Wednesday in Louisiana with 100 mph (160 kph) winds and drenched a large swath of the South, including parts of Arkansas and Florida. Forecasters expected Francine to weaken Friday as it crossed northern Arkansas, but the storm's slow progress will mean days of heavy rain in the Southeast, creating a flash flooding risk.

Another 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters), with about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in some locations, were expected in parts of central and northern Alabama through Sunday. In northeastern Mississippi, western Tennessee, western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, another 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) was expected.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in Francine's aftermath.

Rushing water nearly enveloped a pickup truck in a New Orleans underpass, trapping the driver inside. A 39-year-old emergency room nurse who lived nearby waded into the waist-high water with a hammer, smashed the window and pulled out the driver. The rescue was captured live by WDSU-TV.

“It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Miles Crawford told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I just had to get to get him out of there.”

In the coastal community of Cocodrie in southern Louisiana, where many families own seasonal homes along the bayou for fishing, police guarded a road to prevent looting as people cleaned their properties.

Brooks Pellegrin, 50, and his family cleared muck out of their campsite, a two-story structure with a large dock on a canal about 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the Gulf of Mexico. They worked well into Thursday afternoon raking marsh grass and spraying down muddy floors after a 10-foot (3-meter) storm surge washed away the building’s back wall, porch and much of the boat deck.

“We built everything up so we wouldn’t have to do this. This one brought in a lot more water than Ida,” Pellegrin said. “It packed a lot more punch than I was expecting.”

For many in the area bordered by bayous, swamps, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, threats of flooding and hurricanes have become a way of life, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said.

Water comprises about a quarter of the area in the parish, which is home to about 97,000 people south of New Orleans. In 2021, Ida made landfall in the southern point of the parish as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph).

That storm was “cataclysmic” and “the most significant hurricane” to impact the area. Following the 2021 storm, 90% of homes in the area needed a roof replacement and many houses were damaged beyond repair, Webre said.

Over the years, the area has become more resilient against storms, improving drainage and pumping stations and replacing roofs that can better withstand hurricane-force winds. Residents re also evacuating more quickly when there are significant storm threats, Webre said.

“This population is very resilient. They’re very independent. They’re very pioneering,” he said.

Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans and Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this story.

Alexis Dibuono stands in her hallway as she takes in the salvage work that needs to be done to her flood damaged home, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Norco, La., two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

An egret forages next to the flooded on-ramp to Interstate 10 in Laplace, La., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 , two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Gavin Hinchman with Precision One Construction Group carefully steps around water-damaged doors and walls as he guts part of a flooded home in Norco, La., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Cars drive off of Interstate 10 in Laplace, La., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, as floodwater still covers the roadway two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Debra Matherne describes her experience as she rode out Hurricane Francine the previous night, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Natalie Bergeron, a letter carrier who has been delivering mail on this route for 43 years, helps a customer clean up debris who took damage from Hurricane Francine, in Cocodrie, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kelsie Schmidt, right, walks a board to a debris pile from her family's home after floodwater came up a few inches in the house making most of the walls, floors, and doors wet after Hurricane Francine in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Flooding along Whitney Street in the Shoreline Park neighborhood in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)

John Finney and his son Gabriel, 2, using gloves a little too big for him, clean up debris after Hurricane Francine near their home in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Friloux, right, leads Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana State Police Col Robert P. Hodges to a helicopter for an aerial tour of damage from Hurricane Francine, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., regarding the impact of Hurricane Francine on the state of Louisiana. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., regarding the impact of Hurricane Francine on the state of Louisiana. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Flooding along Whitney Street in the Shoreline Park neighborhood in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)

Debra Matherne describes her experience as she rode out Hurricane Francine the previous night, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A man walks through floodwaters along Tigris Street in Shoreline Park in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)

Bailee Boudreaux, 14, center, and her family bring out the chickens they let sleep in their house during the height of Hurricane Francine in Houma, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Bailee Boudreaux, 14, center, and her sister, Brylee, 7, back right, check on the chickens they let sleep in their house during the height of Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Shawn Murphy removes drywall at a friend's house after floodwater came up a few inches in the house making most of the walls, floors, and doors wet after Hurricane Francine in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Little Caillou Fire Department staff take initial surveys of the damage from Hurricane Francine at the end of Highway 57 in the southern most point of Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

City of Tallahassee, Florida utility crews help straighten a utility pole s damaged by Hurricane Francine Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in downtown Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Jansen Pellegrin, back right, and Drew Foret, right, remove a small tree that floated into a living room area at their fishing camp from Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Allen McCoy helps clean out his family's camp, which took on a storm surge, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Cocodrie, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jansen Pellegrin, right, rakes away marsh grass that floated into a living room area at his family's fishing camp from Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Tombs are seen after being disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Tombs are seen after being disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Lori-Ann Bergeron checks on the graves of her sister and mother to see that they were not disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)