Kouri Richins, who wrote a children’s book about grief and was later arrested for the murder of her husband, could be out $2 million and lose her book rights if a new bill is signed into law and she is convicted.
Utah State Rep. Brett Garner, a high school friend of her late husband, Eric Richins, is pushing for legislation that would modify the state’s existing law so that convicted killers won’t be able to collect any money from prenuptial agreements, the Sun reported.
Kouri is accused of killing her husband on March 2, 2022 with a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule cocktail.
A year later, she published an illustrated book that aimed to teach children about grief called, “Are You With Me?”
She pitch the book in an appearance on a Utah TV show called “Good Things Utah,” and said she wrote the book to help her sons cope with the loss of their dad.
Around the time of his death, the couple were allegedly having marital problems and squabbling about a multimillion-dollar mansion Kouri Richins purchased as an investment.
The state already has a statute that prevents a killer from profiting from murder, but the law does not cover prenups.
If Garner’s bill becomes law and she is convicted, Kouri would lose out on $2 million from the sale of a home that the agreement the couple signed before their marriage would grant to her, the Sun reported.
A conviction could also mean she loses any proceeds from the book, a Utah lawyer told The Sun.
Kouri called 911 in the middle of the night on March 4, 2022 to report that she had found her husband “cold to the touch” at the foot of their bed, according to the police report.
Eric was pronounced dead, and a medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.
“One or two pills might be accidental. Twenty — or five times the lethal dose — is not accidental. That is someone who wants Eric dead,” Summit County Chief Prosecutor Patricia Cassell said.