Utah Judge Sentences Kouri Richins to Life Without Parole for Husband's Murder

A Utah judge sentenced Kouri Richins to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday for the aggravated murder of her husband, Eric Richins, whom prosecutors said she poisoned with a fentanyl-laced cocktail at their home near Park City in March 2022. The sentencing occurred at the Summit County Courthouse on what would have been Eric Richins' 44th birthday.

Richins, a 35-year-old real estate agent, was convicted in March of aggravated murder along with attempted aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery. Prosecutors presented evidence that she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into her husband's drink after an earlier failed attempt on Valentine's Day 2022, when she left a fentanyl-laced sandwich in his truck. Eric Richins suffered hives, injected himself with his son's EpiPen, consumed Benadryl and briefly lost consciousness before telling friends he suspected his wife had tried to poison him.

Authorities said Richins faced millions in debts from her house-flipping business and had secretly obtained multiple life insurance policies on her husband totaling about $2 million. She also believed she would inherit his estate, valued at more than $4...