Transcript

EP 62 - The Grief Book and the Fentanyl Charge · Five-Minute Crime

HOST: A Utah mother wrote a children’s book about grief—then police said she created the grief herself. [SFX: scary sting] HOST: In March 2022, Kouri Richins called 911 from Kamas, Utah, saying her husband, Eric, was cold to the touch. She told deputies she had made him a Moscow mule, then slept with one of their kids. Toxicology found fentanyl—five times the lethal dose. [AD_BREAK:1] HOST: For months, Kouri appeared as a widow promoting Are You With Me?, a picture book about helping children after a parent dies. But investigators found messages where she allegedly asked an acquaintance for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff”—prosecutors say code for fentanyl. Eric’s family said he’d feared being poisoned before. [SFX: surprise gasp] [AD_BREAK:2] HOST: Then came the money trail: prosecutors allege Kouri tried changing life-insurance policies and moved money from Eric’s accounts. [SFX: loud cash register] HOST: She was charged in 2023, and in 2024, prosecutors added attempted murder tied to an earlier alleged poisoning. Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is expected to test a chilling question: when does grief become evidence?