You are about to learn who Kouri Richins is, what happened in her murder case, and where things stand right now as she fights her conviction from prison. This case has stayed in the news for years because of one detail that shocked people from the start: she wrote a children’s book about grief just months after her husband died, then was later charged with causing his death.
Background: Who Is Kouri Richins?
Kouri Richins is a Utah woman, formerly a real estate agent, who was convicted of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, by giving him a fatal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. The case has been called the “grief author murder trial” because of the timing between his death and the release of her self-published children’s book, Are You With Me?, which was written to help kids cope with losing a parent.
People search for her Wikipedia page because Wikipedia doesn’t have a standalone article under her name. Instead, her story is covered on a page titled “Murder of Eric Richins,” which lays out the case rather than a typical celebrity-style biography. That gap is part of why readers land on pages like this one looking for a fuller picture of who she is.
Latest Update
Kouri Richins is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, following her conviction on March 16, 2026, and her sentencing on May 13, 2026. Her defense team has been actively fighting the conviction since then. On July 30, 2026, Judge Kara Pettit denied her request for a new trial, ruling that her attorneys had not properly supported their claim that the original trial judge, Richard Mrazik, was biased against her.
💬 Why this matters: Richins has separately filed a formal appeal of her aggravated murder conviction, using a new legal team, which is a different and typically longer process than the new-trial request that was just denied. That appeal remains active and unresolved as of this date.
No new charges, release dates, or additional court hearings beyond the appeal process have been confirmed as of August 4, 2026. Her attorneys have stated publicly that they intend to keep fighting the conviction, though appeals in cases like this commonly take years to resolve.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Kouri Darden Richins was born on April 20, 1990. Some unofficial sources report her father was Ronald Darden, who reportedly died in 2010, and her mother as Lisa Darden, though these details have not been confirmed through primary court records or major news coverage. What has been confirmed by mainstream reporting is that she has a brother, Ronney Darden, who spoke on her behalf during her May 2026 sentencing hearing.
Career Path
Before her arrest, Richins worked as a real estate agent and investor in the Park City and Kamas areas of Utah. She started a company called K Richins Realty LLC around 2019, focused on buying, renovating, and reselling homes. In 2023, months after her husband’s death, she self-published the children’s grief book Are You With Me?, which she promoted on a local Utah television show before her arrest that same year.
Age
Kouri Richins is 36 years old, based on her confirmed birth date of April 20, 1990.
Religion
Kouri Richins’ religious affiliation has not been confirmed through any verified source, so this detail is unconfirmed.
Spouse/Partner
She was married to Eric Eugene Richins, born May 13, 1982, who ran a business in Utah. The couple married in 2013 and had three sons together. Eric died on March 4, 2022, at age 39, and the cause of his death was later determined to be a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Net Worth
Kouri Richins’ current net worth has not been publicly disclosed. Court records from shortly after her husband’s death reportedly showed a negative net worth of around $1.6 million at that time, and a separate legal dispute over his estate involved property valued at more than $3.6 million, though these figures reflect the couple’s finances years ago rather than any confirmed present-day number.
Parents
Public reporting on Kouri Richins’ parents is limited and largely unverified. As noted above, her brother Ronney Darden has been confirmed through court coverage, but her parents’ names and backgrounds have not been established through reliable primary sources.
Height
Reported figures for Kouri Richins’ height vary between roughly 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches across different sources, none of which are independently verifiable, so no single number is confirmed here.
Education
Kouri Richins’ educational background has not been established through any verified public record. Different unofficial sources list conflicting claims, ranging from a bachelor’s degree in health science administration to no confirmed schooling details at all, so this detail should be treated as unknown.
Hometown/State of Origin
Kouri Richins lived in Kamas, Utah, near Park City, at the time of her husband’s death and her later arrest. Details about where she was born or raised earlier in life have not been publicly confirmed.
Official Social Media
Kouri Richins does not have a known official or verified social media account, which is consistent with her current status as an incarcerated individual. The most reliable ongoing source for updates on her case is coverage from The Salt Lake Tribune, which has followed the trial and appeal closely.
✅ Quick fact check: Every court-related detail above, including the trial dates, verdict, sentence, and appeal status, is confirmed through mainstream outlets like CNN, CBS News, the Salt Lake Tribune, and Wikipedia’s own case page. Personal details that only appear on low-quality biography sites are flagged as unconfirmed instead of stated as fact.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 4, 2022 | Eric Richins is found dead at the couple’s Kamas home from a fentanyl overdose |
| March 2023 | Kouri Richins publishes the children’s grief book Are You With Me? |
| May 8, 2023 | Kouri Richins is arrested and charged with murdering her husband |
| June 27, 2025 | Additional financial fraud charges are filed against her |
| October 6, 2025 | Murder charges are amended ahead of trial |
| February 23, 2026 | Her murder trial begins in Summit County, Utah |
| March 16, 2026 | A jury convicts her on all counts, including aggravated murder |
| May 13, 2026 | She is sentenced to life in prison without parole |
| June 2026 | She files a formal appeal of her conviction with new attorneys |
| July 30, 2026 | A judge denies her separate request for a new trial |
Reader Questions (FAQ)
Does Kouri Richins have a Wikipedia page?
Not a standalone one under her own name. Her case is covered on a Wikipedia page titled “Murder of Eric Richins,” which documents the crime and trial rather than functioning as a typical personal biography page.
What did Kouri Richins do?
She was convicted of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, by giving him a fatal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. She was also convicted of attempting to poison him weeks earlier, along with insurance fraud and forgery.
Is Kouri Richins still in prison?
Yes. She was sentenced on May 13, 2026, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Her attorneys have filed an appeal, but she remains incarcerated while that process continues.
Why did Kouri Richins write a children’s book?
She self-published Are You With Me? in 2023, describing it as a way to help her three sons cope with losing their father. Prosecutors argued at trial that the book’s timing was connected to her broader efforts to appear as a grieving widow rather than a suspect.
Did Kouri Richins get a new trial?
No. On July 30, 2026, a judge denied her request for a new trial, finding that her attorneys had not properly supported their claim that the original trial judge was biased. A separate appeal of her conviction is still active.
How many kids does Kouri Richins have?
She has three sons, named Carter, Ashton, and Weston, whom she shared with her late husband, Eric Richins. All three testified through written statements at her sentencing hearing.
⚠️ A note on accuracy: Many personal details about Kouri Richins, including her parents, education, height, and religion, come only from unverified biography sites and conflict with each other. Where that’s the case, this page says so instead of presenting a guess as settled fact.
Wrap-Up
Kouri Richins’ case became one of the most closely followed criminal trials in Utah in years, not just because of the crime itself, but because of how it collided with her public image as a grieving mother and author. That contrast is exactly why the story kept generating headlines from her arrest in 2023 through her conviction and sentencing in 2026.
With her request for a new trial denied and a formal appeal now underway, her case is far from over even though the sentence has been handed down. Appeals of this kind typically move slowly, so it may be months or years before any further legal developments are confirmed.
For now, the clearest picture of where things stand comes from court filings and established news outlets that have followed the case since 2022, rather than from personal biography sites that have filled in gaps in her story with unverified guesses.
John Wood is the founder and lead editor of Biography Region. He researches and writes accurate, engaging biographies of celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers, and public figures, delivering well-sourced, reader-focused content that informs and inspires.