No Death Penalty for Utah Mother Accused of Killing Husband and Writing Children’s Book About Death

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children's book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing in Park City, Utah, on June 12, 2023. Rick Bowmer/Pool via AP Photo

SALT LAKE CITY—Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a Utah mother who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and is now accused of fatally poisoning him.

Prosecutors say Kouri Richins, 33, poisoned Eric Richins, 39, by slipping five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow mule cocktail she made for him last year.