In the early morning hours of March 4, 2022, Kouri Richins says she found her husband, Eric Richins, unresponsive in their bed. First responders tried to save him, but it was too late for the father of three. Weeks later, police said Richins’ death was caused by an overdose of fentanyl. The grieving widow from Utah was arrested and charged with murder shortly after she wrote a children’s book to help their kids cope with grief. Contributor Natalie Morales reports on the case in 48 HOURS: “The People v. Kouri Richins,” to be broadcast Saturday, Feb. 24 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.
In her first primetime interview, Kouri Richins’ mother, Lisa Darden, tells Morales that hours before Eric Richins was found unresponsive the couple was celebrating a new house-flipping deal Kouri was working on. Kouri Richins told investigators she had made her husband a Moscow mule that night. But something didn’t sit right when the medical examiner ruled Eric Richins overdosed on fentanyl, according to his family’s spokesman, Greg Skordas.
“He wasn’t an opioid user … This doesn’t smell right,” says Skordas.
The Richins’ children struggled with the loss of their father, so Kouri decided to write a children’s book – Are You with Me? – about a boy who lost his father but is reminded his presence still exists all around. Kouri Richins promoted the book on local TV.
A month after her TV appearance, Kouri Richins was arrested and charged with her husband’s murder. Prosecutors allege she gave Eric Richins a lethal dose of fentanyl on the night of his death. Eric’s family suspects she placed the fentanyl in that Moscow mule.
“He told his family, ‘If I die, you need to take a look at her because I think she’s trying to kill me,’” Greg Skordas tells 48 HOURS.
Kouri Richins maintains she’s innocent. Her attorney, Skye Lazaro, says prosecutors, “have to prove that she obtained drugs and gave them to her husband … And unless they can connect those dots, they’re gonna have a hard time proving murder in this case.”
At 9:00 PM, Peter Van Sant reports on the case of a Florida man who manipulated his children into believing he just wanted to get back together with his estranged wife, which would turn into a horrific 55-hour ordeal, in an encore of “Alisa Mathewson’s Night Terrors.”
Judy Tygard is the executive producer of 48 HOURS, which is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on CBS, and streams anytime on Paramount+. You can also watch 48 HOURS on the CBS News Streaming Network Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET. 48 HOURS is also available on CBSNews.com, Fave TV, Pop TV, Pluto US, Pluto UK, Pluto Nordics, Pluto Canada and Pluto South Africa. Download the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV. Follow 48 HOURS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBS Audio.
