Kouri Richins, children’s grief author accused of killing husband, breaks silence, vows to prove her innocence: ‘This means war’
Utah mom Kouri Richins, who wrote a popular children’s book about grief after allegedly murdering her husband, has finally broken her silence – boldly declaring from jail that she will go to “war” to prove her innocence.
Richins, 34, has been locked up since May last year after she was charged with killing her husband, Eric Richins, by lacing his Moscow mule cocktail with fentanyl at their home near Park City in March 2022.
“I’ve been silent for a year, locked away from my kids, my family, my life, living with the media telling the world who they think I am, what they think I’ve done or how they think I’ve lived,” the mom-of-three told NBC’s “Dateline” in a string of recorded statements.
“And it’s time to start speaking up. You took an innocent mom away from her babies,” Richins said.
“And this means war.”
The jailhouse statements were made public after a judge on Monday granted a request from her defense attorneys to withdraw from the case, citing only an “irreconcilable and nonwaivable situation.”
It wasn’t immediately clear why the attorneys made the request. However, Richins insisted, without elaborating, that the defense team was “forced to withdraw” against their wishes — and it “was not my choice,” either.
“Although I am extremely disappointed where we’re at right now with this case, I’m anxious,” she said in another recording.
“I’m anxious to prove my innocence. I’m anxious to get to trial.”
The withdrawal request came the day after Richins’ legal team had asked the judge to remove prosecutors for “severe violations” when it emerged authorities had recorded jail calls between the alleged killer and her attorneys between May and December last year.
The prosecutors had listened to some of those recordings, which violated Richins’ right to effective counsel, her lawyers claimed.
Prosecutors, however, insisted they hadn’t listened in and argued the defense refused to use a phone app that shields attorney-client calls.
Richins railed against the prosecution in one of her recorded statements, accusing them of doing “anything they can to prolong this process and hide their corruption.”
“I will not play into the prosecution’s unconstitutional behavior anymore,” she said.
Richins’ statements come after the judge last week postponed a hearing to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed to trial.
The hearing has been delayed until mid-June after prosecutors said they’d need three days to present their evidence.
Richins’ now-former lead attorney, Skye Lazaro, had previously argued the evidence against her client was dubious and circumstantial.
The mom-of-three, who maintains her innocence, is charged with aggravated murder and other counts in her husband’s slaying.
Prosecutors allege she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into the fatal cocktail that her husband drank.
Weeks earlier, she allegedly also tried to kill him with a spiked sandwich on Valentine’s Day.
A year after her husband’s death, Richins then self-published an illustrated storybook about a father with angel wings watching over his young son titled, “Are You With Me?”
Richins, who has repeatedly called her husband’s death unexpected, said she wrote the book to help her sons cope with the loss of their dad.
