PARK CITY, Utah (Court TV) — As her husband’s family delivered emotional and tearful victim impact statements at her sentencing, convicted killer Kouri Richins could be seen rolling her eyes and making faces.
Kouri Richins, 36, was convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, forgery and insurance fraud in the death of Eric Richins, who died in the couple’s home in March 2022. The medical examiner determined that Eric Richins’ cause of death was a lethal dose of fentanyl, which prosecutors said was put into a cocktail he drank before his death.
Kouri RIchins spoke at her sentencing on May 13, 2026. (Court TV)
At trial, prosecutors argued the defendant killed her husband because he was worth more to her dead than alive: she wanted his life insurance money to solve her debt problems and was involved in a relationship with a paramour. To that end, the jury found that Kouri Richins not only killed the victim in March 2022, but also that she tried to kill him the month prior. “On Valentine’s Day 2022, Kouri Darden Richins tried and failed to murder her husband and the father of her three children,” Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. “Over the next 17 days, she did not think, ‘What have I done?’ Rather, she thought, ‘How can I do better?’ And then she murdered Eric in the presence of their children, using poison and for money.” Judge Richard Mrazic noted the sequence of events as he handed down a sentence of life without parole for the charge of murder.
Kouri Richins spoke publicly for the first time since her arrest at the sentencing hearing, using the time to send a lengthy message to her sons filled with advice she wanted them to have. “Be honest with yourself and those you need to, but never apologize for something you didn’t do,” she said. “Never admit to something you didn’t do, and never beg for mercy for something you didn’t do.” She spoke for more than 30 minutes, urging them multiple times to “be like your dad.”
The defendant maintained her innocence, saying she remained in disbelief that she was convicted. “To this day, I can’t believe this is real sometimes. … It’s just cruel and heartless that eight people from a jury who have never met you or me or our family had the right to determine our future, and they did that in less than three hours.”
In a sentencing memorandum filed before Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors said the defendant sent “an admirer” a message that shows her lack of remorse. “I WILL expose this county, the prosecution, the judge, the richins, the investigation. All of it. So they can lock me away for now that’s fine, its going to come back on them. It will come to an end. Not this year or next, but I’m not going away. I won’t be silent. I am going to expose them all for what they have done to me, my kids, my family. This injustice. They picked the wrong one. They think sentencing is ‘the end’ ‘closure’ it’s just the beginning… They haven’t seen anything yet 😉”
Wendy Lewis, one of Kouri Richin’s attorneys, called the sentencing memo “unreliable and irrelevant” and said much of its contents was “either misleading or outright false.”
Kouri Richins is visible making a face during her sentencing. (Court TV)
Counselors who worked with the Richins’ three young children delivered statements on the boys’ behalf in court. “I want her to go to prison forever,” W.R.’s statement read. “When someone talks about Kouri, it makes me feel hateful and ashamed.” C.R., who was 9 when his father was killed, agreed with his younger brother. “I think Kouri should get a life sentence because what she did is very sick. Because it had no reason to happen and it impacted a bunch of people, including me.” Now 13, prosecutors say C.R. wears his father’s clothing to school.
Another son, identified as A.R., said, “You took away my dad for no reason other than greed and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends.”
“My sweet baby boys,” Kouri Richins began her address in court on Wednesday. “I know that today you don’t want to speak to me, have a relationship with me; you may think you hate me and that’s OK. I will never be angry at you for your feelings. When the day comes that you’re ready, I will be here for you, waiting for you and loving you. But I need you boys to know and understand that I have been desperately trying to get in contact with you in any way that I can for years.” She pleaded with them to ask their guardians to give them the letters she pledged to continue to send. “Please ask them. Please ask them for your cards, for your letters. If I’ve tried calling you. Please just ask them, whether it’s now or in 10 years.”
Eric Richins’ sister, Katie Richins, said that her brother was done with the marriage at the time of his death, but stayed for their children. “I begged him to end the marriage and go his separate way. By that point, he had already consulted with a divorce attorney and was deeply afraid that he might not be awarded sole custody of his children,” Katie Richins said. “He made the heartbreaking decision to stay because he could not accept the risk of what might happen to his sons if Kouri had equal custody. He told me he would live his life through hell, every single day of his life until his youngest was 18 because he believed Kouri was the most evil person he had ever met.” In tears, Eric Richins’ other sister, Amy Richins, revealed she, too, had counseled her brother to leave.
Kouri Richins was visibly shocked by her former sister-in-law’s statement, mouthing the word “What” to her attorney, rolling her eyes and making faces.
Kouri Richins cries as her brother speaks in court. (Court TV)
Kouri Richins had sought to delay Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, with her attorneys arguing they needed additional time to prepare. Mrazik denied the motion, which led to the hearing being held on what would have been the victim’s 44th birthday. “Birthdays are supposed to be proof of life; a day to celebrate another year of growth,” Amy Richins said in court. “Instead, today is a cruel reminder of another year Eric will never see and a reminder of the fatherhood that was stolen from his three sons.”
In contrast to the eye-rolling, comments and faces Kouri Richins was making during statements from her sons, she was in tears as the defense presented their arguments to the court. As her sister and brother spoke about her kind nature and calling her a “good person,” the defendant was seen dissolving into tears.
The defendant pledged to appeal her conviction. “I will appeal and fight these charges, no matter how long it takes. Not because I have anything to prove to this Court, the State, to the Richins family or to the world, but I do have something to prove to you three,” she said, referring to her sons. “I will never quit or give up on this fight for injustice, the truth, and coming home to you.”
Mrazic sentenced Kouri Richins to serve life without parole for the murder. She also received up to five years for forgery, 1-15 years for each of the two counts of insurance fraud and five years to life for attempted murder, all to be served consecutively.
Kouri Richins’ next court date is a restitution hearing scheduled for July 31.
