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Following two years of motions, a trial date has been set for Kouri Richins, a Utah woman accused of poisoning her husband.
The trial for Richins is set to commence on February 23, 2026, with jury selection beginning on February 10, reports ABC 4. The proceedings are expected to span approximately five weeks.
Richins faces charges of felony murder following the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who succumbed to a lethal dose of fentanyl. Authorities claim she laced his Moscow Mule cocktail with the substance as part of a scheme to murder him for his life insurance benefits.
She also faces financial charges, including mortgage and insurance fraud.
Kouri’s attorneys, Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis, expressed their relief after two years of being detained, stating, “We are pleased Kouri now has a trial date. She is prepared for the truth to emerge and for the misleading stories that have shaped this case to be challenged in a courtroom. We have full confidence that once the evidence is presented, it will become apparent that Kouri is innocent,” they shared with Court TV.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors said Kouri Richins mixed five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a cocktail that Eric consumed.
She later self-published a children’s book titled “Are You with Me?” about a father, depicted with angel wings, watching over his young son after his death.
Additional charges filed last year accused her of a previous attempt to kill him by spiking a sandwich on Valentine’s Day.
“After one bite, Eric broke into hives and couldn’t breathe,” an arrest affidavit read. “He used his son’s EpiPen and Benadryl “before passing out for several hours.”
Prosecutors also accused Kouri Richins of making secret financial arrangements and purchasing illegal drugs as her husband began to suspect her actions.
A few years before his death, Eric took a trip to Greece with the defendant, where he “became violently ill” after his wife served him a drink, an arrest affidavit stated. He survived that particular incident and told his sister about it.
Two months before his death, Kouri Richins allegedly logged into Eric’s life insurance policy and changed the beneficiary from his business partner to herself. She also changed the business partner’s policy, removing Eric Richins as beneficiary and changing it to herself.
The insurance company reversed the changes after contacting the two men and inquiring about the switch.
Richins, a mother of three children, has maintained her innocence.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Kouri and Eric Richins/Facebook]