Kouri Richins Googled ‘luxury prisons for rich’ after husband’s alleged murder
Utah mom Kouri Richins, who allegedly killed her husband and wrote a children’s book about grief, reportedly conducted extensive online research after his death – including about “luxury prisons for the rich” and how long it takes life insurance companies to pay.
The 33-year-old mother of three — who was charged with murder after she allegedly slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow Mule she mixed for her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022 — had a Google history that included disturbing searches, according to KTVX.
She scoured the internet for information about Utah’s penitentiaries, as well as “luxury prisons for the rich in America,” according to the news outlet.
Richins researched whether investigators can see deleted messages, how long life insurance companies take to pay claimants, whether police can force you to take a lie detector test and if the cause of death can be changed on a death certificate, KTVX reported.
The suspect also viewed an article titled “Signs of Being Under Federal Investigation,” and another headlined “Delay in Claim Payment for Death Certificate with Pending Cause of Death,” according to the report.
Her other searches included the queries “Is naloxone similar to heroin,” “What is considered non-natural manner of death” and “Kouri Richins Kamas net worth,” KTVX added.
Richins — who penned a tear-jerker kids’ book about coping with loss, titled “Are You with Me?” — also reportedly accessed an article about how to hire someone to write a book for you.
She also searched multiple times about whether her family had donated to the Summit County Police Department, according to the outlet.
Her more mundane searches reportedly included “How to undo microblading,” “What kind of doctor was dr. pepper” and “Lil Nas X married.”
One expert told KTVX that Richins may have been trying to understand the process and how long the investigation could take.
“I don’t think it’s insignificant,” criminal defense attorney Clayton Simms told the outlet. “I think her state of mind, what she’s looking at, what she’s researching, could be important, but certainly, I think there’s nothing there that indicates guilt.”
Richins allegedly bought four life insurance policies on Eric’s life totaling $2 million without his knowledge years before the alleged murder.
Prosecutors said Richins took out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it, stole about $134,000 from Eric’s business, withdrew $100,000 from his bank accounts and spent more than $30,000 with his credit cards.
He learned about his wife’s secret financial decisions in September 2020 and met with a divorce lawyer and estate planner the next month, according to court documents.
Eric had recently cut his wife out of his will and changed his life insurance policy as he sought a divorce. She allegedly tried to name herself the beneficiary of that policy but was caught and he reversed the move, adding back his sister to the plan.
Both sides of the family have been fighting over Eric’s $3.6 million estate.
His sisters told police that Richins had previously tried to poison him, including on a trip to Greece. He had reportedly warned his family that “if anything happened to him she was to blame,” according to court records.
Eric also “had reason to believe” his wife carried out a lengthy affair during their marriage, his family reps have said.
Richins allegedly poisoned him a final time between the night of March 3 and early March 4, 2022.
She told investigators they had celebrated plans to purchase a $2 million home, but investigators later learned she had placed two $900 orders for fentanyl pills from a drug dealer.
Richins is charged with first-degree aggravated murder and multiple counts of second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
