Grief author accused of killing her husband indicted on new charges

The Utah mom charged with killing her husband who later published a children's book about how to cope with grief was indicted last week in connection with a series of financial crimes related to his death.

The Utah mom charged with killing her husband who later published a children's book about how to cope with grief was indicted last week in connection with a series of financial crimes related to his death.

Kouri Richins, 34, was charged Friday with more than two dozen counts of mortgage fraud, forgery, issuing a bad check, money laundering, communications fraud and a pattern of unlawful activity in the months before her husband, Eric Richins, 39, was poisoned in 2022.

Richins, the mother of three children, was arrested and charged in May 2023 in connection with her husband's killing, which she pleaded not guilty to.

According to the indictment, Richins used a power of attorney in 2019 to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit (HELOC) on a house her husband owned before they got married without his knowledge. She then invested the money in her real estate business, the indictment claims.

"The secret origination and continued existence of the HELOC was a source of tension between the Defendant and Eric Richins," the indictment says. "The Defendant informed Eric Richins that she would repay the loan and led Eric Richins to believe that she had repaid it. The HELOC was not paid off on the day of Eric Richins’ death."