KAMAS, UTAH: ‘Are You With Me?’ author Kouri Richins’ slain husband Eric Richins reportedly considered divorce from his wife but stayed in his marriage for the sake of their three children despite having fears that the former had been unfaithful throughout their ten-year marriage and might kill him for money. “There are three reasons Eric stayed: one is 10 years old; one is nine, and the third is six,” family attorney and spokesperson Greg Skordas told the Daily Mail.
“He lived for his three boys and unfortunately he died for them too,” he shared. The lawyer said Eric would have “sacrificed anything” for his children. “He was a soccer coach, a baseball coach, basketball coach and avid outdoorsman with his boys,” Skordas said. “He donated all his pay from coaching to kids who could not afford some of the things his own boys had. He was really set on raising his boys the right way,” the lawyer told Daily Mail.
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Kouri Richins: Author accused of murdering husband tried to poison him repeatedly, family says
‘Eric was worth more to Kouri dead than divorced’
In his statement to the publication, Skordas said Eric believed Kouri cheated on him during their marriage. “There were rumors that Kouri maintained a relationship with somebody else for pretty much the duration of the marriage,” he said. “It wasn't something the family ever discussed with Eric or anything that rose above the level of hearsay,” Skordas shared.
Skordas also revealed that Eric was allegedly considering parting ways with his wife prior to his death. “Eric was considering divorce at the time he died. It was something he and Kouri had both discussed. They had argued over financial issues and both appeared to be a little more realistic about that prospect,” the attorney revealed. “The sad truth is Eric was worth more to Kouri dead than divorced,” he added.
Kouri, who wrote a self-published book about coping with Eric’s death, was recently arrested in connection to her husband’s 2022 murder on charges of first-degree aggravated murder and three second-degree felony charges of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. Reports suggest that Eric died from a fentanyl overdose after drinking a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule cocktail Kouri made him at his house in Kamas, Utah.
An autopsy report later confirmed that he had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his body at the time of his death. Further investigation revealed Kouri communicated with an acquaintance who had previously been arrested on multiple counts of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and other drug-related charges. She reportedly asked for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” specifically fentanyl from the dealer, and bought fentanyl pills worth more than $900 just days before Eric’s death.
‘If anything happened to him, she was to blame’
Long before his tragic killing, Eric reportedly believed that he would be killed by his wife, the outlet reported. A search warrant filed in relation to Kouri’s arrest states that Eric allegedly said that “if anything happened to him, she was to blame.” Reports suggest that he also believed his wife had tried to poison him on several occasions. “According to a sister, Eric and his wife went to Greece a few years ago and after his wife gave him a drink, he became violently ill and called his sister saying he believed his wife had tried to kill him,” records reveal, as per the Daily Mail.
On Valentine's Day 2022, his wife brought him a sandwich, which after one bite Eric broke into hives and couldn't breathe. He used his son’s epi-pen as well as Benadryl before passing out for several hours,” the document stated. Skordas said, “He thought she was trying to kill him. And in retrospect, he appears to have been right.” The publication also learned that Eric told his family members to “check Kouri out” if anything happened to him because he “didn't want her to get away with anything.”
Eric Richins left written instructions for his family
The outlet also discovered that Eric left written instructions for his family about what to do if he disappeared or was “detained under duress.” The instructions were reportedly included in Richins’ Living Trust and Estate and were written without his wife’s knowledge in 2020, according to the Daily Mail. In the instructions, Eric named his older sister Katie Richins-Benson, 38, as his trustee instead of his wife and listed conditions like “Detention, Disappearance or Absence” under which she should take control of his estate.
“I will be considered incapacitated if I have an unexplained disappearance or absence for more than 30 days, or if I am detained under duress. My disappearance, absence, or detention under duress may be established by an affidavit of my trustee,” Eric reportedly wrote. “Kouri Richins shall not be allowed to serve as Trustee of my Trust, or any trust established under the terms of my Trust,” he allegedly stated. The document also limited Kouri’s access to his estate, which is valued at more than $3.6 million.
Eric left it for his sister or any other succeeding trustee to make “discretionary distributions” to Kouri rather than leaving any guaranteed sum to his wife. He also instructed that they should consider “other known resources available to Kouri” and the “legitimacy” of any demands for money. Eric also mentioned that he aimed to “preserve as much of the trust assets as possible” for his children and provided the instructions to effectively prevent Kouri from plundering a fund.
The publication reported that Kouri only learned that her husband had cut her out of his estate in his new will during a confrontation with his younger sister Amy, a day after his death. Until that point, Kouri believed that she would inherit more than $3.6 million from her prenup agreement with Eric.