Judge orders Kouri Richins to stand trial for murder, attempted murder of her husband

PARK CITY — A Kamas mother, realtor and author accused of fatally poisoning her husband was ordered to stand trial for aggravated murder and attempted homicide on Tuesday by 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik.

Mrazik specified that Kouri Richins retains the presumption of innocence and said at this stage inferences must be made in favor of the prosecutors.

“We are not determining, in any degree, guilt at all. … Nothing the court says today affects her presumption of innocence in any way,” he said.

Kouri Richins, 34, was ordered to stand trial for aggravated murder and attempted criminal homicide, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony.

Following the judge’s decision, Kouri Richins entered not guilty pleas for each charge and attorneys scheduled a four-week trial beginning April 28, 2025.

Evidence pointing to attempted murder

Brad Bloodworth, deputy Summit County attorney, said the court already found substantial evidence at a previous hearing for the aggravated homicide charge and focused his comments in this hearing on the attempted homicide charge. That alleged crime, he said, occurred on Feb. 14, 2022, shortly before Eric Richins’ death on March 4, 2022. He said much of the evidence connects to both charges.

“The drug is the same, the drug dealer is the same, the timing is the same — but she learned. She (Kouri Richins) learned she needed something stronger; she also learned how to administer it,” Bloodworth said.