A Utah jury has convicted Kouri Richins of aggravated murder in connection with the fentanyl poisoning death of her husband Eric, bringing a conviction in what investigators have described as the state's first-of-its-kind fentanyl homicide case.

The jury reached its verdict on March 16, 2026, after approximately three hours of deliberation, finding Richins guilty on all five counts, including aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder.

Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple's home in Kamas, Summit County, Utah, on March 4, 2022. An autopsy revealed he died from fentanyl intoxication, with blood levels measuring approximately five times the lethal dosage. Investigators confirmed the fentanyl was illicit rather than medical-grade.

Prosecutors alleged that Kouri Richins obtained lethal fentanyl through illicit channels on at least two occasions prior to her husband's death. According to court records, she asked two individuals for the "Michael Jackson drug"—a street reference to fentanyl—before the fatal poisoning occurred.

The prosecution's theory centered on Richins mixing the fentanyl into a drink, possibly a Moscow Mule cocktail, while their three young sons were asleep. Detective Sergeant Clint Bobrowski of the Utah Narcotics Officers Association confirmed this case represents unprecedented fentanyl poisoning murder charges in Utah.

A significant piece of evidence emerged from Carmen Marie Lauber, a 51-year-old housekeeper, who admitted selling dozens of fentanyl pills to Kouri Richins on at least two separate occasions before the death. Lauber, previously convicted in an unrelated 2021 drug case, became a key witness in prosecutors' chain of evidence linking illicit fentanyl to the defendant.

Prosecutors also presented evidence of an earlier attempt to poison Eric Richins. On Valentine's Day, February 14, 2022, less than three weeks before his death, they alleged Kouri Richins gave her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich in what prosecutors characterized as a failed murder attempt.

The conviction carries significant implications for fentanyl-related prosecutions in the intermountain region, where illicit fentanyl deaths have become increasingly common. The case demonstrates prosecutors' ability to pursue homicide charges in poisoning cases where fentanyl is the murder weapon, a legal pathway that has seen limited prior application in Utah courts.

Richins gained additional public attention following her husband's death when she self-published a children's book titled "Are You With Me?" The book's publication, occurring after Eric's death, became a subject of scrutiny during trial proceedings as evidence of her state of mind and actions following the fatal poisoning.

The trial lasted several weeks in Summit County District Court, with jurors ultimately accepting the prosecution's narrative that Richins deliberately and with premeditation administered a lethal dose of fentanyl to her husband.

This conviction represents a notable development in how law enforcement and prosecutors address fentanyl-related deaths. Rather than treating such deaths as accidental overdoses, investigators were able to establish evidence of deliberate poisoning, resulting in one of the region's first aggravated murder convictions specifically tied to illicit fentanyl administration.

**Sources:** https://abcnews.com/US/closing-arguments-murder-trial-kouri-richins-utah-mom/story?id=131117904 https://www.ksl.com/article/news/utah/police-and-courts/utah-man-facing-federal-charge-in-alleged-fentanyl-related-death/50662394 https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2023/06/08/utah-man-faces-federal-charges-distribution-fentanyl-resulting-death