Park City, Utah — A Utah jury convicted Kouri Richins of aggravated murder on March 16, 2026, for fatally poisoning her husband Eric Richins with fentanyl in a Moscow Mule in March 2022. Two jurors who spoke publicly for the first time to 48 Hours revealed the key evidence that convinced them the 35-year-old mother of three was a cold, calculating killer motivated by money.

Richins, a self-published children’s book author who wrote about grief after her husband’s death, was also found guilty of attempted aggravated murder for a prior poisoning attempt on Valentine’s Day 2022, plus insurance fraud and forgery. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on May 13, 2026—on what would have been Eric’s 44th birthday.

Jurors Laura and Eric (last names withheld) told CBS that the evidence painted a clear picture of premeditation. “She basically sacrificed her husband to get what she wanted,” one said. “I came to see her as pretty cold and pretty calculating.” A pivotal piece of evidence was Richins’ 911 call at 1:24 a.m. on March 4, 2022. The operator repeatedly asked her to put the phone on speaker so she could perform CPR with both hands, but digital forensics showed she kept the phone to her ear—meaning she was not properly administering compressions.

Prosecutors proved Richins had taken out multiple life insurance policies on Eric totaling millions, was having an affair, and wanted a “fresh start” without leaving his money behind. She allegedly purchased the fentanyl illicitly, referring to it as the “Michael Jackson drug.” Jurors also accepted evidence of an earlier attempt when Eric became ill after eating a sandwich laced with poison on Valentine’s Day.

The defense argued Eric had a secret opioid addiction and had asked his wife to obtain drugs for him. The jury rejected that narrative after roughly three hours of deliberations, unanimously finding financial gain as the motive for both the murder and the prior attempt.

Eric’s family expressed relief at the verdict and sentencing. “Justice has been served,” one relative said. Richins’ three young sons now face life without their father or mother. As she begins her sentence, the case stands as a stark reminder of how greed and betrayal can destroy a family from within.