Kouri Richins, the utah mom of three who wrote a children’s book about grief after she allegedly killed her husband in 2022, wanted to display her “accomplishments” and “status” as part of “an elaborate facade,” according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors’ claims that Richins wanted to show off his “status” come as they argue to maintain at least nine of the 11 charges brought against him as part of a murder case while his defense seeks to divide the charges into separate cases that would be tried separately.

In 2023, authorities charged Richins, now 35, with the poisoning death of her husband Eric Richins, 39, as a means to raise millions in life insurance funds.

On the night Eric died on March 3, 2022, authorities say the couple was celebrating Kouri’s recent closing on a $2 million mansion under construction that she wanted to resell and sell for a profit as part of his real estate business, according to a court order. She then allegedly spiked Eric’s cocktail with fentanyl, a deadly illicit drug, killing him in his bed.

UTAH CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR KOURI RICHINS HAD 2 KEY REASONS FOR KILLING HER HUSBAND: CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and who was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing on Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Swimming Pool)

Richins faces 11 charges, including attempted aggravated murder, aggravated murder, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance, two counts of mortgage fraud, two counts of fraudulent insurance claim and three counts of forgery.

The murder suspect is asking a Summit County court to separate charges of attempted aggravated murder, mortgage fraud and related forgery from the rest of the charges, arguing they stem from different charges. criminal accusations.

UTAH CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR ACCUSED OF KILLING HIS HUSBAND SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME: ‘THIS MEANS WAR’

Utah prosecutors accuse Kouri Richins of poisoning her husband, Eric, with fentanyl in 2022 at their home in Kamas, outside Park City, while their three young children were sleeping. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)

Meanwhile, prosecutors have decided to dismiss two counts of distribution of a controlled substance entirely.

The state is trying to keep the other nine counts together because “they are directly connected to the defendant’s motive for financial gain and for the world to view her as an accomplished and status person,” prosecutors said in a Sept. 8 filing. November.

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Kouri Richins, left, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband, Eric, and then wrote a children’s book about grieving, speaks with her attorney, Skye Lazaro, during a status hearing , on September 1, 2023, in Park. City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer/Pool)

“The crimes that the defendant seeks to eliminate precipitated other crimes, and an arc of the defendant’s increasingly aggressive parasitic behavior connects the nine crimes. Furthermore, aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder are the second part of a scheme or common plan,” prosecutors said. saying.

“(An) arc of the defendant’s increasingly aggressive parasitic behavior connects all nine crimes.”

—Summit County Prosecutors

They added that Kouri “is not harmed by maintaining the accumulated crimes because all the evidence involved is admissible in separate trials for non-character purposes.”

UTAH CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR SENT CONDEMNING TEXT TO HIS LOVER BEFORE HUSBAND’S POISON PLOT: DOCUMENTS

Utah children’s book author Kouri Richins had a troubled relationship with her husband, sparked by financial disagreements, before she allegedly killed him with fentanyl. (TownLift, Will Scadden/Facebook)

In their filing, prosecutors pointed to a text message Kouri allegedly sent to his lover in November 2021.

“When I was little, I grew up scrubbing other people’s bathrooms in Park City, in ‘rich’ people’s houses…”

-Kouri Richins

“When I was little, I grew up scrubbing other people’s toilets in Park City, in the houses of the ‘rich’ after school. During Christmas vacation, all summer, I worked for my aunts’ company (sic). “I always seemed dejected (sic) because you are (sic) literally the person who cleans the bathrooms,” he wrote. “He always told me and my aunt… ‘One day, I’ll own property in Park City like all these rich, stuck-up people and I’ll never be like them.'”

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Utah author Kouri Richins allegedly attempted to steal her husband’s life insurance benefits before his death in March 2022. (KPCW via AP/family handout)

Kouri added that he was about to “close” on three properties, including two in Park City.

“It’s never been about money, it’s about being able to say I too can own property in PC and your (sic) is no better than anyone else in the way you treat people and I can prove it,” he texted her. text to your lover. “Tomorrow is something very important for me in terms of my personal achievements…”

A UTAH MAN ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY THE AUTHOR’S WIFE TOOK ‘HIGHLY UNUSUAL’ STEPS TO REMOVE HER FROM HIS WILL

A house where Kouri Richins and Eric Richins lived is shown on May 11, 2023, in Francis, Utah. Kouri Richins wrote a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later arrested on charges of killing him. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

But Kouri apparently wasn’t good at money management, and prosecutors argue that ultimately led her to kill her husband.

“The defendant needed to cause the death of Eric Richins.”

—Summit County Prosecutors

“At the end of 2021, Defendant was on the brink of complete financial collapse and the exposure of its façade of achievements and status,” they wrote in the Nov. 8 filing. “To protect and perpetuate his cover, Defendant needed Eric Richins’ estate of $5 million and $1.35 million of his life insurance proceeds. Defendant needed to cause Eric Richins’ death.”

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Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband and then wrote a children’s book about grieving, looks on during a bond hearing, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. A judge ruled to keep her in custody for the duration of the trial. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer/Pool)

Previous court filings allege Kouri bought four different lives Insurance policies on Eric’s life. for a total of more than 1.9 million dollars between 2015 and 2017.

On January 1, 2022, months before Eric’s death, Kouri “surreptitiously and without authorization changed the beneficiary of his $2 million life insurance policy for herself,” the documents state. Eric was notified about the change and changed the beneficiary back to his business partner.

The charges filed against Kouri Richins are based on officers’ interactions with Richins and an anonymous acquaintance who apparently told authorities she sold fentanyl to the mother of three. (Facebook/Kouri Richins)

Apparently, Eric had an idea that his life was in danger before his death. His family told authorities he feared for his life after Kouri allegedly tried to poison him several years ago in Greece and again on Valentine’s Day 2022.

Richins’ attorney, Skye Lazaro, did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

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Richins has pleaded not guilty to all charges and continues to deny her involvement in her husband’s death. His trial is scheduled to begin in late April 2025.