Chilling letter found as mum who 'killed hubby with fentanyl has jail seizure'

18 September 2023 , 15:14

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A damning letter was discovered in the jail cell of Kouri Richins (left) after she suffered an ironic seizure in lockup (Image: AP)

A mum accused of poisoning her husband to death with fentanyl has allegedly suffered a seizure in jail - and it has led to a damning discovery that could change the entire course of her murder trial.

Months after being arrested and charged with poisoning to death her husband with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule, Kouri Richins suffered a seizure in her prison cell at Utah's Summit County Prison after allegedly ingesting the wrong medication.

She was sent to the hospital, and investigators searched her cell. That's when they found a damning letter written to her mother, Lisa Darden, in which Richins asked her to conspire with her brother, Ronney, and weave a tale of drug cartels and connections to Mexico that would shift the blame away from Richins.

The first page of the letter Richins penned to her mother from inside her jail cell (Court documents)

The second page. of the letter Richins penned to her mother (Court documents)

That letter could now see her charged with witness tampering, reported the Daily Mail, and prosecutors have already demanded that Darden and Ronney be removed from the list of witnesses slated to testify at Richins' trial. They're also asking for a no-contact order between Richins and her family.

"She wants to link Eric getting drugs and pills from Mexico, so we need some kind of connection. Her private investigator is doing some research on the ranch/cartel place Eric would stay at," Richins wrote, referring to her lawyer, Skye Lozaro. "Here is what I'm thinking, but you would have to talk to Ronney. He would probably have to testify to this, but it's super short, not a lot to it. He will need to tell Skye at the meeting next week."

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The six-page letter then provides a paragraph of information about her husband Eric, 39, detailing his addiction to drugs and his frequent trips to a Mexican "ranch/cartel place." It launches into a character smear campaign, alleging that Eric would hide drugs in his wife's bags at the airport so as to smuggle them on the plane on their vacations and that he was often too high to take care of their three children.

Richins and her husband Eric, who she is accused of poisoning with fentanyl

She adds: "Reword this however he needs to to make the point, just include it all. The connection has to be made with Mexico and drugs." Richins later implores her mother to meet with Ronney in person, stating: "I worry sometimes your house and phone are bugged."

She also asks her mother to meet with a friend she calls "Lotto" and have him contact her, but she implores her to tell him not to mention anything that would connect him to her, writing that doing so "wouldn't look good."

She concludes by writing: "We're so close to the end. Let's push through." She also adds: "Bring me home, and then we will get those damn b*****s!"

Prosecutors are saying the letter is all a lie, spun to provide an out for the 33-year-old mother. They've found no connection between 39-year-old Eric and drugs coming from Mexico and are alleging that Richins is attempting to get her brother to lie for her.

The Richins had three children together (Facebook)

Richins was initially accused of poisoning her husband by lacing a Moscow Mule she had made for him with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl back in March 2022 at the couple's home in Kamas, Utah, a small city slightly over 40 miles (64km) east of Salt Lake City. She was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and a few counts of second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute this May.

The couple had allegedly been arguing about money Eric had allegedly stolen from his wife to flip houses and about his drug use. But more prominently, they had gotten into a silent spat over Eric's life insurance policy, which he had changed to make his sister the sole beneficiary, instead of Richins.

Richins also infamously wrote a children's book titled "Are You With Me?" to help her children cope with the death of their father, which she promoted on TV and on the radio. In one of the interviews, she said her husband's death was a "shock." She also looked up luxury prisons following the incident.

Richins has made several teary appearances in court and on TV, where she said her husband's death was a "shock" (AP)

There were also two other instances in which Richins allegedly tried to kill her husband, lacing his food or drinks with drugs that made him fall violently ill. He had reportedly been afraid for his life.

A source also came forward claiming to be the drug dealer who had sold Richins the fentanyl that killed her husband as well as some other, weaker drugs that she had laced his food with previously.

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Richins' fateful seizure happened on Friday after she ingested the wrong medication. A source told the Daily Mail that it was the sixth time she was given the incorrect drugs since she'd been in lockup.

Lazaro, Richins' lawyer, pushed the judge for an extension, which was granted, and the next time she's set to appear in court is on November 3.

Jeremiah Hassel