A mother who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief has appeared in a Utah court accused of murdering her husband. Prosecutors allege Kouri Richins, 35, killed husband Eric Richins in March 2022 by poisoning him with a lethal dose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to NBC News. Summit County Attorney’s Office chief prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said Richins killed her husband for his money so she could make a “fresh start at life”. “More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privileged affluence and success,” he said in his opening statement. Richins pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery, CNN reported. A conviction for the most serious charge carries a sentence of 25 years to life. Charging documents state Eric was found dead in the master bedroom of the couple’s Park City home. He was later found to have five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system, a substance prosecutors allege Richins slipped in a Moscow mule cocktail she served him. Prosecutors also claim Richins attempted to poison Eric a month earlier, on Valentine’s Day. The Associated Press reported Eric broke out in hives and temporarily lost consciousness after eating a fentanyl-laced sandwich. Children's author Khouri Richins wrote the book "Are You With Me" to help children deal with grief. Court documents further allege Richins owed debts totalling $7.5m and had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge. Bloodworth told jurors Richins believed she would inherit $6.7m from Eric’s estate and claimed she was plotting to flee with a man with whom she was having an extramarital affair. The Associated Press reported the court was also shown screenshots of Richins’ internet search history, including phrases such as “luxury prisons for the rich America” and “Can cops force you to do a lie detector test?” In 2023, Richins self-published Are You With Me, a book designed to help children cope with the loss of a parent, which she promoted on local radio and television stations. She was arrested a month after its release, and prosecutors have said the book will form a critical part of their argument that the killing and subsequent cover-up were premeditated. Richins has maintained her innocence. In a 2024 episode of the Dateline NBC, she said she was “anxious” for the case to proceed. “I’m ready to give this one heck of a fight,” she said. “You took an innocent mom away from her babies, and this means war.”