ABC News: Top Stories | Mom sentenced to life without parole for fatally poisoning husband with fentanyl

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Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three, was sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of aggravated murder for fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in 2022. The trial revealed she had first attempted to kill him with a fentanyl‑laced sandwich on Valentine’s Day before successfully administering a lethal dose, and she also committed insurance fraud by forging his signature on a $100,000 policy. During sentencing, Richins addressed her children from jail, expressing remorse and pledging to fight the conviction, while prosecutors and the victim’s family urged a maximum sentence, citing the “permanent trauma” inflicted on the three boys now placed with their aunt. The court ultimately denied a lighter term, imposing life without the possibility of parole and ordering restitution of over $1.3 million to insurance companies.

Read more: https://abcnews.com/US/utah-mom-kouri-richins-set-sentenced-fatally-poisoning/story?id=132889104

#KouriRichins #EricRichins #Prosecutors #Utah #Fentanyl #MichaelJackson

9News | Clerk trying to boost book sales blamed for wrecking Murdaugh trial by 9News

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Prosecutors in South Carolina announced they will seek a new murder trial against disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh for the 2021 killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul after the state Supreme Court vacated his convictions, ruling that the court clerk’s comments and the admission of unrelated financial‑crime evidence compromised the jury’s fairness. The justices found that clerk Becky Hill had improperly swayed jurors by questioning Murdaugh’s credibility and attempting to promote a book about the case, leading to her own guilty plea for lying to a judge. Although Murdaugh is already serving a 40‑year federal sentence for stealing roughly $12 million from clients and continues to deny the murders, the high court’s decision mandates a retrial to ensure a fair, impartial proceeding.

Read more: https://www.9news.com.au/world/alex-murdaugh-trial-prosecutors-to-retry-lawyer-deaths-of-wife-and-son-after-high-court-overturned-convictions/f9f9d942-8adf-49ce-9320-07dbb2958c0c

#AlexMurdaugh #BeckyHill #SouthCarolina #SupremeCourt #Prosecutors

The Guardian | Utah woman who published book on grief after husband’s death to be sentenced for his murder by Associated Press

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Kouri Richins, a 35‑year‑old Utah real‑estate agent who had written a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death, was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’s cocktail with a lethal dose of fentanyl, as well as of attempted murder for a prior fentanyl‑laden sandwich, two counts of insurance fraud, and forgery. Prosecutors said she was millions in debt, had taken out multiple life‑insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, and was planning a new life with another man. The jury’s verdict sent her to a sentencing hearing where she faces a possible 25‑years‑to‑life term for murder, additional years for the other felonies, and prosecutors are urging a life‑without‑parole sentence. Her three sons, who were young when their father died, testified that they fear for their safety if she ever leaves prison.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/utah-woman-husband-death-murder-sentence

#KouriRichins #EricRichins #RichardMrazik #Utah #Prosecutors #Utahjudges #uscrime