Grief author who fatally poisoned husband has disturbing response to sister-in-law's emotional statement in court
The woman who killed the father of her children was captured laughing during her sister-in-law's victim impact statement.
Kouri Richins has been sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty of killing her husband Eric Richins after serving him a drink laced with fentanyl at their home in Utah on 4 March, 2022.
Richins said that she'd found her husband 'cold to the touch' after earlier serving him a Moscow Mule cocktail that evening.
The mother-of-three initially claimed he'd died of a fentanyl overdose in the months following his death, even writing a children's book about grief and loss.
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However, it was later revealed that she'd placed a large amount of the drug into his drink, with an autopsy revealing that Eric had five times the lethal dosage of the drug in his system.
She was later arrested in 2023 and charged with aggravated murder, forgery and two counts of insurance fraud related to his life insurance.
Footage from Richins' is available online, with the 36-year-old seen smirking during a victim impact statement read out by her sister-in-law, Amy.
During her statement, Amy touches on the impact which Richins' actions have had on her children, revealing that the three brothers had been 'isolated' and 'manipulated' after their father's death.
"Almost immediately after Eric died, she cut them off completely from our family," Amy claimed.
"The isolation was calculated and strategic. Kouri used the boys as bargaining chips with my dad; she repeatedly threatened to not let him see his grandsons unless he could convince me, Eric's trustee, to capitulate to her legal demands.
"While isolating the boys, Kouri provided them with false and harmful information about me and my family."
As Amy read out the statement, Richins can be seen laughing and conferring with her attorney."
Richins' life sentence has been supported by her three children, who are now teenagers, with PEOPLE reporting that a statement provided by her eldest son in a sentencing memo asked for the harshest possible sentence.
"I'm afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family. I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us," the 13-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, said.
The children, now aged 13, 11 and nine, are currently in the custody of Eric's relatives.
Richins' sentencing took place on what would've been Eric's 44th birthday, with Judge Richard Mrazi saying she is 'simply too dangerous to ever be free'.
Brenna Cooper