PLOT TWIST: Widow Who Penned Grief Book After Her Husband Died Charged With His Murder!

A Utah woman who wrote a grief book on processing the loss of a loved one after her husband died from a fentanyl overdose has now been charged with murdering him via a fentanyl concoction.

Kouri Richins, who was selling her self-published book, "Are You With Me?" on Amazon, is facing a first-degree murder charge and three second-degree felony charges for the possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. Her husband, Eric, died in 2022 and investigators say it was caused after he drank a Moscow Mule she'd made for him.

Investigators say the drink was laced with fentanyl. The working theory on a motive, according to investigators, centers on Eric's life insurance policy. In other words, greed.

Kouri told police she and her husband had celebrated the closing on a new house. Eric drank the Moscow Mule and consumed a THC gummy.

At some point in the night, Kouri ends up in one of their kids' rooms and then went back to bed at 3 a.m. That's when she says she found her husband cold and not breathing. She called 911 and claims to have performed CPR, but paramedics, according to KPCW, say that is unlikely to have occurred.

So what's going on here? You have a woman penning a grief book shortly after her husband dies. You have suspicious activity. You have a husband who reportedly warned his family that if anything happens, she did it. You have the Valentine's Day incident. You have an insurance policy that was at the center of a debate.

The court documents state that Eric held a joint life insurance policy with his business partner through a masonry company they co-owned. A warrant in Kouri's arrest states that she "logged into the two men's life insurance policy in January 2022 and changed the policy."

Kouri, according to investigators, changed the beneficiaries on the policy to her as the sole beneficiary.

The business partners were notified by the insurance company and they changed it back.

Then Eric had a health incident on Valentine's Day 2022 after having dinner with his wife. He broke out in hives, couldn't breathe and passed out after taking Benadryl. Investigators say Eric woke up from the incident and called his business partner to let him know what had happened.

The court records state Kouri was determined to off her husband -- allegedly.

The documents state Kouri purchased $900 of fentanyl pills just before the Valentine's dinner. Then, according to the same source, she spent $900 more in fentanyl pills two weeks later. Eric died March 4.

Yes, Eric was preparing for divorce before his death. He'd changed the power of attorney on his will to his sister and the divorce was in the works.

Why would Kouri Richins want to kill her husband?

NPR station KPCW says this whole story revolves around Kouri's desire to buy a $2 million home. Investigators say she wanted to flip the house while Eric thought the house price was too expensive and he wasn't interested. She claimed the couple was celebrating the purchase of the house the night Eric died.

She closed on the house the day Eric died. That same day, she had friends over to "a large party at her home where she was drinking and celebrating."

PLOT TWIST: Kouri didn't know Eric had cut her out of his will. Eric's sister showed up at the party and let her sister-in-law know the details.

Less than a month after Eric's death, Kouri sued Eric's sister for control of the estate.

Kouri Richins writes a grief book

Fast-forward to March 7, 2023. That's when Richins decided it was time to self-release a grief book titled, "Are You With Me?" where the author dives into dealing with the loss of a loved one.

That's Eric, as an angel, watching over one of his children on the book's cover.

"Whether it's playing at the park or simply enjoying a quiet moment at home, the child is comforted by the knowledge that their father is always by their side," the book's author writes on the book's Amazon page.

Kouri wasn't done there with the memories. This past Thursday, perhaps sensing something was coming from the local sheriff's office, she opened up her heart again.

"Life is just so damn hard without you here! The cards I have been dealt seems like a game that just can't be played," Kouri wrote on Facebook.

During an April 2023 appearance on TV show "Good Things Utah," Kouri Richins was called an "incredible mother who touched our hearts by sharing her personal story of loss."

"You are an amazing woman," one of the show's hosts concluded. "And we thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this (book) and touching the lives of others."

Now, based on Utah law, Kouri faces 15 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder charge.