A Utah Mormon mother accused of killing her husband by lacing his Moscow Mule bought 15 to 30 fentanyl pills from her housekeeper a month before his death, court documents show.
Kouri Richins, 33, allegedly poisoned her husband Eric with a fentanyl vodka cocktail in March 2022 before publishing a picture book to help children cope with the loss of a loved one.
Her housekeeper Carmen Marie Lauber, 51, who has previously been charged with drugs, has now been named by authorities as the person suspected of selling her the lethal dose used for the poisoning. That reported KSL.com.
Lauber has yet to be arrested or charged with crimes related to the death of Eric Richins, 39, but is due to appear in court on August 16, ahead of Kouri Richins’ next appearance on September 1.
Kouri Richins (pictured), 33, allegedly poisoned her husband Eric with a fentanyl-laced vodka cocktail in March 2022
Housekeeper Carmen Marie Lauber, 51, has yet to be arrested or charged with crimes related to the death of 39-year-old Eric Richins (pictured right with his wife Kouri)
Court documents show the charges against Richins and how she paid $1,800 for the pills allegedly used to kill her husband. The initials CL are now understood as housekeeper Carmen Marie Lauber
The allegations that drug deals were facilitated by Lauber are supported by a number of text messages exchanged between them between March 1 and March 15.
According to Kouri Richins’ arrest warrant, she told Lauber she wanted “some Michael Jackson stuff” for an investor involved in her real estate dealings.
Court documents identify Lauber as a “housekeeper often used by Kouri for her residential real estate business.”
Lauber was also previously named in a civil suit brought against his wife by Eric Richins’ family, but was only identified by her initials.
“After information and persuasion, in early February 2022, Kouri asked an acquaintance known as ‘CL’ to buy her some fentanyl,” the lawsuit states.
Lauber then contacted “a drug dealer who routinely deals in fentanyl,” the lawsuit said.
She was then put on fentanyl on Feb. 11 — less than a month before Eric Richins was found dead on March 4.
“That same day or the next day, CL hand-delivered those pills to Kouri in the driveway of CL’s house,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Lauber admitted to giving Kouri Richins 15-30 fentanyl pills on two separate occasions, about a month before Eric’s death,” a search warrant statement read by the outlet reads.
She stated that Kouri paid her about $900 each time she delivered the pills. She provided details of how to request the drugs, pick-up and drop-off locations, and other relevant details confirmed with digital forensic evidence.
Kouri Richins’ illustrated children’s book about an angelic father who watches over his sons, Are You With Me? was on sale for $14.99
Eric’s family told investigators shortly after his death that they suspected Richins had murdered the father of three children. Pictured: Kouri and Eric Richins with their three children
Prosecutors have alleged that Kouri Richins was motivated to kill her husband because she believed she would inherit their multi-million dollar home and part of his co-owned masonry business, valued at approximately $4 million.
But Eric had changed his will and power of attorney to give his sister Katie, 38, full control. According to a police warrant, this was because he feared his wife would “kill him for money” after several failed attempts on his life.
The millionaire businessman was found dead at the foot of his bed at the foot of his bed on March 4 last year at the age of 39 in the couple’s home in the town of Kamas, near Park City, where they had three children.
Richins has been incarcerated in the Summit County jail since she was charged with criminal manslaughter, aggravated murder and possession of a controlled substance on May 8 this year.
Prosecutors have said that in the months before, Richins tried to make herself the sole beneficiary of her husband’s life insurance policy — even though Eric had given his sister full control at the time.
In May, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that within weeks of his death, Kouri had launched a legal dispute against his family in an attempt to secure an estate worth more than $3.6 million.
The home in Kamas, Utah, where police say Kouri Richins killed her husband Eric with a fentanyl-laced Moscow Mule cocktail in March 2022
Kouri is said to have bought four life insurance policies from her husband for a total of $2 million in the years leading up to his death
She alleged that Eric had attempted to “cheat” her by secretly transferring the family home, all personal property and interest in the masonry business he ran with friend and partner Cody Wright to a trust owned by him in November 2020 from his sister.
Richins also took out multiple life insurance policies on him worth nearly $2 million, and tried to “drill into his vault” just 48 hours after his death, his family said.
She allegedly tried to poison him on several other occasions – including on Valentine’s Day 2022 when Eric broke out in hives after consuming a sandwich that Richins had placed in the seat of his truck next to a love note.
In the days before Eric died, the couple had argued over Richins’ plans to buy and flip a $2 million house in the days before, according to court documents.
On March 3 — the day before the alleged murder — Kouri signed the closing papers on the 10-acre property and invited her friends to a party at her house where she drank and celebrated, affidavits for search warrants show.
In the months following her husband’s death, Kouri wrote a children’s book, Are You With Me?
She claimed the work was inspired by Richins’ death and her own experience of being unable to find reading material to help her sons cope with their loss.