Kouri Richins, a Utah children's book author, had two primary reasons for killing her husband: a criminal defense attorney.

A Utah author, accused of murdering her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail, will face trial after new testimony suggests she was having an affair and bought the deadly drug from her housekeeper.

In March 2022, Kouri Richins, a 34-year-old mother of three, was accused of poisoning her 39-year-old husband Eric Richins with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. The alleged motive was to collect millions in life insurance funds, flip a house, and be with her lover.

On the second day of her preliminary hearing, a Utah state judge determined that the prosecution had sufficient evidence to proceed with a jury trial against Kouri.

"According to criminal defense attorney Jonna Spilbor, there are two reasons why people lose their minds and commit murder: love and money. In the case of Kouri Richins, she had both because she was communicating with a man she had worked with in her flipping business."

On Monday, digital forensic expert Chris Kotrodimos testified that Kouri frequently communicated with Robert Grossman, her alleged lover, through text messages before her husband's death. Grossman was a handyman who worked on properties that Kouri intended to sell. According to previous charging documents, Grossman was Kouri's "paramour."

Following Eric's death, Kouri sent Grossman a photo of two people kissing with the caption "love you," and in the week following his death, Kouri texted Grossmann "love you" five times, according to court documents and the Daily Mail.

Spilbor stated that one should not send a text message expressing love or disclosing their location, and should only text someone daily if there is a relationship.

"We now have evidence that Kouri Richins had a lover, a "paramour," in the shadows. This gives us a lot of motive, and we can be sure that when the case goes to trial, the evidence of this motive will be prominently displayed."

"It ain't looking good for Kouri Richins."

On Monday, Det. Jeff O'Driscoll of the Summit County Sheriff's Office stated that housekeeper Carmen Lauber allegedly sold fentanyl to Kouri Richins on three occasions. O'Driscoll explained that police initially connected Lauber to Kouri through text messages and later arrested her, discovering drugs and other illegal items in her home.

Detectives confirmed that Lauber sold Kouri up to 90 blue-green fentanyl pills, but no fentanyl pills were found in the Richins' home.

Eric was killed by Kouri with the intention of collecting millions in life insurance funds and selling a $2 million Wasatch County mansion, an investment that Eric's family claims he did not approve of.

According to Summit County court documents, on the night Eric died, it is reported that he, Kouri, and her mother, Lisa Darden, were celebrating Kouri's recent closure of the mansion in question.

Eric died from an overdose of fentanyl, which was allegedly put in a cocktail made by Kouri. A medical examiner found that Eric had more than five times the lethal amount of the illicit opioid in his system.

Eric Richins' gastric fluid contained "16,000 ng/ml of Quetiapine," an atypical antipsychotic medication commonly used as a sleep aid, according to charging documents.

The following day, it was reported that Kouri finalized the purchase of the mansion following the death of her spouse.

On Tuesday, during her preliminary hearing, Kouri pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts, including an additional attempted murder charge filed in March accusing her of slipping fentanyl into her husband's favorite sandwich on Valentine's Day, resulting in a severe but nonfatal reaction.

The attorneys of Richins, Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis of Nester Lewis and Alexander Ramos of Langford Ramos, stated on Tuesday that they are aware of the preliminary hearing stage's bias towards the prosecution. However, they believe the charges against Kouri are not supported by evidence and are confident that a jury will find the same.

"We are dedicated to ensuring that justice is served through a fair trial for Kouri. We strongly believe that the truth will ultimately prevail. The past fifteen months have had a significant impact on Kouri and her three children. It is now time to put an end to this ordeal, restore her life, and enable her and her family to move forward."

Kouri's unsuccessful attempt on her husband's life 17 days prior to the murder taught her valuable lessons, which aided her in carrying out the killing, as argued by Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth.

Kouri's defense is being harmed by evidence suggesting she had an affair with Grossman and sold fentanyl pills through Lauber, according to Spilbor. She believes that prosecutors likely have additional evidence that will show the romantic relationship between Kouri and Grossman, which will be crucial at trial.

Spilbor stated that the jury would likely rely heavily on the fact that she was the last person to see him alive and he died of fentanyl poisoning in order to determine if she obtained fentanyl.

Kouri's real estate portfolio was overextended, and her husband was considering divorce and removing her from his will, according to Spilbor.

Evidence will show that Kouri Richins' husband had a prenuptial agreement for a specific reason, and that the only way she could financially benefit was through his death, according to Spilbor. Prosecutors do not need to present proof that the pills she purchased were the ones that caused her husband's death.

Spilbor stated that even if you gather all the potential evidence, it won't make a difference to a jury if you can't definitively link the fentanyl to the glass.

In May 2023, Kouri published a children's book titled "Are You with Me?" which depicted a father with angel wings watching over his young son after his death. This book could later become a crucial piece of evidence for prosecutors in the case of Eric Richins' death, which they believe was a premeditated murder with an intricate cover-up attempt.

Spilbor stated that writing a book is not a criminal act, but profiting from it could anger any juror who is already inclined to find her guilty.

"Hiding in plain sight" is the phrase that comes to mind when thinking about her trying to cover up such a heinous crime. With three children, she has effectively taken away their father's presence in their lives. To make matters worse, she then wrote a book and portrayed herself as a victim, despite being the perpetrator. This is a classic Hollywood move.

"If jurors believe all the other evidence against her, they will be punched in the gut when they hear that."

Planet Chronicle’ Audrey Conklin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.