Kouri Richins fought with husband over $2M mansion: docs
The Utah woman who penned a book about grief after allegedly murdering her husband had fought with him over buying a multimillion-dollar estate — which she closed on the day after he died, according to newly revealed search warrants.
Accused murderer Kouri Richins, 33, was hellbent on buying the 22,000-square-foot unfinished home in Heber City — but husband Eric Richins refused to pay $2 million for it, according to docs obtained by KPCW.
Kouri Richins claims they were celebrating buying the home in March last year when her husband died from a massive overdose of fentanyl as their three kids slept upstairs.
However, the dead man’s family told investigators that he planned to tell his wife they were not buying the mansion — on the same day she was also told she was being cut out of Eric’s will, the warrants said.
Kouri Richins closed her $2 million deal to buy the estate on March 5 last year — the day after her husband died, the records show.
That day, Eric Richins’ sisters also went to the couple’s current home, in Kamas just outside Park City, and “began threatening and verbally accosting Kouri,” according to a civil complaint obtained by Fox News.
“After Kouri insisted that the sister leave, the sister asserted that Kouri did not own the Family Home and that she would ensure Kouri was kicked out of the Family Home,” her attorneys alleged in the document.
The unfinished mansion that she bought — which also had a 3,000-square-foot guest house — was already contentious, with locals deeming it an eyesore and calling for it to be torn down.
The author bought it from a young widow who ditched plans to move there after her own husband died, according to TownLift.
“That place is cursed,” one person wrote on an Instagram post about the property’s tangled history.
After buying it for $2 million, Kouri Richins put it back on the market just two weeks later, trying to more than double her money by flipping it for nearly $5 million.
It is currently under contract for $3.75 million, realtor Mike Malmrose told KPCW.
Despite local objections, the listing calls it an “ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE” and a “PERFECT RETREAT” with “breathtaking, unobstructed mountain views.”
“Create your paradise, complete with a butler’s pantry, swimming pool, therapy pool, exercise room, golf simulator, full-size, indoor volleyball court, climbing rock wall, two commons rooms, two kitchens, and even a room dedicated for virtual reality experiences!” it gushes.
“The 8 bedrooms, with adjoining bathrooms, can sleep up to 60 people for those business retreats or family reunions. What’s more, this property also includes an ADDITIONAL 3,600 square foot, three bedroom/three bathroom caretaker’s home.”
Malmrose, the realtor, said he “doesn’t know what the plan B would be” if the current buyer in contract pulls out.
However, he said others have shown interest.
Kouri Richins was busted two months after she appeared on TV to promote her children’s book, “Are You With Me?,” about trying to help her kids through the grief of losing their dad.
Prosecutors allege she served her husband a Moscow Mule laced with roughly five times the lethal dose of fentanyl.
She claimed she’d gone to sleep in one of their kids’ rooms and woke to find her husband dead.
Police later unearthed Richins’ alleged connection to an accused drug dealer who admitted selling her fentanyl pills.
The accused killer allegedly went back for stronger ones, asking for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” the warrant states.
The widow is charged with first-degree aggravated murder and multiple counts of second-degree possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, records show.
She is due in court on May 19.