A Utah judge cleared the way Tuesday for prosecutors to try Kouri Richins, the Utah woman who wrote a childrenâs book about grief after, authorities allege, she killed her husband, on charges of murder, attempted murder and other crimes.
Third District Judge Richard Mrazik ruled that prosecutors with the Summit County Attorneyâs office had shown probable cause to try Richins, 34, on allegations of financial crimes and the murder charges in the death of her husband, Eric Richins, 39, on March 4, 2022.
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Mrazik scheduled a four-week trial to begin the last week of April.
Prosecutors have accused Kouri Richins of drugging her husbandâs Valentineâs Day sandwich in February 2022 in an alleged murder attempt that he survived. He died 17 days later, after, prosecutors said, she spiked his cocktail with a fatal dose of fentanyl.
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Richins, a mother of three, pleaded not guilty Tuesday. She has previously claimed innocence, telling âDatelineâ this year that she had been taken away from her âbabies.â
âThis means war,â she said.
Richins' previous defense team withdrew from the case in May, alleging in a court filing that the Summit County Attorneyâs office had committed âsevere violationsâ by recording and listening to jail calls between Richins and her attorneys without her consent.
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The defense team had asked Mrazik to disqualify prosecutors over the allegations.
Prosecutors denied the allegations, saying they were âspeculative at best and bad faithâ at worst, according to NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City. Mrazik denied the motion this month.
The county attorney's office has alleged that Richins was in debt when she fraudulently obtained a $2 million life insurance policy on her husband before his death. She was charged with multiple counts of fraud and forgery in connection with the allegations.
One year after Eric Richins' death in March 2022, Kouri Richins published a children's book, "Are You With Me?" which sought to help children struggling with the death of a loved one.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
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