Grief Book Authors Mom Probed After Separate Suspicious Overdose Death: Affidavit

The mother of a Utah woman charged in her husbands overdose death after penning a childrens book about grief  also lost a romantic partner due to a suspicious drug overdose, a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit shows.

Kouri Richins mother, Lisa Darden, was subjected to a phone search last year after a detective investigating Eric Richins 2022 death discovered the similar overdose in 2006, according to the affidavit filed in Summit County in May of last year.

Based on Lisa Dardens proximity to her partners suspicious overdose death, and her relationship with Kouri, it is possible she was involved in planning and orchestrating Erics death, Summit County Sheriff Detective Jeff ODriscoll stated with the request to search Dardens phone records.

Law enforcement officials refused to comment on where the investigation stands today, including whether Darden is a suspect or person of interest. A representative with the sheriffs department said Tuesday that the case has been turned over to state prosecutors and directed all media inquiries to the Summit County Attorneys Office. The prosecutor declined to comment.

In 2006, Darden was living with a woman and was named the beneficiary of her estate a short time before the woman died from an oxycodone overdose in April of that year, according to ODriscoll.

The woman, who was not identified, did have prescriptions for oxycodone and reportedly struggled with abusing her medications, but ODriscoll said that based on his training and experience, he had ruled out the possibility of an accidental overdose. 

Richins attorney, Skye Lazaro, said the 2006 death was nothing more than a tragedy.

The fact that Ms. Dardens significant other was one of the millions that suffered from, and ultimately succumbed to, opioid addiction is hardly suspicious. It is tragic, and unfortunately, quite common, Lazaro said in a statement to HuffPost.

In addition to the similar death, ODriscoll said they uncovered conversations on Richins phone that revealed Darden had disdain for her son-in-law, Eric.

The mother and daughter were extremely close, talking nearly daily on the phone, the detective said.

Not all of Richins conversations were clearly known, however, as an earlier search warrant allegedly found that several text messages had been deleted from her phone over 15 days in the time surrounding Erics death, ODriscoll noted.

Richins said she had been celebrating the closing of a house for her real estate business with her husband shortly before he was found unresponsive on March 4, 2022, authorities previously said.

She allegedly said she had served him a Moscow mule cocktail and then found him cold to the touch and called 911. An autopsy determined that he died from consuming about five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl.

A woman identified as the familys housekeeper later admitted to twice supplying the mother of three with 15 to 30 fentanyl pills about one month before Erics death, ODriscoll said in the affidavit.

She provided details of the solicitation of the drugs, the pickup and drop-off locations, and other pertinent details that has been corroborated with digital forensic evidence, ODriscoll said.

Richins took out major life insurance policies on her husband, with benefits totaling nearly $2 million, shortly before his death, prosecutors said. 

Richins went on to publish an illustrated childrens book with her children that was titled Are You With Me? The book, which featured a cover drawing of an angel resembling her late husband, was written to help comfort her sons, she said in a TV interview promoting it.

Its just comforting to them to know that theyre not living this life alone, she said. Dad is still here. Its just in a different way.

Richins remains behind bars on charges of aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

She also faces a charge of witness tampering after prosecutors said authorities found a letter directed to her mother in her jail cell in September. She also faces a domestic violence assault charge after allegedly punching her sister-in-law in 2022, according to Salt Lake City station KSL-TV .