Kouri Richins, 34, a children's book author, had two key motives to allegedly poison her husband, according to a criminal defense attorney.
The mother of three stands accused of poisoning her 39-year-old husband Eric Richins with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their Utah home in March 2022.
Jonna Spilbor told Fox News Digital, "There are always two reasons why people lose their mind and commit murder. One of them is love; the other is money."
Kouri allegedly had both, says Spilbor.
She stood to collect millions in life insurance funds, flip a house, and be with her lover.
Her lover, Robert Grossman, worked as a handyman repairing properties for Kouri, which she intended to sell, reported the New York Post.
Prosecutors also believe Kouri killed her husband as a means to collect millions in life insurance with plans to flip a $2 million Wasatch County Mansion, an investment Eric reportedly did not approve of.
Authorities revealed that the night Eric died, Kouri and her mother, Lisa Darden, were celebrating her recent closure of the mansion in question, according to Summit County court documents.
Kouri allegedly made a cocktail spiked with fentanyl for her husband in March 2022.
A medical examiner determined Eric had more than five times the lethal amount of the illegal opioid in his system when he died.
Kouri is facing multiple charges.
On Tuesday, the mom of three entered pleas of "not guilty" to all 11 counts.
"There's going to be evidence that her husband had a prenuptial agreement for a reason, and there's going to be evidence that the only way Kouri Richins stood to really gain monetarily was not from a divorce... but from his death," Spilbor said.
