Kouri Richins was convicted of murdering her husband in one of the most unusual cases in recent true crime history — a Utah mother who poisoned Eric Richins with fentanyl, then wrote a children's book about his death and appeared on television to promote it. According to investigators, that promotion is part of what put the case back under the microscope. The jury convicted her on all counts in three hours.

But the story that doesn't end with a verdict belongs to the three boys she left behind. They were 9, 7, and 5 when their father died. They are preteens now, living with Eric's family, carrying the weight of two losses — one parent taken by what a jury determined was murder, one taken by a prison sentence that will likely define the rest of their childhoods.

True Crime Today examines what research and history tell us about children in this exact position. We look at betrayal trauma — the psychological damage specific to children whose protector was also their threat — and we compare what happened to the young children left behind in two cases that rhyme with this one: Susan Wright's kids, who were absorbed into their father's family after her 2003 conviction and have never spoken publicly, and Betty Broderick's sons, who grew up divided on whether their mother should ever leave prison.

What separates Kouri Richins from every comparison is the book. She wrote it. She promoted it. She used her sons' grief as the vehicle. And according to trial testimony, it may be part of what put her in prison.

Those boys will search their own story forever. There is no children's book for what comes next.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

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