Sons of Kouri Richins say they'd feel unsafe if she wasn't in prison

U.S. Sons of Kouri Richins, author convicted of murdering husband, say they'd feel unsafe if she wasn't in prison May 12, 2026 / 10:51 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google The young sons of Utah author Kouri Richins said ahead of her sentencing hearing Wednesday that they would feel unsafe if their mother was ever released from prison after she was found guilty in March of killing their father.Richins, 35, faces several decades to life in prison on five felony convictions, including aggravated murder.Prosecutors said she laced her husband Eric Richins' cocktail with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home near the ski town of Park City. She then self-published a children's book titled "Are You With Me?" about a boy coping with the death of his father shortly before her arrest in May 2023. She even promoted the book on a local Utah television news program. In the book, Eric Richins is portrayed as an angel who is always close by."Yes, I am with you on Christmas," Kouri Richins writes, "You can't see my smile but it's there. I'm here, and we're together." Defendant Kouri Richins listens to closing arguments in Third District Court in Park City, Utah, on March 16, 2026. David Jackson/Pool Photo via AP Kouri Richins' attorneys declined to comment Tuesday before her sentencing hearing, which falls on the day her husband would have turned 44. The statements from their sons, who were ages 9, 7 and 5 when their father died, came in a memo from prosecutors urging Judge Richard Mrazik to sentence Richins to life without parole.The oldest child, now 13, said he wants the court to know that he does not miss his mom."I'm afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family," he said. "I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us."Prosecutors allege that the boy suffered emotional and physical abuse from Kouri Richins after his father's death, which they say is supported by findings from the...