New owners flee house sold to them by ‘grief author’ mother and suspected husband killer

Utah mother-of-three Kouri Richins – prior to allegedly poisoning her husband – knowingly sold a home which had such severe mold problems that it sickened the new owners and forced them to move out, according to a civil lawsuit.

Alex and Taryn Wright sued Richins’ realty company in November, alleging that a 2,000 square foot home they purchased from her in January 2020 had “hazardous” levels of mold, which they believed is behind a spate of mysterious illnesses they suffered. Richins owned and renovated the house before selling it to the couple.

“There was no trying to right any of the wrongs that she had thrown at us,” Ms Wright, told Dateline. “We’re just innocent bystanders in her path of destruction.”

“We envisioned having barbecues and hosting and just spending time with family and being able to look out at that beautiful view,” she added.

The realty company denies any wrongdoing, writing in a court filing that it had made a “fulsome disclosure” and that the condition of the Heber City home would have been revealed by a “reasonable inspection by an ordinary prudent buyer.”

The Wrights say that they did inspect the home and found no problems.

A text message, shared with Dateline, shows Ms Richins allegedly discussing how one of the rooms in the home was “super moldy”.

Her real-estate activities are also under scrutiny in the main case against her: Utah prosecutors allege she poisoned her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail, which she denies.

Following the death of her husband, Eric Richins, she went on to write and promote a children’s book about grief called Are You With Me?

Utah officials allege she used fraudulent power-of-attorney to execute a $250,000 line of credit against one of her husband’s properties.

This month, prosecutors accused Ms Richins of witness tampering after a letter found in her cell appeared to direct a number of family members on how they should testify. Officials say the note amounted to telling the individuals to “testify or inform falsely.”

Ms Richins has insisted that the letter is part of a jailhouse novel she’s writing.

Her lawyers told People that publishing the letter in the court record broke an agreed upon gag order covering attorneys in the case and are “an extrajudicial statement made for the apparent purpose of influencing the court of public opinion.”