Here’s Who’s Likely Taking Care of Kouri Richins’s Kids While She's on Trial

With Kouri Richins, 35, facing murder charges and a potential life sentence for the death of her husband, Eric Richins, everyone is asking: Who’s taking care of their three kids? To recap, Kouri and Eric welcomed three sons over the course of their marriage, which, according to prosecutors, had its fair share of rough patches. On March 4, 2022, Eric died from what Kouri claimed was a brain aneurysm, but autopsy results revealed he had been poisoned with fentanyl.

In fact, he had five times the lethal amount in his system, per A&E TV, which is believed to have been ingested from a Moscow mule Kouri made for him that night to celebrate her real estate win.

The year after Eric’s death, Kouri published a children’s book in 2023 as a way to help herself and her kids cope with their loss. But shortly after the book release, she was arrested and jailed for his murder. So the question remains: Where are the couple’s kids now?

Kouri Richins’s three boys, Carter, Ashton, and Weston, are believed to be under the care of one of Eric’s sisters. According to his obituary, Eric was survived by his father, Eugene F., and his two sisters, Katie (Clint) Benson and Amy (William) Richins. So it makes sense that one of their aunts would step in to care for the boys.

But what about Kouri’s parents? Wouldn’t they be tapped to step in and help, too?

It’s unlikely the court would allow her mother to care for the boys, considering her own past. In case you missed it, in 2006, Kouri’s mom, Lisa Darden, was placed at the center of her own peculiar situation. At the time, she was living with a woman with whom she was romantically involved, per KUTV. An unsealed search warrant noted that in April of that year, Lisa’s partner “died unexpectedly.”

An autopsy revealed her death was caused by drug poisoning from an oxycodone overdose. Lisa became a person of interest, but wasn’t charged since officials noted her partner had a complicated history with medication abuse.

Still, a detective wrote in the documents, “She [the victim] was not in a state of recovery from addiction at the time of her death. Based on my training and experience, this would likely rule out the possibility of an accidental overdose.” What makes that incident even more concerning is that Lisa was named as a beneficiary of her partner’s estate shortly before her death.

KUTV also noted that Lisa and Kouri were very close, which may explain why connections are now being made between Lisa’s past and Kouri’s case involving her husband.

To stack the cards even higher against Kouri, a former housekeeper alleged that she had obtained fentanyl for Kouri from a drug dealer multiple times in the past, per CNN. Testimony revealed that Kouri requested fentanyl four times in 2022, with her final request asking for an even stronger dose.

Before the fatal incident, Eric reportedly told a friend he thought his wife tried to poison him, CNN noted. This allegedly happened on Valentine’s Day after he ate a sandwich, which caused him to develop hives and feel as though he might die.

Kouri’s murder trial began on Feb. 23, 2026, and as of this writing, no ruling has been made.