A Utah couple who bought a renovated mansion from Kouri Richins, who wrote a book about grief after allegedly murdering her husband, blame the mother for their near financial ruin.
Taryn and Alec Wright said in the three years since Richins sold their home they've been plagued by dangerous levels of mold, bouts of unknown illnesses and never-ending financial stress.
“There was no effort whatsoever to remedy the injustice she put us through,” Taryn, 38, told Dateline in her first interview about her lawsuit against Richins.
“We are just innocent bystanders in her path of destruction.”
The Harbour City home was the first to be sold as part of Richins' home resale business.
Richins is accused of sneaking her husband, Eric Richins, a Moscow Mule laced with the deadly drug fentanyl in March 2022 after a day-long argument over Richins' failure to pay for a $2 million mansion they wanted to resell.
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say poisoned her husband, Eric Richins, and then wrote a children's book about grief, looks on during a bond hearing in Park City, Utah, on Sept. 1, 2023. The Associated Press Richins allegedly poisoned her 39-year-old husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl on the evening of March 3, 2022, at their Utah home. Facebook / Kouri Richins
She signed the deal the next day and threw a party at the mansion with 10 friends.
Six months before the horrific murder, the Wrights had filed a lawsuit against Richins and her real estate company, alleging that she sold them a home without disclosing a series of defects.
The previous owner, Val Maynard, also confirmed to Dateline that she told Richins that the home had “significant water damage” and needed extensive repairs.
The home where Kouri and Eric Richins lived with their children. AP
After the inspection found no problems, the Wrights bought the house for $409,000, nearly double Richins' purchase price.
But just a few months after the first spring rains, they discovered mold on the walls and puddles on the floor in their son's room.
They claim that since then they have had to evacuate their home multiple times and have spent thousands of dollars replacing mold-damaged walls and windows, only to discover that the house had serious structural problems.
Richins with his mother, Lisa Darden (right), and his aunt at his wedding in 2013. Facebook
An inspection of the home in August 2022 found “dangerous” levels of the fungus in the basement, with spores spreading throughout the house.
They also suffered from a range of illnesses and health problems that required medical treatment, including asthma, long-term fungal infections, joint pain and brain confusion.
“We went to the doctor all the time,” Taryn said. “They never said, 'Oh, this is what's wrong with you,' they just said, 'Oh, it'll get better.'”
“It was really, really hard,” she added.
They were eventually evicted from their homes and are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments.
They also said they could barely afford the rent for the homes they have since relocated to.
In court filings earlier this year, Richins' lawyers denied Wright's allegations and argued the company conducted “thorough disclosure.”
For the Wrights, the lawsuit was a last resort, and they say they had tried repeatedly to ask Richins how to best repair their home.
“We never heard from her,” Alec Wright said.