Her defence team chose to not call any witnesses, and rested their case without having her take the stand to testify in her own defence.
She had faced several charges, including a a charge of attempted murder which was filed one year after her husband’s death. Officials said she was found to have poisoned his sandwich, nearly killing him, before later increasing the dosage until he died.
She also was charged with two counts of insurance fraud and one count of forgery, related to alleged attempts to profit from his death.
Richins was arrested in March, 2023 – two months after she published the picture book Are You With Me?, which she said was to help people – including her three children – cope with the death of a loved one.
“We wrote this book and we’re really hoping that it provides some comfort for not just obviously, our family, but other families that are going through the same thing,” she told told radio station KPCW in an interview before her arrest.
She dedicated the book to her husband, calling him “my amazing husband and a wonderful father”.
