What's behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill?

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Dianne Berg, Clark University

(THE CONVERSATION) In March 2023, a Utah woman named Kouri Richins published a children’s book titled “Are You With Me?” which she characterized as an effort to help her three young sons process the loss of their father, who had died suddenly the previous year. Presenting herself as a concerned mother and grieving widow, she was interviewed on “Good Things Utah” in April 2023.

A few weeks later, on May 8, 2023, Richins was arrested and charged with killing her husband, Eric.

An autopsy showed that the 39-year-old man died of a massive fentanyl overdose. Since Eric had no history of drug abuse, his family found the circumstances suspicious. In the months before his death, Eric confided in his business partner that on several occasions – after being served a drink or meal by his wife, including on Valentine’s Day – he had become violently ill. Utah’s Park Record reported that he had mentioned to friends and family that if anything were to happen to him, Kouri would be the likely culprit.

In August 2023, as I write this, the Richins’ housekeeper has confessed to providing the fentanyl that killed Eric, and the case is mired in multiple...