"I could tell he was interested in her because his employees would come in and say Eric kind of likes her, but he's afraid, and this and that" Linda tells Inside Edition. "And I said, well tell him to come in and talk to her, you know."
New revelations about the Utah wife now charged with murdering her husband and then writing a children's book about dealing with the grief of losing a loved one have surfaced.
Linda King worked with Kouri Richins at Home Depot when she first met her husband, Eric, 10 years ago, and even encouraged the couple to date.
"I could tell he was interested in her because his employees would come in and say Eric kind of likes her, but he's afraid, and this and that," Linda tells Inside Edition. "And I said, well tell him to come in and talk to her, you know. So he did and they ended up going on a date. And that was it."
That "fairy-tale" romance, as Linda describes it, came to an end last year however when Kouri told authorities she found her husband lifeless and cold to the touch on the floor of their bedroom.
The newly widowed mother-of-three then decided to channel her grief into writing a children's book about loss: "Are You With Me?"
And on the cover of the book? Koiri's deceased husband, Eric, with angel wings.
That book has now been pulled from Amazon and is being take off bookshelves after police charged Kouri with her husband's murder.
"I was numb," Linda says. "I still can't believe that's true."
Police now believe that Eric died from an overdose of fentanyl after drinking a Moscow Mule that they allege his wife spiked with the powerful opioid.
Additional allegations are emerging as well about Eric's life insurance and will.
Kouri allegedly attempted to update her husband's life insurance policy and make herself the sole beneficiary, but that plot was stopped when the insurance company notified Eric, who instructed them not to make that change according to reports.
Eric also changed his will to make his sister his beneficiary and not Kouri, according to reports citing the arrest warrant.
It is all still a shock to Linda, who says she did not see any signs of trouble.
"It makes me go numb when I think about it," Linda says.
Kouri's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
