PARK CITY — Robert Josh Grossman, identified as Kouri Richins’ boyfriend during the period leading up to and following her husband’s death, gave testimony on Wednesday at her jury trial, detailing messages and conversations they shared.
Grossman meticulously read numerous text messages, confirming their exchange between him and Richins. At various points, he lowered his head or wiped tears as their intimate communications were publicly displayed.
Text messages revealed that less than a month before her husband’s demise, Richins posed a question to Grossman: “If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would?” Grossman’s reply was, “Yes. In Love with Y O U! Of course I would.”
Only a few days later, she messaged him expressing her desire for a shared future.
“If he could just go away and you could just be here! Life would be so perfect!!!” she communicated to Grossman.
Hanging on
Grossman recounted meeting Kouri Richins in South Carolina around 2017, where he assisted her with home flipping. Their romantic involvement began around 2020 when he relocated to Utah to continue helping her with real estate projects. He stated he would reside in the properties she was renovating, and she would compensate him occasionally.
He affirmed his love for her and believed she reciprocated his feelings. Many texts presented to the jury highlighted their relationship’s difficulties; Kouri Richins often apologized for her inability to spend time with him.
“I really enjoy my relationship and love for you.. but (you’re) right.. we both know this love triangle can’t go on forever. You don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve you. I can’t expect you to sit around for the day the trigger gets pulled,” Richins conveyed in a December 2021 message.
Richins discussed acquiring properties in Park City with Grossman, describing it as a “HUGE deal.” She shared that she grew up cleaning toilets for wealthy residents in Park City and had promised herself she would own such homes one day.
On January 9, 2022, Richins inquired of Grossman whether he had used any drugs other than marijuana, and how recently.
Kouri Richins faces charges of fatally poisoning her husband on March 4, 2022. She is also accused of having previously drugged his food, causing illness, on February 14, 2022. Grossman confirmed that he and Richins had plans to spend that Valentine’s Day together.
Texts around Eric Richins’ death
Kouri Richins exchanged texts with Grossman during the week her husband passed away. He testified they had planned to meet that Friday for brunch to commemorate the finalization of a mansion’s closing documents. A few days prior, she had messaged him, “Can I try Friday? Give me a few days? Hang in there until then please?”
Grossman stated he never inferred from her message that Eric Richins would no longer be present by Friday.
At 5:51 p.m. the day before Eric Richins’ death, Grossman texted, “I will happily take any bit of time I get with you! But, if we’re going to celebrate, I want to celebrate! Blow up balloons, champagne, I wanna be there when the news comes in! Seeing and hearing your reaction! Waiting to pounce on you with the hugs and kisses, the confetti and the music!”
Kouri Richins’ response was delayed, prompting Grossman to send a follow-up message saying “don’t be mad!”
Around 8:30 p.m., Kouri Richins texted back, “I’m not mad at you, at all. Just haven’t had a second to text.. give me a few.. love you.” They did not communicate again via text until the next morning when he inquired about the situation. She eventually texted, “Eric passed away.” followed by “talk later.” Later, she informed him they believed he had died from an aneurysm.
Grossman testified that approximately two weeks after Eric Richins’ death, they traveled to the Uinta Mountains and discussed his passing for the first time. He noted that she did not appear happy about his absence but rather seemed to be grieving.
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“We sat there and talked for quite a while. … I had never seen her that way, obviously, and it was a heavy conversation, and I’m not used to that with her. She’s not used to being open like that,” he stated. “She asked if I had ever killed anybody. … She asked me how it made me feel or something along those lines. And then I answered her.”
He asserted that at the time, he did not entertain the idea that Eric Richins had been murdered, much less that Kouri Richins was involved. Grossman found the question unsurprising, explaining that she was “exhausted emotionally” and it might have been an attempt to shift the focus of the conversation to him.
The couple continued their relationship for several more months, but Grossman observed that dynamics had changed after Eric Richins’ death. Grossman expressed being overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow upon learning of her arrest and subsequently reached out to Eric Richins’ family, who connected him with their private investigator.
Other testimony
Prior to Grossman’s testimony, jurors heard from several individuals involved in establishing or managing Eric Richins’ life insurance policies.
Kristal Bowman-Carter, who had assisted Eric Richins in setting up a trust, testified that she received a call from an officer who then handed the phone to Kouri Richins on the day Eric Richins died. Bowman-Carter explained that their home was held in a trust, a detail Richins appeared to be unaware of.
“She was livid, she was upset and she said ‘what is wrong with you people’ and handed the phone back to the officer, I believe,” Bowman-Carter recalled.
Christina Miller, a divorce attorney, testified about a meeting with Eric Richins in October 2020. She stated they discussed altering his estate plan and power of attorney, which she noted was an uncommon request from her clients.
Wendy Lewis, one of Kouri Richins’ attorneys, requested a mistrial—marking the defense’s second such request. She stated they had acquired information that Carmen Lauber, who had testified about supplying drugs to Kouri Richins, had violated her drug court agreement, and texts between Lauber and her supervisor had been disclosed.
“What’s in these text messages should have been available; I could have used this on cross examination. It’s different than what she testified to,” Lewis argued.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik instructed the defense to submit a written motion regarding the issue.
The trial proceedings are available for viewing here:
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