Robert Josh Grossmann wiped his eyes, put his head down, and muttered 'oh boy' as intimate text messages between him andKouri Richinslit up the courtroom screen. The judge offered a break. Grossmann didn't know if he wanted one.
Two weeks into Richins' murder trial in Park City, Utah, that moment captured what prosecutors have been building toward. A woman with a secret boyfriend, a house-flipping empire bleeding cash, and a husband who died after drinking what they say was a fentanyl-laced cocktail. Richins, 34, is charged with poisoning Eric Richins on 4 March 2022,according to CNN.
She has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, attempted murder, fraudulent insurance claims, and forgery. If convicted on the top charge, she faces life in prison.
'The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life,' chief prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told the jury.
Grossmann met Richins after answering a job advert for renovation work in South Carolina. He moved to Utah in early 2020, lived in properties she was fixing up, and the relationship turned romantic,NBC Newsrevealed. She bought him two trucks. Gave him money.
On 15 February 2022, Richins asked Grossmann by text if he would marry her if she were divorced. He said yes. Prosecutors say that message landed one day after she allegedly tried to poison Eric for the first time by lacing his sandwich with drugs.
About a fortnight after Eric died, Richins asked Grossmann whether he had ever killed anyone. He took it as a reference to his military service in Iraq and thought nothing of it.
🕯️ In Remembrance: Eric Richins (1982–2022)Today, March 4, 2026, marks exactly four years since the passing of Eric Richins.As the trial continues in Summit County, the courtroom is filled with technical data and legal arguments. But today, we choose to step back from the…pic.twitter.com/4NjAlZC0TP
Forensic accountant Brooke Karrington walked the jury through Richins' finances. By the time Eric died, she owed approximately $7.5 million (£6.1 million) and was paying roughly $80,000 (£65,000) a month to lenders,the Park Recordsaid.
Richins launched K Richins Realty in 2019 with a $250,000 (£202,000) home equity line of credit taken out against the family home. Prosecutors allege she signed for it in her husband's name without telling him. One property in year one grew to 15 by 2021, totalling more than $6.7 million (£5.4 million) in purchases.
Source: International Business Times UK
