Kouri Richins: Alleged ‘Hush Puppy’ Poisoning Was A Trial Run?

While the Kouri Richins’ murder trial of her husband Eric saw the prosecution take a bit of a hit regarding testimonies on procurement of drugs, another witness seems to have been a useful tool. And, that secondary person could have done her a lot of damage. Read on for more details.

Former Sidepiece

This week, a man named Robert Grossman helped the state with their efforts to prove murder motivation by Richins. Apart from allegedly wanting money from her life insurance and property deals, they also believed she murdered her husband because she wanted someone else.

Well, Grossman might, if you believe what played out, have also been a potential target for Kouri Richins. On MK True Crime, on YouTube on Friday, Dave Aronberg and Phil Holloway chatted with journalist Maureen Callahan.

During their podcast, they looked closely at Grossman, who’d been romantically involved with Kouri for a decade.

Witness Seemed Uncomfortable?

While on the stand, he appeared visibly uncomfortable, or as one analyst described him, like a “sad sack.” In the opinion of the panel, perhaps he realized that he wasn’t anything more to Kouri Richins than a “useful idiot.”

In their opinion, Robert Grossman seemed shifty when asked if he believed that Kouri loved him. In fact, he seemed rather hesitant and he seemed to have problems looking up. Well, for all that, he’s an important witness for the prosecution.

Digital Evidence?

The state tries proving that Kouri felt desperate and hoped to move on into a new life with him. After all, as the prosecution has it, Eric became a financial and emotional hassle for her.

During the testimony, the jury heard the legal team discuss many other text messages between Grossman and Kouri. If you don’t know, previously, the state showed some phone searches, hoping to prove that she was guilty. Some of those searches showed that after her arrest, she wanted to find out about deleting texts from devices.

Proving Murderous Thoughts? 

As usual, the defense team got a chance to cross-examine the witness, and it didn’t go all that well for them. Asked about her leaning into a violent sort of personality, he replied that once she asked him if he had “ever killed anyone.”

While it’s not a definite conclusion that Richins harbored murderous intent, it did, at least, help the prosecution show the jury a potential preoccupation with death. Then again, asking a military man if he’d killed someone really isn’t an earth-shattering thing to question.

Retrospective Thoughts

It seemed that the tipping point for Grossman came only after Kouri’s arrest. That’s when he took a look back through “different lenses” and felt overwhelmed with “guilt” and “sorrow.”

Apparently, he eventually chatted with a private investigator who told him that “she did it.”

The Hush Puppy Mystery

Perhaps the most bizarre piece of evidence involves a text message sent just one day before Eric Richins died. In that message, Grossman communicated with Kouri that he hadn’t been too well after she gave him something to eat. Apparently, he “sat down to eat that hush puppy thing,” and didn’t recall anything else until 11 p.m. that night.

Clearly, that implied that she may have attempted to poison her boyfriend right before successfully killing her husband. Sort of like a trial run. So, the panel discussed whether Richins might really be a “true danger to society.”

Viewers React

True crime watchers follow the case very closely. Initially, it seemed the case might be massively circumstantial, and in a way, it is. But, it seems that it sways some of the viewers on YouTube. Of course, that could also mean the jury starts thinking Kouri Richins isn’t squeaky clean, either.

One person opined, “He knows NOW she didn’t love him. But at that time she led him to believe that she loved him!”

Here are a few other responses from the discussion:

• He’s squirming because at the time that’s absolutely what he believed, she led him to believe that. And now in hindsight, he knows it was smoke and mirrors and she didn’t love him. I.e. the reason for the squirm. It’s embarrassing for him.
• I have compassion…she played him for a fool.
• The hushpuppy thing was a test drive to see if it’s strong enough.
• I don’t see him as sad but rather a nice guy. Unfortunately, nice women and men are used sometimes due to something much more calculated.

What are your thoughts on the boyfriend’s testimony? Does it prove murderous intent or is he just distancing himself from a former lover? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for more trending true crime news and updates. Plus, you can check out our crime channel on TikTok for other news.