Kouri Richins Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Testifies about Texts & Relationship Details | Crime House 24/7

Good morning, everyone.

We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about, and

we're starting with the biggest one.

In Utah, the Quarry Richens murder trial entered its ninth day Thursday, and earlier this

week, for the first time, jurors heard from the man prosecutors say she was secretly

dating, while still married to the husband she's accused of killing.

This is Crime House 247, your non-stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right

now.

Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Vanessa Richardson, and we have quite a line up for you today.

Here's what you need to know.

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The murdered trial of Corey Richards moved into its ninth day on Thursday, and on Wednesday,

March 4, the testimony took a deeply personal turn.

For the first time, jurors heard directly from the man Corey was involved with during

her marriage, and his account of their relationship, the text messages they exchanged, and a question

she asked him after her husband's death, added new layers to the prosecution's case.

If you're not familiar with this case, here's where we are.

Corey Richards, a Utah mother from Camus, is charged with aggravated murder for allegedly

poisoning her husband, Eric Richards, with a lethal dose of fentanyl, as well as attempted

aggravated murder, insurance fraud, and forgery.

Eric died on March 4, 2022, exactly four years ago as of Wednesday.

Others say she slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into his drink, and that

before that, she also poisoned his food on Valentine's Day, making him sick.

After Eric's death, Corey collected approximately $1.3 million in life insurance money, and

published a children's book about coping with grief.

She has pleaded not guilty.

The trial started February 23 in Park City, and is expected to last five weeks.

Over the past two weeks, jurors of her testimony from Eric Richards' family members, people

who say they helped Corey Richards obtain drugs, as well as first responders and financial

experts.

Wednesday's key witness was Robert Josh Grossman, the man Corey had been seeing.

Grossman testified that he met Corey around 2017 in South Carolina, and helped her flip

homes.

Their romantic relationship began around 2020 when he moved to Utah.

He said he would live in the homes she was flipping, and she would occasionally pay him.

He told the jury he loved her, and believed she loved him as well.

Jurors were shown numerous text messages between the two.

At times, Grossman put his head down or wiped away tears as their private conversations

were displayed publicly.

In a December 2021 message, Corey told him they both knew the love triangle could not

go on forever, and that she could not expect him to sit around waiting for the day the

trigger got pulled.

Then less than a month before Eric's death, Corey asked Grossman if she were divorced

right now and asked him to marry her tomorrow, would he say yes?

He responded that he would.

Days later, she texted that if Eric could just go away, and Grossman could just be there,

life would be so perfect.

In January 2022, she asked him whether he had ever done drugs besides marijuana.

In the days before Eric's death, Corey was texting Grossman about plans to meet for

brunch to celebrate closing on a mansion.

She told him to give her a few days and hang in there until Friday.

The evening before Eric died, Grossman texted that he would happily take any bit of time

with her.

Around 8.30 that night, she responded that she was not mad at him, just had not had

a second to text.

The next morning, he asked what was going on.

Her response was brief.

Eric passed away, talk later.

She later told him they believed it was an aneurysm.

But what happened after Eric's death may have been the most striking part of Grossman's

testimony.

He said that about two weeks later, the two met up in the Uinta Mountains and talked

about Eric's death for the first time.

He said she appeared to be grieving and did not seem happy, Eric was gone.

But then she asked him an unusual question.

She asked if he had ever killed anybody.

Grossman, who had served overseas, told the jury he answered that he had taken lives

in Iraq.

He said she asked him, quote, how it made me feel or something along those lines.

Grossman testified that at the time it did not occur to him that Eric had been murdered

or that Cory was involved.

It was not until she published the grief book and went on television to promote it that

he began questioning what happened.

He eventually reached out to Eric's family and was connected with their private investigator.

Grossman said that changed everything and he started looking at their past through

a completely different lens.

Wednesday's testimony also included witnesses who addressed Eric's finances and estate.

A divorce attorney testified that Eric had consulted her in October 2020 about what a

divorce would look like and how to protect his children.

His estate planning attorney described a trust and a buy-sell agreement with his business

partner involving two million dollar life insurance policies.

Currents reps testified that on a business policy involving Eric and his partner Cody Wright,

the beneficiary on rights policy was changed from Eric to Cory, then back to Eric, using

Eric's login, but from Cory's email.

The defense also requested a mistrial for the second time, citing newly disclosed information

about a prior witness's drug court violation, and on Wednesday, the judge asked for a written

motion.

The trial is scheduled to continue through March 27th, and the defense has not yet presented

its case.

And while that trial unfolds in Park City, investigators in Southern Utah are dealing

with a case that has shaken a quiet, rural community to its core.

A 22-year-old Iowa man was arrested Thursday after authorities say he killed three women

in Wayne County, Utah, one in her home and two on a hiking trail before fleeing across

state lines in one of the victim's vehicles.

Investigators say the suspect had no prior connection to any of the victims.

The suspect has been identified as Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa.

Here's the timeline of what authorities have released so far.

On Wednesday afternoon, March 4th, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office received a call

around 4.30 pm from the husbands of two women who had gone hiking together near the town

of Torrey, close to the west entrance of Capitol Reef National Park.

The men had found their wives dead on the trail.

During the subsequent investigation, a third woman was found dead at a residence in the nearby

community of Lyman.

Authorities believe the violence began at the home.

According to Lieutenant Cameron Rodin, a spokesperson for the Utah Highway Patrol, investigators

believe Miller killed the elderly woman who was in her 80s at her residence first, then

stole her vehicle and drove it to the trailhead where he killed the two hikers.

One of the hikers was in her 30s, the other in her 60s.

After killing the women on the trail, Miller allegedly took one of the hiker's vehicles

and fled the area.

What followed was a multi-state manhunt involving numerous law enforcement agencies.

The Utah Department of Public Safety said investigators used license plate cameras and

other tools to track the stolen vehicle through southern Utah and into northern Arizona.

The vehicle was eventually found abandoned in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, hundreds of miles

from where the killings took place.

After a brief search using drones, the Pagosa Springs Police Department located Miller

early Thursday morning at approximately 2.41 am local time and took him into custody

without incident.

A search of Miller found that he was carrying a concealed handgun and a large knife.

Miller was booked into the Archoleta County Detention Center in Colorado on weapons charges

and is being held for questioning by Utah authorities.

As of this recording, the identities of the three victims have not been publicly released

and authorities have not disclosed the manner in which the women were killed.

Rodin told reporters that there's no indication Miller had any prior relationship with the

victims and that it is not yet clear how long he'd been in the area or why he was in Utah.

Records show Miller has a pending felony burglary and theft case in Davis County, Iowa, along

with misdemeanor counts, including unlawful weapons possession.

Wayne County is one of Utah's least populated counties, with approximately 2,500 residents.

The incident prompted the Wayne County School District to cancel classes on Thursday and

Friday.

Sheriff's Office had also asked residents to stay home and lock their doors while the

suspect was at large.

Multiple surrounding counties posted warnings to residents as well.

The Utah Department of Public Safety and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office are leading

the investigation, with assistance from the Salt Lake City FBI field office.

And as that case moves forward in Utah, a Michigan man has entered a plea in a disturbing

case involving the torture and death of a woman inside a motel room.

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A 46 year old Michigan man has pleaded no contest to second degree murder, torture, and concealing

the death of an individual in the killing of his girlfriend inside a Saginaw township

motel room.

Daniel Varns entered the plea in Saginaw County Court in connection with the death of 46

year old Teresa Johnson of Flint, Michigan.

With the no contest plea, Varns faces a minimum of 32 years in prison when he sentenced at

a later date.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but means the defendant agrees to accept

the punishment.

The case dates back to September 1st, 2024, when Saginaw township police were called

to the roadway in and suites on St. Mary's Lane, after an acquaintance of Varns reported

finding a woman's body in his motel room.

Officers found Johnson on a bed covered by a blanket.

She'd been badly beaten and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

She had died from multiple traumatic injuries.

When police arrived, Varns fled into nearby woods.

He was arrested approximately 15 hours later.

According to the Saginaw County prosecutor's office, Varns admitted during a law enforcement

interview to committing multiple acts of brutality against Johnson.

Prosecutors said the abuse took place over a period of one to two weeks inside the motel

room.

Among the acts described at his arrangement, prosecutors said Varns used needle-nose pliers

on Johnson's mouth, hit her multiple times with a wrench and used a crack pipe to burn

her face.

After Johnson died, Varns concealed her body in the room for approximately two days before

the acquaintance discovered her.

Johnson's brother, Jeremy, told reporters that an officer came to his door to deliver

the news.

He described his sister as outgoing and said she was born in Flint and raised in Burton.

He said she was the only thing he had left.

Teresa and Varns had been in a relationship, according to her family.

The case had been stalled in court for months over questions about Varn's mental competency

to stand trial.

He was ordered to undergo testing at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ipsilanti

and was ultimately ruled fit to understand the charges against him and assist in his

defense.

With the no-contest plea resolving the case, Varns avoided a trial.

His sentencing date has not been publicly announced.

To our final story takes us to California, where the FBI says the founder of a well-known

animal rescue hatched a scheme to kidnap a former employee rather than pay a multi-million-dollar

court judgment.

The 77-year-old founder of a well-known Southern California Animal Rescue Organization has

been arrested on a federal charge of attempted kidnapping.

After the FBI says he paid $30,000 toward a scheme to have a former employee abducted

and taken to Mexico.

Leo Grilo, founder of Delta Rescue, an animal sanctuary based in Acton and the Antelope Valley,

was arrested on Tuesday, March 3rd, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank during

an FBI sting operation.

Grilo, who also appeared alongside Catherine Heigel in the film Xi-Zix Road, often cited

as the lowest-grossing studio film in history, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

According to the criminal complaint, Grilo's alleged motive was a civil lawsuit filed by

a former employee named Duarte, who said she had been wrongfully terminated and discriminated

against due to her pregnancy.

An LA county jury found in her favor in November 2024 awarding approximately $6.7 million.

Others say that starting in December 2025, Grilo sought out a contact and, over a series

of meetings at the Equestrian Center, laid out a plan to have Duarte, her husband, and

child kidnapped and transported to Mexico.

He spoke in coded language, referring to the scheme as a production, and said he was willing

to pay $100,000.

What Grilo did not know was that the contact had reported the plot to the FBI and was

cooperating with investigators.

Over the following weeks, agents surveilled their meetings and recorded calls.

Grilo mailed a $20,000 check from an account called Animals Are People, too, with production

in the memo line.

On March 3, the cooperating witness showed Grilo a staged photograph of the victim and

her husband, bound with zip ties and duct tape.

Grilo wrote a $10,000 check and agents arrested him shortly afterward.

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High listeners, it's Vanessa Richardson.

I wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about another show from Crime House that I

know you'll love.

America's most infamous crimes, hosted by Katie Ring.

Each week, Katie takes on a notorious crime, whether unfolding now or etched into American

history, revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our society.

No killers who terrorized cities, unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night,

and investigations that changed the way we think about justice.

Each case unfolds across multiple episodes, released every Tuesday through Thursday.

From the first sign that something was wrong, to the moment the truth came out, or didn't.

These are the stories behind the headlines.

Listen to and follow America's most infamous crimes, Tuesday through Thursday, on Apple

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Before you go, let me tell you what else is happening at Crime House today.

On conspiracy theories, cults and crimes were examining the kidnapping and murder of

Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, a crime that did not simply end a life, but destabilized

a nation.

It exposed ideological fractures, tested the limits of government response, and forced

a country to confront the consequences of political extremism operating within its own borders.

Domestic terrorism differs from other forms of violence in one crucial way.

It's not only meant to harm individuals, it's meant to alter the trajectory of institutions.

It's designed to send a message that reverberates beyond the immediate victims.

It aims to reshape public fear, political alignment, and national policy.

When such acts occur, they rarely leave a country unchanged.

Here are five acts of domestic terrorism that reshaped national futures, moments when violence

at home altered the political, cultural, or legal course of a country.

Number one, the Oklahoma City Bombing.

On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building

in Oklahoma City.

The explosion killed 168 people, including 19 children and injured hundreds more.

It was, at the time, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in United States history.

The attack was carried out by Timothy McVey, a U.S. Army veteran radicalized by anti-government

ideology.

He believed the federal government had become tyrannical and chose the anniversary of

the Waco siege as symbolic retaliation.

The scale of destruction shocked the nation.

It shattered assumptions that large-scale political violence was primarily a foreign threat.

The perpetrator was not an external enemy, but a citizen driven by extremist beliefs cultivated

within the country's own ideological landscape.

In the aftermath, federal law enforcement priorities shifted.

The bombing accelerated the passage of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty

Act of 1996, expanding federal authority in terrorism investigations, and tightening

legal procedures around habeas corpus appeals.

The attack also forced a reckoning with militia movements and extremist rhetoric circulating

domestically.

It marked a moment when the United States confronted the reality that ideological violence could

emerge from within.

2.

The Munich Massacre

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, members of the Palestinian militant group Black

September took Israeli athletes hostage.

Although the perpetrators were foreign nationals, the attack occurred on German soil and revealed

profound vulnerabilities in domestic security infrastructure.

The hostage crisis ended in a botched rescue attempt that resulted in the deaths of 11

Israeli athletes, five militants, and a German police officer.

The world watched in real time as the situation unfolded.

For Germany, the massacre was more than a security failure.

It was a national humiliation.

The country had intended the Olympics to symbolize a peaceful and democratic post-war

identity.

Instead, the event became synonymous with tragedy and inadequate preparedness.

The aftermath led to the creation of Germany's elite counterterrorism unit, GSG-9, and a comprehensive

overhaul of security protocols for international events.

It also influenced global counterterrorism coordination.

The Munich Massacre demonstrated how domestic preparedness, or the lack thereof, could shape

international perception and internal reform.

3.

The Madrid Train Bombings On March 11, 2004, coordinated bombings

targeted commuter trains in Madrid, Spain during morning rush hour.

The attacks killed 193 people and injured thousands.

Although carried out by an Islamist extremist cell, inspired by al-Qaeda, the perpetrators

operated within Spain.

The timing was politically explosive.

National elections were scheduled just days later.

Initial government statements suggested responsibility lay with the Basque Separatist Group

ETA.

As evidence emerged, linking the attack to Islamist militants, public trust in the government

eroded.

The mass protests filled the streets.

The election outcome shifted dramatically.

The newly elected government withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq shortly afterward.

The Madrid bombings illustrate how domestic terrorism can directly influence democratic processes.

The attack not only caused immense loss of life, but also reshaped Spain's political landscape

in real time.

Violence intersected with electoral politics.

And the result altered national policy direction.

Number 4.

The Tokyo Subway Seren Attack On March 20, 1995, members of the

apocalyptic cult Alm Shinrikyo released Seren gas on multiple lines of the Tokyo Subway

during rush hour.

The attack killed 13 people and injured thousands, many suffering long-term neurological effects.

The perpetrators were not foreign agents.

The members of a domestic religious movement that had grown in influence and wealth during

Japan's economic turbulence.

The attack shattered Japan's perception of itself as insulated from large-scale ideological

violence.

It exposed weaknesses in regulatory oversight of religious organizations and emergency response

systems for chemical attacks.

In response, Japanese authorities expanded surveillance powers and tightened regulations

governing religious groups.

Discourse shifted towards scrutiny of charismatic leaders and fringe movements operating under

legal protection.

The Tokyo attack forced Japan to reconsider the balance between religious freedom and public

safety.

It demonstrated how a homegrown extremist ideology could weaponize modern infrastructure.

Number 5.

The 2011 Norway Attacks On July 22, 2011, a far-right extremist

detonated a bomb in Oslo's government district, killing eight people.

He then traveled to the island of Utoya, where he opened fire at a youth political camp,

killing 69 more, most of them, teenagers.

The attacker framed his violence as a defense of European identity against multiculturalism.

His manifesto, distributed online, revealed a belief system steeped in xenophobia and conspiracy

thinking.

Norway, a nation often associated with social stability and low crime rates, was forced

to confront the presence of radical extremism within its own society.

In the aftermath, Norwegian leaders emphasized openness and democratic resilience rather

than sweeping authoritarian responses.

However, the attack prompted ongoing debate about online radicalization, immigration policy,

and domestic surveillance.

The Norway Attacks underscored how a single individual, radicalized within a national context,

could inflict mass casualty violence and spark years of political reflection.

Acts of domestic terrorism are not random eruptions of violence, they are strategic, they are symbolic,

they are destined to force reaction.

Unlike conventional crime, domestic terrorism seeks to influence policy, public opinion,

or institutional legitimacy.

It thrives on spectacle and psychological disruption.

When such attacks occur, governments must decide how to respond.

Expanded security powers may increase surveillance.

Legislative changes may alter civil liberties.

Political discourse may harden.

In some cases, the response becomes as historically significant as the attack itself.

Domestic terrorism exposes internal fault lines.

It reveals ideological movements operating beneath the surface.

It challenges assumptions about safety and identity.

Most importantly, it forces societies to confront the question of how much change they're

willing to accept in the name of protection.

The kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro occurred during a period of intense political instability

in Italy.

His abduction by the Red Brigades and the government's response reshaped Italian politics for years

to come.

The event became a defining episode in the nation's confrontation with domestic extremism.

For the full examination of how Moro's kidnapping unfolded, how the Italian government responded,

and how the case altered the country's political trajectory, listened to today's episode

of conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes.

Because when violence is aimed at the state itself, the consequences rarely end with the

immediate tragedy.

They echo through policy, politics, and public memory for generations.

You've been listening to Crime House 24-7, bringing you breaking crime news.

I'm Vanessa Richardson.

We'll be back Monday morning with more developing stories.

Stay safe.

And thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening to today's episode.

Not sure what to listen to next.

Check out America's Most Infamous Crimes hosted by Katie Ring.

From serial killers to unsolved mysteries and game-changing investigations, each week Katie

takes on a notorious criminal case in American history.

Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes now, wherever you listen to podcasts.