Moscow Mule 'killer' Kouri Richins's lover unmasked: Utah author wanted to start new life with handyman Robert Grossmann - who ended up homeless after she evicted him

Accused Moscow Mule killer Kouri Richins allegedly wanted her husband dead so she could move on with a man who later ended up homeless on the streets of a Utah mountain town, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The 34-year-old married mom-of-three fell for handyman Robert Grossmann, 41, after he was hired to work on homes she was renovating, court papers show.

'If I was divorced right now and ask you to marry me tomorrow, you would?' Richins texted her lover in February 2022, just weeks before she allegedly poisoned her husband Eric, according to court documents filed this week by the prosecution.

'I just want to lay on the couch and cuddle you. Watch a murder documentary and snuggle!'

Two weeks later, she texted Grossmann: 'Life is going to be different I promise', adding: 'I hate your hard days. I wish I could be there to turn them around for you. Can I try Friday? Give me a few days? Hang in there until then please?'

Kouri Richins, pictured in court in June 2023, was revealed to be having an affair with another man before and after her husband's death in March 2022 

Richins, who is charged with poisoning husband Eric Richins with a laced cocktail, was romantically involved with handyman Robert Grossmann (right) who later ended up homeless and having several run-ins with the law after their romance ended

Then on March 3, the night she allegedly poisoned her husband, she texted her boyfriend a photo of two people kissing that was captioned, 'love you.' 

Richins, who wrote a book on helping children cope with grief after her husband's death in 2022, has since been charged with his murder.

She allegedly slipped a lethal dose of fentanyl into Eric's Moscow Mule – a vodka-based cocktail – at their home in Kamas, Utah.

The prosecution didn't name the person they described as her 'paramour' in this week's court filing.

But DailyMail.com obtained an earlier, unredacted court document that named the lover and provided additional details about their relationship.

The document, a search warrant affidavit that authorities used to seize Grossman's cell phones in May 2023, show that their forbidden love ended eight months after Eric's death, when Kouri, who owned a real estate company, evicted Grossmann from one of her condos.

The handyman wound up homeless, living out of a black Ford F150 pickup truck in Layton, Utah. He claimed Kouri had given him the vehicle, DailyMail.com has learned.

Grossmann has since had several run-ins with police, including an arrest for trespassing, and for theft of a $14,000 trailer and a scissor lift he rented from Home Depot in Salt Lake but failed to return, according to police and court records reviewed by DailyMail.com.

In February 2023, police in Layton, Utah found Grossmann sleeping in the truck on the side of a residential street, with the engine running. 

They found a case of beer with several open cans and cited him for having an open container, Layton Police told DailyMail.com.

Grossmann told detectives that Kouri – who owns a real estate company – had kicked him out of this condo complex in Saratoga Springs, Utah, in November 2022 and that he had been homeless ever since

Prosecutors say Kouri wanted to leave her husband and consulted with a divorce lawyer in January 2022 but left disappointed that she might be entitled to only half of their assets

He was arrested for trespassing elsewhere in town two days later.

Detectives in the murder case learned about Grossmann's relationship with Kouri through interviews with family and friends. 

Digging into the Layton incident, detectives reviewed police dashcam footage in which Grossmann can be heard saying that the F150 belonged to Kouri Richins, whom he identified as his 'girlfriend'.

They cited this exchange in the affidavit, which stated that Grossmann had several phones they wanted to search, including at least two given to him by Kouri, which they used to communicate around the time of her husband's death.

Grossmann, in recorded interviews, acknowledged that he was more than just Kouri's handyman.

'He was an extramarital sexual partner of Kouri prior to and after the death of her husband,' the affidavit states.

The relationship, however, did not end well. 

Grossmann told detectives that Kouri had kicked him out of her condo in Saratoga Springs, Utah, in November 2022 and that he had been homeless ever since. 

Sources close to Kouri claim she evicted him because he was allegedly using meth.

During a hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors in Summit County began to outline their case to show 'probable cause' that Kouri committed the murder. 

They said that her lover would be an important part of their case because they demonstrate a motive for murder. He has been given 'immunity', they noted.

Kouri, from Kama in Utah, has since been charged with poisoning Eric by serving him a fentanyl-laced Moscow mule on March 3, 2022

According to an affidavit, Kouri 'wished to leave Eric Richins for her paramour but believed that divorce would be financially difficult and could result in losing custody of their children'

Prior to his death, the couple fought over financial issues in regard to their 10-acre $2million home and signed an agreement that would grant her the sale of the home

Kouri planned a five-night $4,200 romantic getaway to this resort on St. Martin in the Caribbean. Court papers do not make it clear whether they actually went ahead with the trip, set for the month after Eric died

The court papers filed earlier in the week show Kouri's relationship with Grossmann heating up in the months leading up to her husband's death. Eric owned a successful masonry business.

'The defendant wished to leave Eric Richins for her paramour but believed that divorce would be financially difficult and could result in losing custody of their children,' the papers state.

On December 7, 2021, two days before her boyfriend's birthday, Kouri booked the two of them a five-night romantic getaway to the Secrets Resort and Spa on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. 

The $4,211 trip was scheduled for that April – the month after Eric died.

Ten days later, while wrapping Christmas gifts with a friend, she spoke about wanting a divorce, saying 'she felt trapped and stuck in the marriage and didn't see a way out.

'The defendant said in many ways it would be better if Eric Richins was dead,' according to the filling.

The following day, Kouri allegedly texted Grossmann: 'I'm in love with a man that's not my husband' and 'I want to but I can't break up my family. It's having your cake and eating it too. I do just want to love you. I do love you.'

'I thought you were getting a divorce,' he allegedly replied.

In early January 2022, Kouri consulted with a divorce lawyer, but left disappointed that she might be entitled to only half of their assets, the papers allege.

'The defendant didn't want half of everything,' the prosecution argued. 'Rather, she wanted all of everything. Accordingly, she determined to cause Eric Richins' death.'

Around that time, she began inquiring about illicit drugs, texting Grossmann, 'Random question… Have you ever done anything besides smoke weed?'

She told him she was watching the Hulu series Dopesick that same night about America's struggle with opioids.

Later that month, Kouri applied for a $100,000 life insurance claim on Eric, which became effective 10 days before her first alleged attempt to kill him – on Valentine's Day 2022, the papers state.

Prosecutors say Eric found out that his wife had also taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it, withdrawn $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards.

Kouri also stole about $134,000 from her husband's business meant for tax payments, according to the documents. 

Court records state that she agreed to repay her husband back when he confronted her about the missing money.

Prosecutors alleged that Kouri purchased four different life insurance policies, which totaled over $1.9million between 2015 and 2017.

Carmen Lauber, 51, worked for the Richins family and is said to have sold Kouri Richins the fentanyl she allegedly used to poison her husband 

The mom-of-three is accused of slipping the potent drug into a sandwich she bought him at a diner in their hometown Kamas in a first failed attempt on February 14, 2022

In the latest legal fillings, it was revealed that Kouri had a negative bank account balance, owned lenders more than $1.8million and was being sued by a creditor.

Authorities say that a former housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, hooked Kouri up with the fentanyl. 

Then on February 14, 2022, she slipped it into a sandwich she bought him at a diner in their hometown Kamas.

She left the food with a note on the seat of Eric's truck for him to eat at lunch, the prosecution alleges.

Eric felt so sick that he drank a bottle of Benadryl, self-administered his son's EpiPen, and went completely dark.

But Kouri had left town to spend Valentine's Day with her lover, telling him she was out of town 'waiting for my cabinet installer guy,' according to the court papers.

That afternoon, Eric texted a close friend: 'I think I almost died… I think my wife tried to poison me.'

But Kouri, who is currently being held in Summit County jail in Park City pushed ahead with her plan, prosecutors allege.

On February 19, the papers allege, she texted Grossmann: 'I want you today, everyday. Not just sexually, but physically, mentally, everyday when I wake up I do want a future together. I do want you. Figure life out together. If he could just go away and you could just be here! Life would be so perfect!!!! I love you….'

'Uhhh.. I have a crazy dream!' she continued on February 13. 'You quit your job. I divorce and come up with millions and millions. We buy midway and live in the guest house and rent out the huge house as a big event center!' 

She added that the center would be 'our daily job! And hang out every day? Raise some kids.. have a little farm? Deal?'

Midway was an unfinished mansion Kouri had been planning to buy with her husband.

Eric Richins died March 4. The following day, Kouri closed on the $3.26million property.

Between March 6 and Eric's funeral on March 11, Kouri texted Grossmann 'love you' five times.

Richins is seen promoting her book on a local Utah station in April 2023. 'We have three little boys,' she told the interviewer, 'And my kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced in the past year'

Shortly after her husband's death, the mother of three self-published a children's book titled 'Are You with Me?' about an angel wing-clad deceased father watching over his sons

They then met up in the mountains, parked in her vehicle and spoke for the first time since Eric's death.

She asked whether he'd killed anyone while serving in the military in Iraq. He replied yes, prompting the defendant to ask how it felt, the papers state.

Kouri texted him a link to the Secrets Resort on March 20, writing, 'Are we there yet? … Can't wait!!!'

On April 9, she texted him, 'I think I want you to be my husband one day.'

Kouri self-published her children's book about grief, 'Are You With Me?' on March 7, 2023. The following day, she was arrested for aggravated murder.

The preliminary hearing for her trial, which was due to begin this week, has been postponed to June.

Grossmann, for his part, was most recently arrested on January 20 of this year in Payson, Utah, after he allegedly spent more than an hour in a 7/11 bathroom and refused to come out.

He left only after police threatened to force him out, then was discovered to be driving the truck without registration and with plates from another vehicle. 

He initially refused to identify himself, only giving his name after spending eight hours in jail. 

He was charged with multiple misdemeanors, but received a $690 fine, a 30-day suspended sentence and a year probation, records show.

Grossmann could not be reached for comment. His lawyer in the Payson case did not immediately respond, while his lawyer in the Salt Lake case declined to comment.