Juror describes pivotal moments that led to guilty verdict in Kouri Richins trial
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PARK CITY, Utah — A juror who helped convict Kouri Richins, the Utah mother found guilty of killing her husband, is sharing an inside look at the emotional three-week trial, the witness who made a big impact and a key piece of evidence that led to a guilty verdict.
Christie, who asked that only her first name be used, was Juror #3 and said she knew “absolutely nothing” about the case before being summoned for jury duty.
“I had no preconceived notions whatsoever,” she told EastIdahoNews.com. “I just wanted to keep an open mind and find the truth.”
Jury selection was conducted virtually and the next day, she received an email saying she had been selected as a juror. The first time she saw Richins was the morning of opening statements.
“She just seemed like a small, frail woman,” Christie recalls. “It made me sad. They told us right away she had kids and my heart broke.”
Throughout the trial, Christie sat in the middle of the front row in the jury box. She took fervent notes, paid attention to every witness and often glanced at Richins to gauge her reaction.
“She had a really good poker face. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking,” Christie says.
Some testimony hit harder than others. An undercover narcotics officer, whose testimony was not livestreamed, was the most powerful for her and gave an inside look at the drug trade.
Christie was also struck by emotional testimony from Robert Josh Grossmann, Richins’ boyfriend, who appeared “devastated” and from family members of Eric Richins, whose grief made clear “how close they all were.”
Christie says the moment that shocked her the most was when the defense abruptly rested its case without presenting any evidence or calling any witnesses.
“Utter shock. We all walked out of the courtroom wide-eyed. I wanted to hear their side. I was open to it. But they didn’t present anything,” she recalls.
The jurors were not allowed to talk about the case with anyone, including each other, until it was time to deliberate. Christie went home from court mentally exhausted every day and often went to bed early.
The jury reached its verdict in less than three hours and Judge Richard Mrazik met with them afterward. Christie says he encouraged jurors to speak openly about the case with loved ones and after reading more about the Richins’ case, she’s confident she and fellow jurors made the right call.
Watch our entire 60-minute interview with Christie in the video player above.