COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI- A Michigan woman is in hot water after being accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death inside his home, Law & Crime reports.
Brittany Leigh Groat, 36, was charged with one count of open murder in connection with the stabbing death of Robert Walter Larson, 50, court records show
Michigan State Police wrote in a probable cause affidavit that troopers were dispatched to a home at approx. 9:16 p.m. on July 24 in response to a 911 caller that told operators that Groat contacted them at around 9:00 p.m. and said she had killed her boyfriend (Larson).
On arrival at the residence, troopers found Larsen dead on a staircase suffering from stab wounds. Investigators wrote that the home was covered in blood with bloody footprints visible throughout the home and into the garage.
The affidavit stated that the substance of Groat’s phone call prior to the arrival of police was recorded. After reciting the home’s address, she can be heard saying, “I think I killed him, I think I killed him.”
Troopers used surveillance videos and witness interviews to determine what happened next. The affidavit showed that Laresn’s vehicle left the residence at around 7:11 p.m. Shortly afterward, troopers located it on Kings Highway with Groat behind the wheel. Police described her clothing as a white shirt, jeans, and black and white Converse shoes, which “had bloodstains all over them.”
Groat waived her Miranda rights and told troopers that she had no idea how blood got on her clothing while denying responsibility for Larsen’s injuries. She told them she and Larsen were in a dating relationship and that she’d been staying home for several weeks. When detectives asked what happened before she left, she told them “she did not remember.”
Under further questioning, Groat told investigators that Larsen cut her with a folding knife as she was leaving the home and said he returned inside after she exited, the affidavit read. She admitted that only she and Larsen had been inside the residence.
After troopers obtained a search warrant, detectives found a folding knife and a baseball bat lying next to Larsen’s body on the stairs and landing. After his body was moved, authorities observed at least six stab wounds to the front of his body, with several concentrated near his chest and neck, the affidavit said.
At an autopsy conducted two days later, pathologists found a total of 10 stab wounds as well as numerous lacerations. The medical examiner ruled that Larsen died of blood loss caused by the stab wounds and ruled the death a homicide.
Groat was arraigned on Monday in Kalamazoo County’s 8th District Court, where bond was denied, according to court records. She is to return to court on Aug. 5 for a preliminary hearing.
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