Brittany Leigh Groat was denied bond as investigators cited a recorded phone call, her statements and evidence recovered after Robert Larsen’s death.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The prosecution of Brittany Leigh Groat began with one of Michigan’s broadest homicide charges: open murder, an accusation that allows a murder case to move forward before the state must settle the question of degree. Groat, 36, was denied bond after being charged in the July 24 death of her boyfriend, 50-year-old Robert Walter Larsen.
The legal wording is important because it describes where the case stands rather than what has been proved. Michigan courts have recognized that an open murder charge does not require prosecutors, at the initial charging stage, to designate the alleged killing as first- or second-degree murder. A later proceeding can determine what charge the evidence supports. Groat has not been convicted, and the available public record does not establish that a judge or jury has made factual findings on the prosecution’s allegations. The accusation rests at this stage on evidence described in a Michigan State Police probable cause affidavit, including a recorded phone call, observations from the home, surveillance information, Groat’s statements to detectives and the findings of Larsen’s autopsy.
Michigan’s felony procedure also explains why Groat initially appeared in Kalamazoo County’s 8th District Court even though district court is not where a felony murder trial would ultimately be conducted. District courts handle preliminary stages of felony cases, including arraignment, probable cause proceedings and preliminary examinations. A preliminary examination is not a trial and does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Its central question is whether the government has shown probable cause that a felony occurred and probable cause to believe the defendant committed it. If that showing is made, a case can be sent to circuit court. The examination may also be waived or adjourned under Michigan procedure.
Contemporaneous reports said Groat was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 5 after a judge denied bond at her arraignment. The public sources reviewed for this article did not provide a reliable later account confirming what happened on that date, so it would be inaccurate to assume that testimony was taken or that the case was bound over. The absence of a verified update also means that the charge should not be described as having advanced beyond the stage shown by the available records. What is established is that prosecutors authorized an open murder case after police investigated Larsen’s death and that Groat remained subject to the allegations brought against her.
The factual basis outlined by investigators begins with a communication shortly before troopers were sent to the home. Police said Groat contacted another person at about 9 p.m. and made statements indicating that she believed she had killed Larsen. The substance of part of that call was recorded, according to the affidavit. After giving the address, Groat could allegedly be heard saying, “I think I killed him, I think I killed him.” Other people then contacted 911, and troopers were dispatched at about 9:16 p.m. The reporting reviewed does not identify those callers or explain precisely how much time passed between Groat’s communication and their report to emergency dispatchers.
Troopers arrived at a home on Sturtevant Avenue in Richland Township and found Larsen dead on a staircase, according to local reporting and the court records described by news organizations. Investigators noted extensive blood evidence inside the residence, including footprints through portions of the home and toward the garage. Police later obtained a search warrant. Near Larsen’s body, detectives reported recovering a folding knife and a baseball bat from the stairs and landing. The publicly reported affidavit does not say that a completed forensic analysis established which object caused which injury, and it does not disclose results of any DNA, fingerprint or other laboratory testing that may have been requested.
The affidavit also describes evidence gathered beyond the immediate scene. Investigators said they reviewed surveillance video and interviewed witnesses as they attempted to track events after the incident. Larsen’s vehicle was recorded leaving the residence at about 7:11 p.m., according to police. Authorities later found Groat alone in the vehicle on Kings Highway. Officers described her as wearing a white shirt, jean shorts and black-and-white Converse shoes and said the clothing carried widespread bloodstaining. Public reporting does not provide a laboratory analysis identifying the source of every stain, so the police observation and any later scientific conclusions should be kept distinct.
What Groat told investigators may become a major issue as the case develops because the affidavit describes more than one statement about the events. After waiving her Miranda rights, Groat denied harming Larsen and told detectives she did not know how blood had gotten onto her clothing, police said. She confirmed they were in a dating relationship and that she had been staying at his home for several weeks. When asked about what occurred before she left, authorities said she told them she did not remember. Those statements are attributed to investigators because no recording or transcript of the full interview was included in the public materials reviewed for this story.
The affidavit says Groat later told police that Larsen had cut her with a folding knife as she was attempting to leave the residence and that he went back inside after she exited. Investigators said she also reported that no one other than the two of them had been inside the home. That account does not, on its own, answer the legal questions raised by the death. The available reports do not state whether Groat has formally asserted self-defense, whether she suffered a documented injury, or how her attorneys intend to address the evidence described by police. No motive has been established in the public materials reviewed, and the label “domestic dispute” used by police does not resolve who initiated any confrontation or whether a legal defense may apply.
The medical examiner’s findings added another element to the prosecution’s probable cause case. Investigators initially observed at least six stab wounds after Larsen’s body was moved. An autopsy performed two days later documented 10 stab wounds as well as other lacerations. The medical examiner determined that blood loss from the stab wounds caused Larsen’s death and classified the manner of death as homicide. That finding addresses the medical cause and manner of death. It does not itself determine criminal intent or establish which degree of homicide can be proved against a particular defendant.
Those distinctions are especially important in an open murder case. Michigan law separates first- and second-degree murder, and the consequences differ. First-degree murder is punishable by mandatory life imprisonment, while the state’s second-degree murder statute permits life imprisonment or a term of years. But the existence of those possible classifications should not be mistaken for a prediction about Groat’s case. An open murder filing allows the judicial process to address degree based on the evidence, and the prosecution would still carry the burden of proving any ultimate criminal charge under the applicable standard at trial.
The bond ruling is likewise a pretrial decision rather than a verdict. Michigan court rules allow judges to deny pretrial release in murder cases under specified constitutional and evidentiary conditions. A decision to hold a defendant without bond does not replace the later adjudication of guilt. The materials reviewed here do not provide a full transcript of Groat’s bond hearing or all arguments made by prosecutors and defense counsel, so the reasons for the judge’s ruling should not be expanded beyond the confirmed fact that bond was denied.
For the prosecution, the future case may involve showing how the recorded statement, surveillance timeline, condition of the home, objects recovered near Larsen and the autopsy findings fit together. For the defense, Groat’s statement that Larsen cut her and her reported lack of memory about part of the evening may become relevant, depending on the evidence and arguments ultimately presented. Neither side’s full theory is available in the initial reports. Early probable cause records are designed to justify arrest and charging decisions, not to provide every piece of evidence, every witness account or every legal argument that may emerge later.
The case remains appropriately described through its confirmed early procedural posture: Groat was charged with open murder and denied bond after Larsen’s homicide, while the factual disputes and the degree of any criminal liability remain unresolved in the public record. As of Aug. 29, the reliable material reviewed did not establish a plea, trial date, conviction or dismissal.
Author note: Last updated August 29, 2026.