New court filings are raising serious questions about key evidence in the murder case against Charlie Kirk, including whether the fatal bullet can even be linked to the suspect’s alleged weapon.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is currently facing capital murder charges over the fatal shooting at Utah Valley University on September 10, where Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck and died. But according to his defense team, forensic analysis may not support the prosecution’s case as strongly as previously believed.
Kirk was shot from a rooftop approximately 410 feet away, and the shooter was able to escape. After the shooting, a large-scale manhunt began. Robinson turned himself in 36 hours after the attack.
Prosecutors claim Robinson drove three hours to the university campus with the intention of killing Kirk. He was ultimately identified after his father recognized what police described as a “unique” rifle in images released during the manhunt.
Tyler Robinson was arrested and charged with Charlie Kirk’s murder
Court documents detail a series of messages allegedly sent by Robinson to his partner, Lance Twiggs, in the aftermath.
“If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence. Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on,” he allegedly wrote. “I haven’t seen anything about them finding it.”
He also described attempting to return to a “drop point” to recover the weapon, but said the area had been “locked down.”
“I’m wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle,” he continued.
In another message, Robinson expressed concern about what his father might do if the rifle was not returned.
“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle… idek [I don’t even know] if it had a serial number, but it wouldn’t trace to me. I worry about prints I had to leave it in a bush where I changed outfits. didn’t have the ability or time to bring it with,” he allegedly continued, according to Daily Mail.
“I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints. how the f*** will I explain losing it to my old man… only thing I left was the rifle wrapped in a towel.”
Before ending the conversation, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs to delete their messages. Authorities say Robinson eventually confessed to his father, who then alerted police and ensured his son was taken into custody.
Robinson was arrested and charged with Kirk’s murder, but in a motion filed on Friday, his attorneys claim that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was “unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson,” according to Daily Mail.
“A complicated process”
The defense has indicated it may introduce testimony from an ATF firearm analyst as exculpatory evidence. At the same time, they are requesting that the preliminary hearing be delayed by at least six months to allow for further review. Part of that delay, they argue, comes down to the complexity of the forensic evidence, particularly DNA.
Reports from both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the ATF suggest that multiple DNA profiles were found on certain pieces of evidence.
“As these cases indicate, determining the number of contributors to a DNA mixture and determining whether the FBI and the ATF reliably applied validated and correct scientific procedures… is a complicated process which requires the assistance of various types of experts, including forensic biologists, geneticists, system engineers and statisticians, all of whom must review and evaluate” several categories of evidence, the filing states.
According to the motion, the defense has received around 20,000 files, including audio, video, and written documents, from prosecutors.
“The defense team has devoted, and will continue to devote, significant resources, to processing discovery, including identifying materials not yet received to inform readiness for the preliminary hearing,” the filing states, according to Daily Mail. “However, the defense team is realistic, and the comprehensive review required to determine what is missing will take hundreds of hours.”
They also claim they still lack critical forensic files needed to properly examine the scientific evidence expected to be presented in court.
Robinson is next due in court on April 17.
