{"id":138388,"date":"2026-07-10T14:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T20:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-question-reliability-of-evidence\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T14:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T20:12:22","slug":"lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-question-reliability-of-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-question-reliability-of-evidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense tries to sow doubt about evidence in Charlie Kirk’s killing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"law
law enforcement monitors the parking lot outside the fourth judicial District courthouse where a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ty ONeil)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Ty ONeil)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PROVO, Utah (AP) \u2014 Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a> tried to sow doubt about the case Friday, while a prosecutor countered that authorities have \u201coverwhelming\u201d evidence that includes DNA tests and apparent confessions by defendant Tyler Robinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Judge Tony Graf will decide if the case should advance to a trial after he hears closing arguments in Robinson’s preliminary hearing on Sept. 1.<\/p>\n

Kirk, 31, was killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University<\/a> on Sept. 10. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and could face the death penalty.<\/p>\n

Friday’s proceedings capped a week of testimony and brought an emotional moment for Kirk’s family when the court played surveillance video<\/a> that prosecutors said showed Robinson on the rooftop where he allegedly fired a single bullet that hit Kirk in the neck.<\/p>\n

Kirk’s widow, Erika, watched intently as a person said to be Robinson ran across the roof. When the figure dropped to a crawl near the roof’s edge , Erika Kirk<\/a> turned and embraced Charlie Kirk’s mother, Kathryn, who was crying. They held each other and looked away until the video was almost over.<\/p>\n

Defense questions reliability of evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prosecutors this week presented a recorded interview<\/a> with a former roommate who said the 23-year-old defendant expressed remorse for the shooting before turning himself in. Lawyers from the Utah County Attorney’s Office also offered DNA analysis that investigators said linked Robinson to both the suspected murder weapon and a tool he allegedly used to etch messages onto bullet cartridges.<\/p>\n

Robinson’s team did not offer any alternative theories for who is responsible for Kirk’s death. But one of his attorneys, Michael Burt, repeatedly questioned the reliability of DNA tests and other evidence cited by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Burt used testimony Friday from a government DNA analyst to highlight the limitations of such tests. He noted that government policies don’t allow analysts to say that DNA evidence is \u201cinfallible\u201d or that it has a \u201czero error rate.\u201d He also indicated it’s possible for DNA to be transported by a third party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had a lot of DNA on your hand, we shook hands and I went to pick up an exhibit, a gun, and I touched the trigger of it, your DNA could be on that trigger, right?\u201d Burt asked Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible. Yes,\u201d Oliver replied.<\/p>\n

Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.<\/p>\n

Chief Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander questioned the relevance of bringing in Oliver as a witness. He suggested prosecutors already had met the burden of proof needed to advance the case to trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour honor’s heard four days of testimony now. The evidence is overwhelming. It\u2019s devastating,” Grunander said.<\/p>\n

Kirk family thanks supporters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robinson has not entered a plea. He turned himself in<\/a> a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s family released a statement shortly after court ended, expressing gratitude for the support and prayers offered to them. They said the preliminary hearing \u201cmarks an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The video that prosecutors said showed Robinson allegedly running across the roof at Utah Valley University was played for the court gallery at the request of Kirk’s family. Portions of the recording were zoomed in to better show the figure on the roof, and red circles were added to some images. An unaltered version of that video was shown earlier.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors on Thursday aired portions of an April 20 interview with Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, who was Robinson’s romantic partner. The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs \u201che wishes he hadn\u2019t done it,\u201d a recording played in court revealed.<\/p>\n

Later that same day \u2014 and only about an hour before turning himself in \u2014 Robinson posted \u201cit was me at UVU yesterday,\u201d in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson\u2019s right to a fair trial.<\/p>\n

Roommate: Robinson never talked about Kirk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk\u2019s campus event \u2014 an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Twiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.<\/p>\n

The weeklong preliminary hearing attracted intense media coverage and spectators who have angled for one of the 14 seats in the courtroom that are reserved for the public.<\/p>\n

People lined up early<\/a> \u2014 sometimes sleeping there overnight \u2014 in hopes of getting in.<\/p>\n

Preliminary hearings typically don\u2019t last so long, according to legal experts. They said the slow pace reflects in part a cautious approach<\/a> by Graf and the large volume of evidence from prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Conjecture over that evidence fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter or that Kirk’s death was staged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been various bizarre theories circulated about this case. I think that the prosecution wanted to dispel those theories by putting out into the public record the overwhelming case that it possesses against Robinson,\u201d said Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah and former federal judge.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.<\/p>\n

\"Tyler
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens as Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride speaks during a preliminary hearing at the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Tess Crowley\/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)<\/span>(Tess Crowley\/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fourth
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf speaks during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Friday, July 10, 2026. (Tess Crowley\/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)<\/span>(Tess Crowley\/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Defense
Defense attorney Michael Burt and Kathryn Nester, left, leave the fourth judicial District courthouse where a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, took place, in Provo, Utah, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ty ONeil)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Ty ONeil)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE – Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan\/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)<\/span>(Rick Egan\/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

law enforcement monitors the parking lot outside the fourth judicial District courthouse where a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ty ONeil)(AP Photo\/Ty ONeil) PROVO, Utah (AP) \u2014 Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-138388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138388"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138494,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138388\/revisions\/138494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138388"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=138388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}