Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing Day 3: Roommate’s Testimony And The Unfired Bullet
A preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, began Monday in a Provo, Utah, courtroom.
Charlie Kirk’s parents and widow Erika have been present for every day of the proceedings. Day four is set to begin at 9 a.m. MDT on Thursday. So far, the hearing has focused primarily on which evidence will be admitted and whether there is sufficient evidence to move forward with a full jury trial. Today’s session focused primarily on the admission of Lance Twiggs’ testimony. (RELATED: Six Biggest Revelations To Come Out Of The Charlie Kirk Murder Preliminary Hearing So Far)
Here are the main developments from the third day (Wednesday) of the hearing:
Lance Twiggs’ Testimony
Lance Twiggs is the roommate of Robinson. The court ruled that Twiggs’ testimony will be admitted in its entirety for the court’s consideration. About 17 minutes of Twiggs’ 37-minute testimony will be redacted from the media. The rest of the testimony will be presented to the public and is set to be played in court Thursday morning.
The defense is arguing that much of the video is Mr. McBride’s (the state’s lawyer) words, followed by Twiggs’ agreement, rather than Twiggs’ original testimony. Also, the defense claims that portions of the video are irrelevant and that certain sections would cause prejudice against their client. The defense argues that televising Twiggs’ testimony to the media would infringe upon Robinson’s constitutional rights. It was under this consideration that the court redacted some of the testimony.
Text Messages
The prosecution has stated they plan to publish more text messages and Discord chats than were published in the original filing. The defense is arguing that this will infringe upon Robinson’s constitutional rights. The defense argues that the publication, broadcast, or discussion of the text messages in open court violates their client’s 14th Amendment due process rights. They base their argument on the Supreme Court case Estes v. Texas, which holds that the broadcast of pretrial hearings violates a defendant’s constitutional right to due process. A later Supreme Court case, Chandler v. Florida, found that states could choose to broadcast and photograph criminal proceedings. Robinson’s case is in a Utah district court room.
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Both parties are preparing bench memos regarding their arguments on the admission of five screenshots, which will be ruled on Thursday morning, in the interest of time.
Unfired Bullet Found On Scene
An unfired bullet, which was found at Utah Valley University on the day of the shooting, was found at an angle that had no direct angle to where Kirk was sitting. The bullet was a .223 caliber bullet, which could not have been fired from the Mauser 98, retrofitted with a 30-06 barrel, which is believed to be the gun used to kill Kirk. Previous testimony stated that the bullet was from a police officer racking their gun, which would align with the .223 caliber bullet found, as that is a common caliber for police rifles.
Kirk Family Attorney
The Kirk family’s attorney spoke to the judge for the first time Wednesday, arguing for the public release of all the evidence to ensure trust in the judicial process. “If the evidence is being admitted in this preliminary hearing, it should be made public, for the world to see. No redactions,” Kirk’s lawyer stated. “To not let the world see what happened, will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.”
The court will return Thursday and is set to begin with the playing of Lance Twiggs’ testimony.
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