Where Does The Charlie Kirk Assassination Case Stand And Where Does It Go From Here

Interesting charlie kirk, charlie kirk assassination, murder trial, tyler robinson, utah admin July 16, 2026 0 Comments

Where Does The Charlie Kirk Assassination Case Stand And Where Does It Go From Here

Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing has officially wrapped up for the week and is not set to resume again until Sept. 1.

As for where the trial currently stands, there will not be a “probable cause” ruling for several more weeks. The goal of a preliminary hearing is to determine if there is enough probable cause to warrant a jury trial. The next set date for this proceeding is Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. MDT, during which final oral arguments will be held. The delay in ruling comes after Judge Tony Graf Jr. ruled that he would allow each side to prepare written briefs after the defense said that “there are some legal issues which the defense would like to brief for the court.” The prosecution’s brief is due July 28, the defense’s brief is due Aug. 11, and the prosecution has until Aug. 18 to issue its shorter rebuttal brief.

One of the major developments from this week’s hearing was the release of Utah Valley University (UVU) surveillance footage for the first time. The footage shows a man who the prosecution claims to be Robinson on UVU campus four times on Sept. 10. Testimony claims Robinson allegedly scouted the scene, got food, and returned in new clothing, at which point he allegedly shot Kirk. He returned again around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 11.

The video shows Robinson walking around campus, including on the Losee Center roof, as well as what is allegedly Robinson’s car driving around campus. The defense brought up whether or not Robinson was in fact carrying something when he was seen running off the roof of the Losee Center after the shot was fired. Due to the distance from the camera and the quality of the footage, it was extremely difficult to determine whether he was carrying a rifle-shaped object.

Another major development was the playing of Lance Twiggs’ recorded testimony in court. Twiggs is Robinson’s roommate and alleged romantic partner. The recorded testimony was played to the public with heavy redactions. However, the recording in its entirety is being admitted as evidence and is therefore being considered by the judge in his ruling. (RELATED: What A Key Witness Knew About Charlie Kirk’s Assassination)

Twiggs testified that when he saw Robinson after the murder, the defendant “didn’t go into detail” about what he had done but confirmed that a text message confessing to the murder was authentic.

“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was, and he started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs testified.

Twiggs also testified that Robinson left their apartment around 4 a.m. on Sept. 10, which aligns with UVU surveillance footage showing the defendant arriving at UVU at around 8 a.m. The drive between St. George, where their apartment is located, and UVU is approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Throughout the hearing, a variety of DNA, ballistic, and crime-scene evidence was presented.

After a lengthy line of questioning from the defense regarding the specific processes of the DNA analysis, which prosecutors argued fell outside the scope of a preliminary hearing, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analyst Amanda Bakker testified that the DNA evidence matched two people: Robinson and his roommate, Lance Twiggs.

Twiggs’ DNA made up 5 percent of the DNA profile on the towel that was wrapped around the firearm allegedly used to kill Kirk, while Robinson’s DNA made up 95 percent. On the screwdriver left on the roof of the Losee Center, Twiggs’ DNA accounted for 11 percent of the profile, compared to 89 percent for Robinson.

In addition to the UVU surveillance video, the court admitted photos of the gun recovered on scene, bullets recovered from the defendant’s home, and bullet fragments recovered from the autopsy.

There was also testimony regarding the ballistics testing that was done using the gun recovered from the scene and the bullet fragments recovered from the autopsy. Ultimately, there was not enough evidence either way to make a conclusive statement.

The victim’s widow, Erika Kirk, was present for all of this week’s proceedings as a victim representative, accompanied by her late husband’s parents. Kirk’s lawyer filed a motion Thursday morning asking the court to publish all admitted evidence to the courtroom, stating that “Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, and his grieving parents traveled to this courtroom for one reason: to be present at these proceedings and to bear witness to the evidence concerning the death of their husband and son.” The judge denied this motion. However, the Kirk family convinced the judge to show enhanced surveillance footage in the courtroom, as they had requested to view this major piece of evidence during the hearing. This footage was not shown to the media. (RELATED: New Motion Demands Full Transparency In Charlie Kirk Murder Trial’s Preliminary Hearing)

In response to the Kirk family’s request for the enhanced footage, the defense argued that the podcaster’s widow is “adept at holding press conferences” and suggested that she could hold a press conference in that moment and show the video to the public. The Kirk family lawyer clarified that this was untrue and that the family does not have this evidence. The defense also argued that the Kirk family has access to all of the evidence the state has, claiming Kirk treats the state prosecutors as “her personal lawyers.”