Over five days in a Utah County courthouse, prosecutors attempted to demonstrate the strength of their case against the man accused of killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. The evidence presented was extensive.
They put investigators and experts on the stand. Surveillance video from the day Kirk was killed allegedly showed accused killer Tyler Robinson arriving, moving around and ultimately escaping campus. They reviewed the moments after Robinson turned himself in and showed messages Robinson sent, as well as a video interview with his roommate and romantic partner.
On the final day of the hearing, the defense team tried to deflate the strength of the DNA evidence the state says links Robison to the rifle allegedly used to kill Kirk.
“Can't attribute it to any person,” defense attorney Michael Burt said in the Provo courtroom. “Can't state it's infallible. Can't state there's a zero error rate, and you can't state that it is a source connected with any one person.”
The prosecution’s evidence is that testing showed it was more than one trillion times more likely that Robinson’s DNA was on the rifle. Burt called Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives DNA expert Caitlin Oliver to the stand to dig deeper into those findings. He questioned Oliver about the terminology used in forensic reports.
“We can come to five conclusions at our agency,” she explained. “So there can either be exclusion, limited support for exclusion, uninformative, limited support for inclusion, and support for inclusion.”
By that reasoning, Burt said, nobody can prove without a doubt that DNA found on the rifle allegedly used to shoot Kirk belonged to Robinson. The defense attorney noted that government policies don’t allow analysts to say that DNA evidence is “infallible” or that it has a “zero error rate.”
On cross-examination, Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride asked Oliver to elaborate on the terminology.
“You say at least 1 trillion times more likely, so it could be a much higher number than 1 trillion,” McBride said. “Is that accurate?”
“It's possible,” Oliver replied.
“But the protocols in your laboratory say you cap that at the number 1 trillion. Is that right?”
“Correct,” Oliver said. “We would not report a number higher than 1 trillion.”
Friday’s proceedings capped a week of testimony and an emotional moment for Kirk’s family when the court played surveillance video that prosecutors said showed Robinson on the rooftop where he allegedly fired a single bullet that struck Kirk.
His widow, Erika Kirk, 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 turned and embraced Charlie Kirk’s mother, Kathryn, who was crying. They held each other and looked away until the video was almost over.
A statement on Erika Kirk’s social media on behalf of the family called the hearing “an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.”
“As 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,” they wrote. “As this case moves into its next phase, we pray that truth will continue to be heard through a process that is fair, transparent, and grounded in the facts.”
Robinson did not testify at the hearing. One of his attorneys told the judge they had advised him not to.
After hearing the evidence, it will be up to Fourth District Judge Tony Graf to determine whether there is enough to move the case to trial. Tyler Robinson has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him, including aggravated murder and six other counts. Prosecutors have publicly stated they will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.
His defense attorneys successfully argued to Judge Graf that, because of the multiple counts, they would like the opportunity to fully explore any legal complexities in a written briefing before a ruling is made.
The prosecution will also be afforded the same opportunity to submit a written brief. Graf set the next hearing date for Sept. 1.
Shortly after the court adjourned, the attorney for the Kirk family filed a motion requesting Judge Graf to make a probable cause determination and move the case to trial no later than Sept. 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
