Tyler Robinson speaks with his defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court on Friday, April 17, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Trent Nelson-Pool/Getty Image …
The week-long preliminary hearing for the Utah man charged in the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk continues today as prosecutors present the evidence they have against Tyler Robinson.
Big picture view:
The hearing is set to last five days as prosecutors seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, and Monday marked the most significant presentation of the evidence against the Utah man. The first day of the week-long preliminary hearing brought no major revelations.
Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and his widow, Erika, attended the first day of the hearing, as did Robinson’s parents, who sat a few rows behind the Kirks.
Charlie Kirk's parents Robert Kirk and Kathryn Kirk arrive at the courthouse for a weeklong preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, on July 6, 2026 in Provo, Utah. Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 …
The backstory:
Robinson, who faces charges of aggravated murder, has not entered a plea. His attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence, but they have moved to get the death penalty taken off the table.
Prosecutors have described some of the evidence they expect to present during the week, including DNA results linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon. They also plan to show autopsy findings, witness statements, and video of Kirk’s killing.
They also intend to argue that the shooting endangered other people attending the event at Utah Valley University where Kirk was shot. That factor would represent the aggravating circumstance that would make it a crime punishable by death in Utah.
During Monday’s hearing, former campus police officer Christopher Bagley told the court that he went to a gravel rooftop soon after the September 10 shooting and could see indications that someone had been lying prone with a clear sightline to where Kirk was speaking to thousands of people.
"It looks like a sniper pad," Bagley said, adding, "You’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet."
District Judge Tony Graf was shown several videos from the day Kirk was killed as attorneys from both sides shielded monitors following Graf's decision not to publicize the photographs because of their graphic nature.
When questioned by prosecutors, Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull described the contents of the clips.
He said that they showed the crowd milling around the event and Kirk interacting with some of the spectators. The videos also contained the moments when Kirk was shot, as well as the hectic scene that followed, with security personnel taking him away while administering first aid.
Dig deeper:
While the preliminary hearing may look like a trial, the bar for prosecutors at this stage is much lower. They must show the judge that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Robinson killed Kirk for the case to go to trial. At that point, prosecutors would have to prove Robinson is guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."
A former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City, Mark Kouris, believes that means the state should have little trouble getting its case to trial, saying, "This standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.