Charlie Kirk murder: Judge orders redactions to suspect Tyler Robinson's ex-lover’s video testimony

A recorded interview with the roommate of the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk could be played in court Thursday as the preliminary hearing to determine whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial enters its final days.

Prosecutors intended to play it Wednesday, but after a series of objections from the defense, Judge Tony Graf Jr. called for redactions, and prosecutors said they’d rather wait until the morning to ensure they could comply with the court order before playing it. 

Big picture view:

The hearing is set to last five days as prosecutors seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, and this week marks the most significant presentation of the evidence against the Utah man.

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. 

The Interview

Attorneys spent much of Wednesday arguing whether prosecutors would be allowed to play the law enforcement interview of Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, in court. The judge appeared willing to allow a redacted version to be viewed on Thursday.

Defense attorneys worried if Twiggs' statements were played in open court and then broadcast by the media, that could hurt their client's chances of getting a fair trial. They argued prosecutors would try to frame what Twiggs said as a confession from Robinson. 

Prosecutors have claimed that Robinson sent his roommate a text saying he targeted Kirk because he "had enough of his hatred."

Video of Robinson

Prosecutors also showed video Wednesday of Robinson after he turned himself in to law enforcement. In the video, Robinson was standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff's Office wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap. The clip was short and contained no audio, so it was unclear if Robinson was being interviewed by investigators at the time.

Dig deeper:

Prosecutors 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.

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."

U.S.Utah