4 key moments in the high-stakes Charlie Kirk murder hearing
A weeklong court hearing revealed key pieces of evidence obtained by prosecutors against Tyler Robinson, who is charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The hearing also shed light on potential defenses in the murder case.
Prosecutors questioned law enforcement officers about the chaotic moments after Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University in September 2025, and the efforts to collect evidence and track down his killer. Robinson's defense attorneys worked to cast doubt on the evidence, including DNA and ballistics analysis, with hours of questions about the scientific methods used and error rates.
Robinson declined to testify at the hearing, which ended Friday, July 10.
"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," Kirk's family said in a statement after the hearing.
The hearing was not intended to determine Robinson's guilt or innocence, but whether there was "probable cause" to believe he committed the crime. Utah judge Tony Graf is expected to decide whether the evidence presented is enough to put Robinson, 23, on trial for Kirk's murder after both sides make their final arguments Sept. 1. Graf has explained that he is required to evaluate the evidence "in the light most favorable to the prosecution."
Here are the key takeaways from the hearings:
New surveillance video captures Robinson on campus
Prosecutors played new security footage from Utah Valley University in court, which one of the investigators in the case testified shows Robinson's movements on campus. Robinson visited the campus at least four times Sept. 10 and 11, said David Hull, a former investigator with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson arrived around 8:30 a.m., interacted with members of Turning Point USA and then left, Hull said. Hull testified Robinson later returned in different clothing, walking with a limp, rolled onto the roof of a building on campus and crawled to the edge of the rooftop around the time the shot was fired.
Minutes later, footage also captured Robinson jumping off the roof with something in his hand and fleeing on foot, Hull said. Robinson also was seen entering a wooded area at least twice, and a rifle was discovered there after the shooting, Hull said.
Hull also testified that hours after the shooting, Robinson was stopped by a police officer on campus who took down his license plate number, citing "cop intuition."
Prosecutors also played graphic footage of the shooting, prompting members of Kirk's family to briefly leave the courtroom. One of Robinson's attorneys, Kathryn Nester, said she believes the video footage will play a major role in the trial and objected to it being played. She said allowing the public to see it now could compromise Robinson's right to a fair trial.
Robinson confessed, said he 'wishes he hadn't done it,' partner said
Despite objections from the defense, prosecutors on July 9 showed footage of an interview with Robinson's former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. In a meeting in April, Twiggs told investigators he started dating Robinson a few months after they moved in together at an apartment complex in St. George, Utah.
Twiggs said he had heard Robinson talk about politics, including President Donald Trump, but not about Kirk or issues related to gender identity or sexuality. He said Robinson left early on Sept. 10, indicating he had a long drive to work.
Around 11 p.m. that night, Twiggs testified, Robinson sent an automated message to him directing him to look under Robinson's keyboard. Twiggs found a note, which he read and photographed.
In text messages purportedly between the pair read aloud by State Bureau of Investigation agent Brian Davis, Twiggs asked Robinson if he was "the one who did it," and Robinson replied, "I am, I'm sorry." When asked why, Robinson later said, "I had enough of his hatred, some hate can't be negotiated out," Davis read in the courtroom.
Robinson also said in the messages that he had been planning the attack for more than a week as the pair discussed his failed attempts to retrieve his rifle, testimony showed.
Twiggs told investigators that when he saw Robinson on Sept. 11, he appeared to be trying to keep himself busy or distracted with tasks around the house. Twiggs said he asked Robinson if what he had said the night before was true, and Robinson confirmed it was, "started crying a little bit, and said he wishes he hadn't done it."
Investigators detail how they say shooting unfolded
Chris Bagley, a former Utah Valley University police officer who was working the event that day, testified that he heard a shot fired at 12:23 p.m. As Kirk fell, Bagley said, people in the audience started screaming and running in what he described as a "chaos situation."
Bagley said he was running toward the tent where Kirk was speaking when he heard on the radio that a shooter was in custody. While canvassing the scene, he told another officer he believed the shot had come from a rifle and noticed a building on campus had a direct line of sight to Kirk's tent.
Bagley said he climbed up to the top about 20 minutes after hearing the shot. There he found a red and black screwdriver and saw an impression in the gravel that he said looked like a "sniper pad." Another investigator testified that the distance from the apparent sniper's perch to the tent where Kirk was speaking was about 410 feet, with a 68-foot vertical drop.
Realizing there could be a shooter on the run, Bagley reviewed surveillance footage and searched for more evidence, later finding a shoe print near the northeast side of the building.
Nester questioned Bagley and other law enforcement witnesses about campus security measures ahead of the event and what steps were taken, or not taken, during the subsequent investigation. She asked the witnesses about another gun found on campus, an unfired bullet found on another rooftop and other people who were investigated.
Bagley told Nester that only six officers were tasked with working the event, which drew several thousand spectators, and that he had not attended any planning meetings on event security. Bagley acknowledged he could not identify the suspected shooter based on the surveillance video or clearly see a weapon in the video. But Bagley said he could see a "long black object" covered by what appeared to be a towel or blanket.
Defense challenges DNA evidence, 'inconclusive' ballistics analysis
Jennifer Faumuina, a sergeant with the Utah Department of Public Safety, testified about the screwdriver found on the rooftop of the building where prosecutors say the shot was fired and a rifle found wrapped in a towel in a wooded area northeast of campus. Faumuina read messages etched on ammunition found in the gun, including "Oh bella ciao," "Hey fascist! Catch!" and "If you read this, you are gay LMAO."
Faumuina testified an FBI report found that DNA on the towel and screwdriver likely came from Robinson and Twiggs. Faumuina also testified that what was likely Robinson's DNA was found on the rifle itself.
Robinson's defense attorneys questioned Amanda Bakker, author of the FBI report, and Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, about the accuracy of those results and the best practices for DNA analysis − despite objections from the prosecution that the questioning went beyond the scope of preliminary hearing.
Both experts acknowledged that the tests are not infallible, can't determine exactly when DNA was left on an item and can't confirm the source of DNA with absolute certainty.
"You never said it was an absolute identification of Mr. Robinson, did you?" defense attorney Michael Burt asked.
"Correct, no I did not," Bakker replied.
Burt also questioned firearm and toolmark examiner Samantha Karner about an ATF analysis of ballistic evidence, including bullet fragments recovered during Kirk's autopsy.
The analysis found the fragments "could not be identified or excluded as having been fired from" the rifle found on campus, according to a portion of the report read aloud in court. The fragments were "not suitable for microscopic comparison," so the result was inconclusive.
Karner said close-up shots of one of the fragments juxtaposed with a test shot fired from the rifle revealed a "lack of quality and quantity of marks even to do a comparison. It's almost like missing data points."
Robinson's attorneys had said they might use testimony from an ATF firearm analyst as "exculpatory evidence" during the hearing, though Graf later called their characterization of the inconclusive ATF report "technically accurate but highly prone to misinterpretation." Comments in the wake of the defense's filing led to one prosecutor being held in contempt.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4 key moments in the high-stakes Charlie Kirk murder hearing
Reporting by N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 11:43 AM.