Overview
- The preliminary evidentiary hearing in Provo ended Friday with prosecutors resting after presenting roughly 40–50 exhibits and Judge Tony F. Graf Jr. postponing his probable‑cause decision until September 1.
- Prosecutors showed surveillance footage, ATF and DNA testing tied to a towel wrapped around the recovered rifle, alleged written and text confessions, and recorded interviews from the accused’s former roommate Lance Twiggs.
- Defense lawyers challenged ballistics and DNA findings, raised chain‑of‑custody and contamination concerns, and won evidentiary limits including redactions and restrictions on a compiled video.
- An alleged confession note was accidentally displayed to the courtroom gallery, prompting the judge to restrict public access to exhibits and prompting Erika Kirk to leave when footage of her husband being shot was shown.
- The judge left the record open for written briefs, several expedited appeals over media access and hearsay remain pending, and a probable‑cause finding would advance arraignment and could allow prosecutors to pursue a death‑penalty aggravator.