Overview
- Prosecutors began presenting evidence Monday in a five‑day preliminary hearing in Provo that must show only reasonable grounds to try 23‑year‑old Tyler Robinson for the Sept. 10, 2025, killing of Charlie Kirk.
- The state plans to offer DNA tied to a recovered Mauser rifle and its towel, surveillance video of a rooftop shooter, autopsy findings, a handwritten note and texts prosecutors say amount to a confession, and a recorded statement from Robinson’s roommate who was given limited use immunity.
- Defense lawyers are focused on an ATF ballistics report that could not identify or exclude the bullet fragments as coming from the recovered rifle and are contesting the use of prerecorded testimony and other hearsay at the hearing.
- Judge Graf has allowed news cameras and a public livestream of much of the proceeding, and Kirk’s widow and parents are expected to attend with the family saying the hearings are a painful reminder of his death.
- If Graf finds probable cause the case will move toward arraignment and a trial date and prosecutors can pursue capital charges, a decision that could shape legal limits on evidence and public access in a politically charged murder case.