- Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing began in Provo with tight security on Monday.
- Robinson faces 10 charges, including aggravated murder; the state seeks the death penalty.
- The hearing will include testimony from law enforcement and Robinson's out-of-state forensic witnesses.
PROVO — With extremely tight security both in and outside the 4th District Courthouse, the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson got underway Monday morning, nearly 10 months after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, and Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, are attending the hearing. Also present in the courtroom gallery on Monday was Donald Trump Jr.
Erika Kirk, wearing a black dress, dabbed her eyes with tissues shortly after being seated in the courtroom and before the hearing even began. Judge Tony Graf is allowing the Kirk family to exit and enter the courtroom as needed to avoid having to see or hear sensitive evidence being presented. The Kirk family walked out of the courtroom once during Monday's morning session as a UVU officer working on the day Kirk was shot described what he heard.
Watch the hearing livestreamed by KSL here:
Kirk's family released a prepared statement prior to Monday's hearing.
"Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend, and father. Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children. We remain deeply grateful for the support, prayers, and kindness we have received. This outpouring has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives. Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time. We ask for continued privacy as we navigate this process and immense grief," according to the statement signed by Kirk's parents, Erika Kirk, and his sister, Mary.
Robinson faces 10 charges in 4th District Court, the most serious being aggravated murder, a capital offense. The Utah County Attorney's Office says it will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted on that charge.
In addition to aggravated murder, Robinson, 23, is charged with discharge of a firearm causing injury, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; two counts of witness tampering, a third-degree felony; and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
During a preliminary hearing, a judge will decide if there is sufficient probable cause to go to trial on the charges levied against a defendant. The bar prosecutors must meet to show probable cause, however, is very low at a preliminary hearing. A judge will not determine guilt or innocence during a preliminary hearing.
The Utah County Attorney's Office is expected to call four witnesses, all law enforcers, to testify over the next few days and present 40 to 50 pieces of evidence. Robinson says he plans to call three out-of-state forensic witnesses to the stand.
The first witness called by the state was officer Chris Bagley, who currently works for the Spanish Fork Police Department but was working with the UVU department last September. His assignment that day was to secure the Hall of Flags near the amphitheater on campus where Charlie Kirk was speaking.
Prosecutor Chad Grunander introduced several pictures of the UVU campus in the area where Kirk was speaking as evidence. Robinson's defense team objected to each picture being introduced, claiming no foundation was laid for who took each picture and when. Graf overruled each objection. Over the weekend, Robinson filed a "standing objection" to the state's preliminary hearing exhibits, stating that he intends to "state his additional objections and the bases for them as to the entirety and/or portions of each exhibit, at the time that the state proffers each specific exhibit, during the course of the preliminary hearing."
Bagley testified that while he was working, "I heard a shot fired," and recalled how it turned into a "chaos situation" because the thousands of people attending the Turning Point U.S.A. event "started getting up and (were) starting to run."
But just 30 seconds later, an alleged gunman was taken into custody, Bagley said. He recalled thinking it was "surprising" someone was arrested so fast. But as Bagley started preserving the crime scene and found an empty holster for a handgun, "I realized I heard a rifle shot, not a pistol shot," he testified. Bagley says he then realized the roof of the Losee Center provided a direct line of sight to where Kirk was sitting when he was shot.
Bagley later reviewed surveillance video, which showed a man gain access to the roof of the Losee building, run across the roof, crouch down and then run off again after the shot was fired and drop down from the north end of the roof. When he inspected the roof, Bagley says he found a red and black screwdriver, and the gravel rooftop was disturbed in a way that looked like someone had laid down on the roof.
"To me, it looks like a sniper's pad," Bagley testified.
During cross examination by lead defense attorney Kathy Nester, Bagley admitted that he did not attend any type of security briefing prior to the Kirk event and that six UVU officers were assigned to work the event, plus Kirk's own private security team.
Hearsay and Lance Twiggs
Robinson's defense team on Monday continued their ongoing objection to the judge allowing hearsay evidence during the preliminary hearing.
Hearsay evidence is any statement that a person, such as a police officer, collects from another person — such as a witness or another officer — and presents at the hearing.
Robinson's "standing objection" filed over the weekend includes photographs and video recordings, the Utah State Medical Examiner's autopsy report without the testimony of the medical examiner, and testimony from police officers who are expected to talk about statements they received from other officers who will not be in the courtroom.
"The failure to produce witnesses with personal knowledge of the content of the exhibit, including how the exhibit was created, prevents this court from assessing the reliability of the evidence, and violates each of the state and federal constitutional rights referred to above in this capital proceeding," Robinson's objection states.
The defense strongly objects to the video-recorded testimony of Robinson's former roommate at the time Kirk was killed, Lance Twiggs, being presented as evidence during the preliminary hearing. Graf denied a request by Robinson for the court to order Twiggs — whom the defense calls a "material witness," to attend the hearing in person. Defense attorneys argue that by being unable to cross-examine Twiggs, or any other witness providing hearsay evidence, the court will be unable to asses the reliability of that evidence.
That video is expected to be introduced later in the week. The state has also warned the court that it plans to introduce three items of evidence, which they describe as "graphic." The evidence is expected to include video recordings of Kirk being shot.
Robinson's preliminary hearing is expected to last all week.
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