The bullet that killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk did not match the rifle tied to the accused, Tyler Robinson, according to a claim by his lawyers. Robinson’s defence has asked to delay a preliminary hearing set for May, saying they need time to review extensive materials and a bullet analysis that could aid his defence.
Kirk was shot dead on September 10 at the Utah Valley University campus. Robinson, 22, has been charged with aggravated murder with a victim targeting enhancement and other felonies. The Utah County Attorney’s Office has filed a Notice of Intent to seek the death penalty.
Defense attorneys say they have not received all existing evidence from prosecutors and will need time to review it, consult defence experts, and determine its impact. They say ATF reports show “that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson,” and that they did not recover the case files.
The defence reports receiving roughly 20,000 files, including over 700 hours of video and 31 hours of audio, and another batch of about 600,000 files on March 12 that they estimate will take sixty days to review. “Discovery in this case is incomplete, voluminous, and the processing of it is complex,” the lawyers wrote.
Prosecutors maintain they have sufficient evidence to proceed. They say DNA on the rifle’s trigger was consistent with Robinson’s, though defence attorneys note some forensic reports show multiple people’s DNA on items. Prosecutors also say Robinson told a romantic partner he targeted Kirk because he “had had enough of his hatred.” The filing does not ask to postpone the April 17 court hearing.
