{"id":5337,"date":"2026-07-08T06:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5337"},"modified":"2026-07-08T06:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:34:40","slug":"dna-evidence-from-charlie-kirk-assassination-disputed-by-defendants-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5337","title":{"rendered":"DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk assassination disputed by defendant\u2019s lawyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

PROVO, Utah (AP) \u2014 Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to keep questioning the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors said links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon when a weeklong hearing continues Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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A member of Tyler Robinson\u2019s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI on Tuesday about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a rifle found wrapped inside a towel at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot in September while speaking to a crowd. <\/p>\n

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst\u2019s conclusions \u2014 a theme that\u2019s likely to come up again during the five-day preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can\u2019t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,\u201d Burt concluded.<\/p>\n

Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride countered that the reliability of the DNA testing could be examined if the case goes to trial. He suggested the preliminary hearing was not the time to take up the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point is there are explanations that are susceptible to different interpretations and arguments,\u201d McBride said. \u201cThe court is going to determine if it meets the threshold of reliability at trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty in the case. They are trying to convince Judge Tony Graf that they have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge.<\/p>\n

Robinson has not yet entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors must show they have enough evidence for a trial<\/h3>\n

FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said after Robinson\u2019s roommate provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.<\/p>\n

Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon \u2014 a bolt-action rifle with one spent round \u2014 in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.<\/p>\n

DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Robinson\u2019s roommate, Lance Twiggs, and the other was very likely Robinson, she said. Twiggs, a key figure in the prosecution\u2019s case, will not testify in person this week, but prosecutors have said they plan to introduce a recorded statement.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs, who was also his romantic partner, that read: \u201cI had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I\u2019m going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a surveillance video shown in court from the day Kirk was killed, Robinson could be seen climbing over a railing onto a rooftop, crouching down and running to a site overlooking where the activist was speaking, former State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull testified Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Hull said that after shooting Kirk, Robinson ran back across the roof, dropped to the ground and fled on foot.<\/p>\n

Defense team pushes back<\/h3>\n

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester questioned Hull\u2019s handling of the crime scene on the day of the shooting. She also asked about a bullet that was found on campus at a different location than the alleged site of the shooting.<\/p>\n

Hull said that bullet was traced back to a law enforcement officer who had \u201ccleared\u201d his weapon, ejecting an unused bullet.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk\u2019s campus event \u2014 an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on the prosecution\u2019s claim that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.<\/p>\n

During one of several appearances on campus by Robinson on Sept. 10, Hull said the defendant went to the amphitheater where Kirk was later shot and contacted representatives of Turning Point USA, a group co-founded by Kirk that galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.<\/p>\n

The investigator did not detail what occurred during that interaction or if members of Kirk\u2019s security team were present.<\/p>\n

Robinson turned himself in after the shooting. Prosecutors allege he sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he \u201chad enough of his hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s defense team pushed back Tuesday on the idea that he was hostile to Kirk\u2019s politics. Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t say anything about Mr. Robinson\u2019s state of mind,\u201d Novak said about the statement from Turning Point USA board member David Engelhardt. \u201cI don\u2019t think that this court should be deciding \u2014 based on the record before it \u2014 where, if at all, politics and religion intersect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge ruled that the Turning Point statement was relevant and would be \u201cprovisionally admitted\u201d with a final decision at a later date.<\/p>\n

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PROVO, Utah (AP) \u2014 Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDNA evidence from Charlie Kirk assassination disputed by defendant\u2019s lawyers - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5337\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk assassination disputed by defendant\u2019s lawyers - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PROVO, Utah (AP) \u2014 Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5337\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T06:34:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk assassination disputed by defendant\u2019s lawyers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T06:34:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337\"},\"wordCount\":863,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/ab381cd9558d50c4ecac038ae9145aa9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5337\",\"name\":\"DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk assassination disputed by defendant\u2019s lawyers - 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