Tyler Robinson Faces Charlie Kirk's Widow as Prosecutors Play Rooftop Video at Murder Hearing

PROVO, Utah — Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sat feet away from Kirk's widow this week as prosecutors walked a courtroom through a video compilation that they say captures nearly every step he took on the day of the killing, including climbing onto and jumping off the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired.

Robinson appeared at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo wearing a gray suit and a pink shirt, his wrists and ankles cuffed, for a preliminary hearing that began Monday, July 6, and is expected to run the better part of a week. He is charged with aggravated murder in the September 10, 2025, shooting of Kirk, who was struck in the neck while addressing a crowd at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege Robinson fired a single rifle round from the roof of the Losee Center.

Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, attended the hearing alongside his parents, Rob and Kathy Kirk. Supporters in the gallery included Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina. According to reporters in the courtroom, Robinson showed no visible response when investigators played video of the shooting, including audio of the gunshot — while Judge Tony Graf Jr., who is presiding, appeared to flinch as he reviewed the footage.

Over three days, prosecutors called Officer Christopher Bagley and State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull, who described physical evidence that included a screwdriver, footprints and surveillance video. DNA from both Robinson and an alleged accomplice, Lance Twiggs, was reportedly recovered from key items, among them a towel wrapped around the rifle found on campus. On Wednesday, prosecutors played a clip of Robinson standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff's Office after he turned himself in the day after the shooting. Prosecutors also told the court that Robinson sent Twiggs a text message saying he targeted Kirk because he "had enough of his hatred."

Robinson's defense team pushed back hard, with one attorney interrogating an FBI DNA analyst about the techniques used to link Robinson to the towel, and objecting to the admission of the campus video. Judge Graf ruled that testimony from Robinson's roommate could be played during the hearing, a setback for the defense.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea. If the judge finds sufficient evidence to proceed, the case moves toward trial, where Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted. The preliminary hearing is designed only to determine whether prosecutors have enough to bind him over — but for the Kirk family, seated across the room from the man accused of killing a husband and son, it was the first face-to-face reckoning with the case.