Charlie Kirk’s family cites “overwhelming evidence” against activist’s alleged killer as preliminary hearing ends

The family of Charlie Kirk said Friday that they believe the prosecution has presented “overwhelming evidence” to show alleged shooter Tyler Robinson killed the conservative activist as he addressed students at Utah Valley University in September 2025. 

The family statement comes after a weeklong preliminary hearing. Utah State District Judge Tony Graf will now decide if prosecutors have enough evidence to put Robinson on trial on a charge of aggravated murder. 

“The conclusion of the preliminary hearing marks an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie,” the Kirk family said in a statement, describing the proceedings as “unimaginably painful and emotionally demanding.” The Kirk family did not speak after the hearings ended. 

“As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,” the statement said. “Nothing will ever undo the loss of our beloved Charlie. As this case moves into its next phase, we pray that truth will continue to be heard through a process that is fair, transparent, and grounded in the facts.” 

Shortly after the hearing ended, Kirk’s widow Erika submitted a court filing asking Graf to make a determination by Sept. 1. Graf has scheduled four hours of further oral arguments for that date and is expected to make his decision afterward. 

Robinson has not entered a plea and did not testify during the preliminary hearing. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for Republicans in the 2024 election. 

During the preliminary hearing Thursday, prosecutors aired portions of a recorded interview with Robinson’s former roommate, Lance Twiggs. The two were romantic partners at the time of the shooting, and Robinson allegedly confessed to the shooting in messages to Twiggs, prosecutors say.

In the recorded interview, Twiggs told a Utah prosecutor that Robinson allegedly said he wished “he hadn’t done it,” referring to the shooting. Robinson was also acting erratically, Twiggs said, and shared his plans to turn himself in. 

Defense questions DNA evidence

Lawyers for Robinson redoubled their efforts to raise doubts about DNA evidence that authorities said links him to the suspected murder weapon. 

One of Robinson’s attorneys, Michael Burt, has repeatedly questioned the reliability of DNA tests cited by prosecutors during this week’s preliminary hearing. Investigators said the tests linked Robinson to evidence including a rifle found near where Kirk was shot, ammunition and a tool he allegedly used to etch messages onto bullet cartridges. 

Burt used testimony Friday from a government DNA analyst to highlight the limitations of such tests. He noted that government policies don’t allow analysts to say that DNA evidence is “infallible” or that it has a “zero error rate.” He also indicated it’s possible for DNA to be transported by a third party. He also emphasized that multiple samples of DNA were found on the rifle. 

“If you had a lot of DNA on your hand, we shook hands and I went to pick up an exhibit, a gun, and I touched the trigger of it, your DNA could be on that trigger, right?” Burt asked Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“It is possible. Yes,” Oliver replied.

Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Before Oliver testified, Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander questioned the relevance of bringing her on as a witness. He suggested prosecutors already had met the burden of proof needed to advance the case to trial.

“Your honor’s heard four days of testimony now. The evidence is overwhelming. It’s devastating,” Grunander said.

On Thursday, Robinson’s team questioned ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the ATF.

Kirk family has emotional response to enhanced video 

At the request of Kirk’s family, Graf said he would allow an altered version of campus surveillance video that prosecutors said shows Robinson crawling out to a rooftop “sniper’s perch” before shooting Kirk to be shown inside the courtroom.

The unaltered video was previously shown. The altered version includes recorded material that zooms in on a figure that prosecutors said was Robinson and red marks that were added to the video. 

The video was not shown on the broadcast stream camera, but CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reported that the footage showed Robinson arriving on campus at UVU, assessing the scene, climbing up the building, and crawling to the edge of the roof where the shot that killed Kirk was fired from. Erika Kirk and Kathryn Kirk, the mother of Charlie Kirk, both looked away from the video and cried as the footage showed Robinson climbing the building. 

Robinson himself would watch the video briefly, then look away. He twirled a pen as the footage was shown. 

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