The man charged with killing Charlie Kirk strolled Utah Valley University in shorts and a T-shirt, bought a meal at Chick-fil-A and made contact with Kirk’s staff, before returning in different clothes to shoot the conservative activist from a rooftop, an investigator testified Tuesday.
Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull described Tyler Robinson’s alleged movements before and after Kirk was killed as prosecutors played previously unseen campus surveillance videos in state court. The defendant first arrived on campus about four hours before Kirk was killed, Hull said.
While the court on Tuesday watched video of Robinson allegedly walking to the roof and lying down, Erika Kirk appeared to be crying and dabbing her eyes.
Prosecutors say they 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.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea. 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.
In a video shown Tuesday, Robinson goes over a railing onto a rooftop, crouches down and runs to a site overlooking where Kirk was speaking, Hull testified. After the shooting, Robinson runs back across the roof, drops to the ground and flees on foot, Hull said.
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Investigators later found the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — wrapped in a towel in some nearby woods. Later that night, a police officer again spotted Robinson in the campus area, Hull testified.
The defense objected to broadcasting a second, enhanced video showing the same surveillance footage that was played for media earlier, and the judge sustained.
This week’s preliminary hearing marks the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case. Authorities allege Robinson, 23, shot Kirk on Sept. 10 while the conservative activist and ally of President Trump was speaking to a crowd of thousands.
Former university police Officer Christopher Bagley testified Monday that he witnessed the shooting then went to the nearby gravel rooftop, where it appeared someone had been lying prone with a clear sightline to Kirk’s location.
“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley told the court.
The preliminary hearing is set to resume Wednesday at 1 p.m. Here’s what to know so far:
Witness and FBI DNA analyst testify on towel and screwdriver evidence
Jennifer Faumuina, who worked for the State Bureau of Investigation at the time of the shooting, testified Tuesday that the gun was documented, and then packaged and taken to the FBI and eventually provided to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laboratory.
A screwdriver found on the rooftop of the Losee building on the Utah Valley University campus was also collected as evidence, she said.
DNA found on the towel was matched to two people, and one of them was Tyler Robinson’s roommate, Faumuina said.
FBI DNA analyst Amanda Bakker later testified that Robinson was included as a “possible contributor” of the DNA on the screwdriver and towel. She said she let the local investigators know about that result on Sept. 13.
U.S. Department of Justice policy is that examiners don’t use terms such as “absolute identification” or “reasonable degree of scientific certainty,” Bakker said.
Examiners also can’t imply that forensic autosomal DNA examinations are infallible.
After about two hours of DNA-related testimony, the court took a short break — then Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride cross-examined Bakker, asking her about her education, training and other professional credentials.
Bakker said her lab is accredited, which means it has to follow a strict set of standards including having trained examiners on staff. She had to have the right degree, take a special training program and undergo proficiency testing to show she’s qualified to do the job.
The lab is audited by an outside agency periodically in order to keep its accreditation status, Bakker testified. She also explained some of the nuances of DNA testing. All DNA degrades over time, she said, and that’s a normal finding in testing.
The degradation found in DNA samples in this case did not impact her ability to accurately test the samples, she added.
Bakker said she followed lab protocols and her training when testing the evidence.
Court will hear statement from Tyler Robinson’s roommate
Prosecutors also plan to present video from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office from Sept. 11 — the day Robinson turned himself in — and recorded testimony from Robinson’s roommate.
Judge Graf ruled last month that Robinson’s former roommate did not have to testify in person during the preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Robinson reportedly texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.
Prosecutors have also said they plan to present DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy findings and witness statements. They contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law.
Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images 
Kirk’s family members, Trump Jr. attend hearing
Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USAgalvanized the conservative youth vote to help Mr. Trump win a second term.
Donald Trump Jr. was in the courtroom Tuesday, and the courthouse has been filled with Secret Service agents and other armed law enforcement officials.
The Republican president’s son said on the social media platform X that he chose to attend the hearing because Charlie Kirk was “one of my closest friends for over a decade.”
Trump Jr. has not spoken to media outside the court, but he posted Tuesday about some details that came up during the second day of the hearing.
“I wanted to see actual evidence before I opined on it,” he wrote.
This week marks the first time Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, have been in the courtroom since the case began. Robinson’s parents, Matt and Amber Robinson, also have been present and sat a few rows behind the Kirks on Monday.
Kirk’s family briefly walked out of the courtroom twice on Monday — when Bagley started testifying about Charlie Kirk’s arrival on campus and again when prosecutors introduced several graphic videos of Kirk’s shooting. Each time, they returned.
In a statement before Monday’s hearing, Kathryn and Robert Kirk said, “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.”
Prosecutors have a low bar
The proceeding resembles a minitrial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk and should stand trial. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Legal experts say that means prosecutors should have little trouble advancing their case.
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester repeatedly objected to evidence introduced by prosecutors. She was mostly overruled by the judge.
When she asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled, he acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and didn’t know whether it had been fingerprinted.
Spectators camped out for hearing
Utah County residents Denae Branch and Jean Rivera lined up outside the courthouse in Provo around midnight Tuesday and snagged one of the few seats available to the public.
The women said they were in the crowd when Kirk was shot and now think about it every day.
“It feels like a lot of the world just kept spinning and we’re still dealing with the trauma of it,” Branch said. “Our hearts and minds are still trying to process it and, yeah, it kind of helps being here.”
Rivera on Tuesday wore a shirt that read “FREEDOM” — just as Kirk did on the day he was shot. She said she hoped to hear testimony about Robinson’s alleged confession note.