Utah prosecutors on Thursday released redacted excerpts of authorities interviewing a roommate and former romantic partner of Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old. accused of murder conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus last fall.
In video and audio clips, Robinson’s former partner, Lance Twiggs, recalled that the accused killer was pacing around their apartment after Kirk’s murder. Twiggs said Robinson told her he planned to confess to his parents or turn himself in to law enforcement.
Robinson said he wished “he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs told the law enforcement interviewer.
Twiggs, seen in the video wearing a suit and tie, said he had never heard Robinson speak about Kirk before the Sept. 10 shooting at Utah Valley University in front of a crowd of hundreds of onlookers.
The audio was released on the fourth day of a five-day preliminary hearing aimed at determining whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to justice. State District Judge Tony F. Graf Jr. will make that decision at the conclusion of the proceedings.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not pleaded guilty. He surrendered to law enforcement the day after the shooting of Kirk, co-founder of the influential conservative student organization Turning Point USA and an ally of President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors say Robinson left a note for Twiggs that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” » The two men then exchanged text messages that were detailed in an indictment from the Utah County District Attorney’s Office.
“I’m tired of his hatred. Some hatreds can’t be negotiated,” Robinson told Twiggs in a text message, according to the indictment.
In another text message, Robinson alluded to carving messages on balls. Twiggs, in his interview with law enforcement, confirmed that Robinson told him he wanted to carve text on bullets before what the accused killer described as a hunting trip with his family.
The text message exchanges between Robinson and Twiggs were read aloud in court by a law enforcement investigator on the witness stand.
Robinson’s defense attorneys had objected to the release of Twiggs’ statements, saying prosecutors would characterize them as confessions and infringe on their client’s right to a fair trial.
Erika Kirk, the murdered activist’s widow, was present at Thursday’s proceedings. It was not immediately clear whether she was in the courtroom when the Twiggs clips were played.
Kirk’s family released a statement before Monday’s hearing began, thanking his supporters for their kindness following the 31-year-old activist’s killing.
“Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend and father,” the family said. “Each legal proceeding is a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably affected our lives and those of his children. »
Lawyers for Kirk’s family and media representatives implored the judge to release Twiggs’ statements and other evidence in the case.
“Not being transparent, not being open and letting the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the justice system,” Jeffrey Neiman, attorney for the Kirk family, told Graf.
