Defense attorneys said law enforcement has not linked the bullets found during Charlie Kirk’s autopsy to the rifle allegedly used in the shooting.
Tyler Robinson meets judge in Charlie Kirk murder case
Tyler Robinson appeared in person for the first time before a judge on charges in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
Lawyers for the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk say federal law enforcement has not linked the bullets found during the autopsy to the alleged murder weapon.
Tyler Robinson was charged with aggravated murder and other felonies in connection with Kirk’s death. Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on September 10 while giving a lecture to students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Authorities previously said the gun used to assassinate Kirk was a Mauser 98, a common bolt-action rifle typically used for hunting. The hunting rifle, which has a heavier .30-06 caliber, began life as a German munitions product decades ago, and millions were produced and resold in the United States, experts previously told USA TODAY.
Authorities recovered a gun near the scene of the shooting, with a spent shell casing and three unexploded bullets engraved with meme-inspired messages inside.
Robinson’s attorneys said in a recent court filing that they received a summary report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives “indicating that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered during the autopsy of the rifle that was allegedly tied to Robinson.”
“Although the State has not indicated any intention to introduce this report at preliminary hearing, it is entirely possible that the defense may decide to introduce the ATF firearms analyst’s testimony as exculpatory evidence,” the court filing states.
Robinson’s lawyers said the FBI is conducting a second comparative analysis of the bullets and an analysis of the bullets for lead, but they have not yet completed them. The defense asked Judge Tony Graf to postpone a preliminary hearing scheduled for May, in part because the team has not yet obtained case files and notes from prosecutors related to these analyzes and other evidence.
But during a March 12 meeting with prosecutors, the defense received a hard drive containing more than 600,000 files, according to court filings. This was in addition to the 20,000 files they already had, including 31 hours of audio and over 700 hours of video.
Robinson’s lawyers said it will take at least 60 days to review the evidence they have and determine whether there is any evidence that has not yet been presented.
“The defense team has devoted, and continues to devote, significant resources to the discovery process, including identifying materials not yet received to inform preliminary hearing preparations,” the court filing states. “However, the defense team is being pragmatic and the comprehensive review required to determine what is missing will take hundreds of hours.”
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said he is seeking the death penalty against Robinson. Robinson is scheduled to return to court on April 17 to hear a defense motion to ban cameras from the courtroom.
Contributor: Eduardo Cuevas
