A well-known defense attorney in Utah says that the timeline of events could be a major weakness in the prosecution’s case against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10 while Kirk was giving a speech at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
Skye Lazaro of the Salt Lake City firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker told Fox News, “There is just so much we don’t know yet as this case develops.”
The defense team also doesn’t know much at this point. The discovery process started a few weeks ago. Robinson’s lawyers have already pushed back his waiver hearing by a month. Lazaro predicted that the defense is likely to delay the discovery process for up to a year before the case goes to a preliminary hearing.
News briefings, statements from law enforcement, and charging paperwork filed last week have made some evidence public. The documents include text exchanges between Robinson and his roommate and love partner, Lance Twiggs. In these communications, Robinson is said to have taken responsibility for Kirk’s death. But the messages don’t have any timestamps.
Robinson, 22, was taken into custody in his hometown in southern Utah 33 hours after the shooting. Fox News Digital reports that authorities said he went back to the crime scene before he was arrested, where police later located the gun they think he used to kill someone.
The outlet said that investigators have not made clear when he talked to a police officer who was stationed along the edge of the area.
Lazaro told Fox that “If it doesn’t line up in a way that makes sense, it could definitely be bad for them.”
Fox said that a police source said Robinson told an officer at the site that he was trying to get back something he had left in a parking garage close to where police subsequently found the rifle they think was used in the murder.
At the time, the contact didn’t trigger any red flags because hundreds of individuals had left their things behind while running away from the location after Kirk’s deadly shooting in front of about 3,000 people.
The officer did a normal check of Robinson’s car’s license plate. The insider informed Fox that investigators later linked that interaction to Robinson after he was named as a possible suspect.
Lazaro noted that if the officer’s body camera wasn’t recorded during the meeting, Robinson’s legal team might be able to question parts of the investigation.
Lazaro said that more information regarding the text messages mentioned in court documents might also make things harder for Robinson’s defense as the case goes on, according to the site.
She explained, “A lot of the time, when you get cellphone records, you can find out where messages were sent from.”
A court determined on Monday afternoon that Robinson may wear civilian attire for his upcoming pretrial hearings.
Judge Tony F. Graf Jr. of the Fourth Judicial District Court issued the ruling during a concise hearing. This follows a closed hearing that took place on Friday.
Subsequent to a response last week, Robinson’s defense team, comprising Kathy Nester, Richard Novak, Michael Burt, and Staci Visser, petitioned Judge Graf to permit their client to attend all court meetings in civilian attire and without handcuffs.
In the court filing they wrote, “There are thousands of similar, and in most instances, much worse items of prejudicial pretrial publicity that have relentlessly focused on Robinson’s demeanor and appearance during his jail-house court appearances and have polluted the waters of justice in this case.”
Judge Graf said the case has attracted extraordinary public and media attention. He said images of Robinson in jail clothes are likely to circulate, but Robinson has a presumption of innocence.
“To date, this has not occurred and the presumption of innocence remains,” Graf said. “Balancing these factors, the court finds that Mr. Robinson’s right to the presumption of innocence outweighs the minimal inconvenience of permitting civilian attire and Mr. Robinson shall be dressed as one who is presumed innocent.”