Tyler Robinson, the college student accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University in September 2025, acted erratically after the shooting and told his roommate he wished “he hadn’t done it,” according to an interview played in court Thursday.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for former roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs that he “had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
Twiggs said in a recorded interview with a Utah prosecutor that he saw Robinson the day after the shooting. Twiggs told the prosecutor he had never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting, and when they talked about politics, it usually focused on President Trump and current events.
Twiggs said that when he saw Robinson on September 12, the day after the shooting, he was walking “around a lot” within their apartment. Twiggs said he asked “if what he said was true the night before.” Robinson “said it was,” Twiggs said.
He “started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it,” Twiggs said in the interview. Robinson then resumed pacing and “doing stuff, I think just to keep himself busy or distracted or something,” Twiggs said. Twiggs said he left the apartment shortly after because Robinson told him he was going to turn himself in, and he didn’t want to be there “regardless of what went down.” Robinson turned himself in later on September 12.
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Twiggs spoke to authorities later that same day, and again on April 20. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.
Defense attorneys had fought against the public release of the statements from Twiggs, saying prosecutors would characterize the statements as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial if the statements are broadcast by the media. Attorneys for the media and for Kirk’s widow, Erika, who has attended this week’s hearing, had urged the judge to make Twiggs’ statements and other evidence public.
“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf Wednesday.
Neiman filed a request late Wednesday for all evidence against Robinson to be displayed openly and in real time during this week’s hearing. Neiman wrote that Erika Kirk and Kirk’s parents had waited 10 months for the hearing but at times have been denied the chance “to meaningfully observe” it.
The judge said in response that not all evidence would be openly displayed and he needs to protect the rights of both victims and the defendant. There were some redactions in the video played, including when the prosecutor appeared to be showing Twiggs images of the note and messages from Robinson.
Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital. Investigators found the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.
Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Robinson has sat quietly through the hearing. On Thursday, he was dressed in a jacket and tie with one arm shackled to his waist. He appeared to be taking notes with his free hand.
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Robinson’s parents and two of his brothers sat behind him, in the front row of the courtroom gallery. Charlie’s Kirk parents and Erika Kirk sat a few rows back. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.
State District Judge Tony Graf will decide at the conclusion of this week’s preliminary hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial.
Robinson’s lawyers earlier this week questioned the reliability of DNA testing used to link the defendant to the towel and gun.
A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to the evidence. Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions.
“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt argued.
But forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability that a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.
DNA testing “is the gold standard in forensic science,” said Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.