Roommate says Charlie Kirk suspect admitted shooting as hearing enters final day
The man accused of assassinating conservative political activist Charlie Kirk said he wished “he hadn’t done it,” according to new testimony. A Utah judge on Thursday heard from the former roommate and romantic partner of 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, who said Robinson admitted to the fatal shooting and expressed regret.
Lance Twiggs’ testimony came as prosecutors continued laying out their case against Robinson while the judge weighs whether to move forward with a death penalty trial.
In a recorded statement played for the court, Twiggs said he saw Robinson pacing around their apartment the day after Charlie Kirk was shot to death at Utah Valley University. He said Robinson had admitted to being the shooter the night before and when he asked if that was true, Robinson became emotional and confirmed it.
“[He] didn’t go into detail. He just, I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before, and he said it was,” Twiggs said in recorded testimony. “He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it. And then kept going around and just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something.”
Prosecutors also displayed screenshots of text messages they say Robinson sent Twiggs before the shooting, including one that read, “I had enough of his hatred.”
Prosecutors also say Robinson left a note for Twiggs on the day of Kirk’s killing, reading, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Kirk family calls for transparency
The recording shown in court Thursday had been partially redacted, but had been made public after attorneys for Kirk’s family asked Judge Tony Graf to make not only Twiggs’ statements, but other evidence in the case public. It came after teh family was not allowed to be in the courtroom as some of the evidence was presented on Wednesday.
In a filing on Wednesday, Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, requested on behalf of the family that every exhibit entered into evidence during the preliminary hearing be visible to everyone present in the courtroom.
“To receive evidence in a manner shielded from those seated in the courtroom — as
happened today — is not transparency. And in the absence of transparency, speculation and
conspiracy theories related to the tragic assassination of Mr. Kirk will continue to proliferate in
the public domain, breeding doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” the filing read.
Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf, “To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.”
Erika Kirk attended Thursday’s hearing but it’s not clear if she was inside the courtroom to see Twiggs’ video testimony.
The other evidence
On Thursday, prosecutors also showed surveillance video they say tracks Robinson’s movements on the campus before the shooting. One of the investigators in the case also read parts of text message exchanges between Robinson and Twiggs out loud while screenshots were displayed on a monitor.
In one of the texts, Robinson alluded to having engraved messages on bullets. In the recorded interview, Twiggs said Robinson told him he was going on a family hunting trip and wanted to engrave text on bullets ahead it.
In another text, Twiggs asked Robinson how long he had been planning the shooting, and Robinson answered, “A bit over a week.”
Earlier this week, prosecutors presented DNA evidence they say links Robinson to the murder. Robinson’s lawyers argued the techniques used to gather that evidence were unreliable, but prosecutors say determining reliability should be a matter for the actual trial.
Last day of pretrial
Friday is set to be the last day of the pretrial hearings. The judge will then decide whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of tampering with a witness and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
The high-profile hearing has drawn large crowds, with people camping outside the courthouse for one of just 14 public seats available each day. Charlie Kirk’s parents and widow have attended the proceedings every day, at times leaving the courtroom during the presentation of graphic evidence.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
