Erika Kirk and the parents of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk secured a partial victory Thursday after asking a Utah judge to provide greater access to evidence presented during preliminary proceedings against the man accused of killing him.
The family filed a four-page notice Wednesday arguing that evidence had been admitted in open court without being displayed to relatives or other people in the courtroom. The filing described the process as unnecessarily secretive and said it violated rights afforded to crime victims under Utah law.
“For ten months, the Victim’s Family has waited for this preliminary hearing,” the motion reads. “At certain points throughout the preliminary hearing, the Kirk family sat in the room while evidence was admitted but not presented for their viewing. They were present in body, yet denied the very thing their presence was meant to secure: their ability to meaningfully observe the preliminary hearing.”
According to the filing, Erika Kirk and her husband’s parents traveled to the courtroom primarily “to bear witness to the evidence concerning the death of their husband and son.” The family proposed what it called a “simple” solution.
“At a minimum, every exhibit entered into evidence during the preliminary hearing must be visible to every person lawfully present in the courtroom,” the filing goes on. “To receive evidence in a manner shielded from those seated in the courtroom — as happened today — is not transparency.”
Tyler Robinson, 23, faces charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and committing a violent offense in the presence of a child. He also faces two counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of witness tampering. Prosecutors allege the killing was politically motivated and are seeking the death penalty. Robinson has not entered a plea.
The motion argued that public access to evidence could also help counter speculation surrounding Kirk’s death. “[I]n 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 says. “This is not what anyone should want.”
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf Jr. ruled Thursday that certain evidence could be shown to the courtroom gallery and news media after sensitive portions were redacted. Following a brief recess, the court played an edited recording of a law enforcement interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs.
Parts of the recording were silent or showed a black screen. Twiggs said Robinson had asked about using a Dremel rotary tool about a month before the shooting “because he said he wanted to create messages on bullets.”
“I told him to make sure he doesn’t set off the bullet on accident in the house, but I didn’t really think about it,” Twiggs said. Graf also indicated that previously admitted evidence could eventually be released, though the timing and method had not been determined on Thursday.