Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect's Lawyers Ask To Delay Hearing To Review Gun Dna Evidence

Attorneys for nan man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk past September want to hold a tribunal proceeding for six months to reappraisal grounds relating to DNA recovered connected nan alleged execution weapon.

Tyler Robinson’s ineligible squad has asked Judge Tony Graf successful Utah to hold a preliminary proceeding scheduled for May, arsenic they request much clip to hole and analyse nan grounds they person received. The proceeding will fundamentally beryllium a mini-trial of nan man accused of nan Kirk's assassination astatine Utah Valley University connected Sept. 10, 2025.

One of nan biggest pieces of grounds they’re waiting connected is DNA grounds related to nan firearm allegedly utilized successful nan attack. Investigators found a decades-old German-made bolt-action firearm built for usage successful 2 World Wars, successful a wooded area adjacent nan segment of nan shooting.

Kirk, an influential blimpish podcaster and activist, was fatally changeable while answering questions from nan crowd astatine an outdoor arena arsenic portion of a nationalist circuit for Turning Point USA.

In a tribunal filing, Robinson’s attorneys said they were provided pinch an "ATF Summary Report," which they opportunity indicates "that nan ATF was incapable to place nan slug recovered astatine autopsy to nan firearm allegedly tied" to their client.

Robinson’s attorneys said they person not been capable to reappraisal nan ATF lawsuit record associated pinch that summary report, nor person they been capable to reappraisal nan protocols related to nan introspection of nan slug part recovered during nan autopsy. The tribunal filing besides said a secondary comparative slug study by nan FBI is underway, but not yet complete.

"Until nan defense receives nan lawsuit files and protocols relating to these analyses, and has them independently evaluated by its expert, they will not beryllium successful a position to measure nan reliability of this grounds if either nan State aliases nan defense decides to proffer it," nan filing says.

Depending connected what they find retired from that evidence, Robinson’s attorneys say, “the defense whitethorn very good determine to connection nan grounds of nan ATF firearm expert arsenic exculpatory evidence.”

The tribunal filing said nan attorneys expect an first reappraisal of nan integer grounds to return 60 days to find what is missing, truthful they will beryllium fresh for nan hearing. Defense lawyers besides opportunity they received a difficult thrust earlier this period that included 31 hours of audio files, 700 hours of video files, and 600,000 information files.

"The defense squad has devoted, and will proceed to devote, important resources to processing discovery, including identifying materials not yet received to pass readiness for nan preliminary hearing. However, nan defense squad is realistic, and nan broad reappraisal required to find what is missing will return hundreds of hours," nan tribunal filing says.