LIVE UPDATES: Final witness expected to take stand on day 5 of Tyler Robinson hearing in Charlie Kirk murder case

Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing is underway this week in Provo, Utah. Robinson faces 10 charges, including aggravated murder, in connection to the death of Charlie Kirk. During a preliminary hearing, a judge will decide if there is sufficient probable cause to go to trial on the charges levied against a defendant.

EastIdahoNews.com is livestreaming the hearing and will post live written updates each day. The most recent updates are at the top of this story. Please excuse typos.

11:57 a.m. The video has been shown to the courtroom. The judge says the hearing is continued to Sept. 1, and the parties are alotted four hours total for arguments. Court is in recess until then.

11:45 a.m. Judge Graf says the courtroom will be able to see the unedited video from an exhibit that was shown yesterday. The cameras will not be able to broadcast it, but audio is allowed, although the video has no audio.

11:44 a.m. The defense says Robinson has decided not to testify at the preliminary hearing.

11:43 a.m. Burt is done with his redirect questioning and Oliver is excused from the stand. The defense says they have no further witnesses, and the prosecution says they have no rebuttal left to present at this hearing, but before break, they want to discuss publishing an exhibit in the courtroom so the Kirk family can see it.

11:38 a.m. McBride is done with his questioning, and Burt is back to do a redirect. He asks about the signs of degradation in the rifle DNA samples and whether other contributors could have provided that DNA. She says it is possible.

11:35 a.m. Oliver says the DNA found on the rifle is “at least 1 trillion times more likely if it originated from Tyler Robinson” than if it were someone else’s. The chances of the DNA on the rifle being someone else’s is less than 1 in one trillion.

11:32 a.m. Burt is done questioning the witness. Prosecutor McBride is now cross-examining Oliver. He asks her if her lab is accredited, and she says yes. Oliver says a third party comes in and audits the laboratory to make sure they are working up to the preferred standard. McBride asks where on the firearm that she found support for inclusion of the DNA of Tyler Robinson. She says it was found on the stock and grip, the butt plate, the trigger and trigger guard, the bolt, the fore end, the barrel, the optical accessory, the protective underside of the receiver, one cartridge case, and 2 bullet cartridges.

11:27 a.m. The prosecution has objected again, saying that Burt is asking the witness things that would make the judge weigh the evidence, which is not allowed in a preliminary hearing. Burt says it’s his last question after Oliver reviews her material. Judge Graf allows Burt to continue.

11:23 a.m. The prosecution has objected again, and Judge Graf sustains it. Burt says he will move on. He is now questioning how many people can contribute to a DNA mixture for the sample testing.

11:20 a.m. The prosecution has objected to the discussion of alleles, arguing that the defense has gone beyond the scope of probable cause. Oliver doesn’t do sequence analysis, and Burt was asking her about it. Judge Graf has sustained the objection, and Burt is asked to try the question again, but to keep it to Oliver’s expertise.

11:17 a.m. Burt is showing Oliver a chart from the case’s DNA report. Oliver agrees that there are similarities between the alleles in Robinson’s DNA and those found in the DNA from items in Robinson’s home.

11:13 a.m. Oliver says she found “support for inclusion” of Twiggs’ DNA on the buttons and other parts of the Dremel tool, which is used to engrave things. She is now explaining “Next Generation Sequencing” or NGS, which she says ATF does not use.

11:10 a.m. Oliver says she tested Lance Twiggs’ and Matthew Robinson’s DNA (Tyler’s father) against other DNA found on items in the home, because they were known to be at the home. She says there was “support for inclusion” of Matthew Robinson’s DNA on part of the rifle. She says this is likely because he was associated with the household, and it does not make him a person of interest.

11:07 a.m. Oliver says some of the samples she tested for this case had degradation, which can be from many different environmental factors. She tested items from Robinson’s home, and Burt asks if it would be odd if other members of the household’s DNA were found on them. She says no, because DNA can be transferred.

11:04 a.m. Burt asks if Oliver can assign a source to a DNA sample, and she says no. Oliver also says she cannot say how or when DNA got deposited somewhere.

11:01 a.m. Burt is asking Oliver to explain the different ways she tests DNA, how they classify the results, and the limitations of the testing. Oliver says she could not definitively say whether Robinson’s DNA was found on something, but she could say whether there was “support” for it based on the likelihood.

10:54 a.m. Oliver says when she tests DNA swabs, some of the DNA is preserved when possible, but sometimes it is “consumed.” Burt asks if the person that Oliver identified as a “major contributor” was engaged in any certain activity. She says she has no idea based on her testing what the person was doing, just if their DNA is present in a sample.

10:50 a.m. Oliver says with forensic evidence, it is impossible to state anything with 100% certainty, so they use likelihoods instead. Oliver says she was assigned to the Charlie Kirk case on Sept. 12, 2025. She says certain DNA samples were “consumed” during her testing.

10:44 a.m. Burt asks Oliver about the evidence on her monitor that we cannot see. It is not clear what the evidence is. They are discussing whether or not Oliver’s lab uses a “verbal scale” for the likelihood of DNA on something. Oliver says they do not include a verbal scale because it can add subjective language.

10:39 a.m. The judge has answered a question about audio being transmitted. He answers that audio will be allowed, we just wont be able to see the evidence. The evidence will also not be shown in the courtroom. The Kirk family’s attorney is now arguing that the family should be able to see the evidence in court.

10:37 a.m. The defense has called their last witness, Katelyn Oliver. She works for the ATF as a DNA section chief. Burt asked to show exhibit 30, but the media is not allowed to see it from this point on in the hearing, per the judge’s ruling earlier this morning. The audio has also been muted.

10:32 a.m. “The evidence is overwhelming. It’s devastating. The question needs to be asked, the purpose of continuing testimony if it’s long and drawn out?” asked Gurnander. Defense attorney Michael Burt says he doesn’t know what is being asked by the prosecution. Burt says he believes that it is too late for Gurnander to submit a standing objection about witness testimony.

10:27 a.m. The prosecution is arguing that much of the questioning and testimony yesterday from the defense was “long and drawn out”, asking that the judge reign it in if it occurs again.

10:23 a.m. Graf says his order prohibiting broadcast of the exhibit by media cameras was violated. He denies the defense’s request to remove cameras, but he says the camera cannot capture any exhibits today during the hearing. Graf is not making a decision on cameras for the Sept. 1 hearing.

10:22 a.m. Graf thanks everyone for their patience and says this is an important issue that shouldn’t be made in a snap decision. He says he does not like to rush. He continues to type.

10:16 a.m. Media attorney says the court should allow the parties to go forward without any sanctions. Graf is typing on his computer before issuing his ruling.

10:12 a.m. Novak says there are reasons for court orders and everyone has to follow them. Prosecutor McBride proposes a delay in the live feed for future hearings. McBride says there is one final witness today and her exhibits have already been admitted. Media attorney says the media and parties are working together to try and resolve issues when they come up. “Media is on board and recognizes the court’s obligation and significant efforts to balance interests here…the camera operator beat all of us to the punch.”

10:09 a.m. Novak renews his request to remove all cameras and audio devices from the courtroom for all future hearings. He says this is the second time the court’s order has been violated. “Two strikes is enough,” he says. Novak says an alternative remedy is to continue to allow the camera today, but deny it for the hearing on Sept. 1.

10:07 a.m. Judge is back on the bench. He thanks everyone for their patience. Graf says the image was displayed for 3 seconds before the camera operator panned away. None of the parties said anything until the judge mentioned it. Graf says the entire text of the message was included in a search warrant issued months ago. The full note was read into the record during the preliminary hearing. The entire note was not shown on the screen yesterday.

9:35 a.m. Media attorney says the camera operator did not violate the order. The exhibit flashed on the screen without fault of her own. But the attorney says media will comply with the court’s order. Judge Graf wants to review the footage and see what was livestreamed. Novak says there are permanent consequences from this – the image is out there “forever and ever.” Graf encourages the parties to confer while he goes and review the footage for five minutes. Novak says this is not the first time this has happened. He says it has occurred in earlier hearings.

9:31 a.m.9:27 a.m. Prosecutor Ryan McBride approaches and says everyone is doing their best. He says the exhibit was shown accidentally on camera for approximately two seconds. The camera operator immediately panned away. “I think everyone involved here made quick and appropriate measures as quickly as possible,” McBride says. He says the defense did not object. McBride says the exhibit has been read into the record and the exhibit was part of an earlier pleading.

9:24 a.m. Novak says defense wants camera out of this hearing and future hearing, but they will come up with a remedy ahead of the next hear. Graf says he wants to address it now. Novak wants to talk with his defense team to come up with a suggestion. Judge invites state and media attorney to weigh in.

9:22 a.m. Defense attorney Richard Novak address the judge. He says one of the exhibits that was not supposed to be shown on camera yesterday was displayed and livestreamed. He says the state and camera operator failed to comply with the court order.

9:17 a.m. Judge Graf is on the bench. Attorneys make their appearances. Graf says hello to Erika Kirk and reminds courtroom of decorum order.

8:40 a.m. The defense plans to call one final witness today in the Tyler Robinson preliminary hearing. This is someone who works with the ATF. After the witness is done, the judge will not rule on whether probable cause has been established. Instead, the prosecution will file a brief that is due by the end of July. Defense will then respond, prosecution can issue a response and then oral arguments will be held Sept. 1 in-person. Judge Graf will then issue his ruling.