Prosecutors are urging a judge to uphold all charges in the case against Charlie Kirk’s accused killer, Tyler Robinson. One of the charges carries a death sentence.
Robinson’s team had argued that prosecutors failed to demonstrate that the shooting carried a great risk of death to anyone but Kirk. Prosecutors then argued that Robinson fired the rifle toward a large crowd, endangering those close to Kirk or near the line of fire.
“Defendant does not challenge the substance of the evidence demonstrating that he was the person who crawled to the sniper’s perch on the Losee Building rooftop, fired the fatal shot that killed Mr. Charlie Kirk, hid the rifle in a wooded area, got rid of some of the clothing he was wearing, and told his roommate to delete their texts about the shooting. Rather, he merely asserts the repeatedly rejected claim that the overwhelming evidence establishing some of these facts could not be introduced as reliable hearsay at this preliminary hearing,” the new filing says. “Defendant therefore raises no valid challenge to the evidence supporting Count 1 as at least murder; Count 2, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury; Counts 3 and 4, obstruction of justice; or Count 5, tampering with a witness.”
“The evidence here easily establishes at least probable cause to believe that Defendant did so when he intentionally fired his grandfather’s high-powered rifle towards a crowd of thousands, several of whom were in the line of fire between him and Mr. Kirk, while others were in close proximity to Mr. Kirk,” it adds. “Indeed, the evidence is more than sufficient to support a finding beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced in September that he filed a “notice of intent to seek the death penalty.”
“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime,” he said.
