{"success":true,"data":{"id":"e3ec2878-715c-4e01-b4ec-da0ae6ecdf97","title":"Lawyers for man charged with killing Charlie Kirk try to sow doubt about DNA evidence","summary":"SCETV is your local station. Change Select Your Local Station There are no stations available for your selected ZIP Code. SCETV Columbia, SC Confirm SCETV See More Stations Back Please enter a valid ZIP Code Please enter a valid State Change your local station) Choose station PBS IS BROUGHT TO YOU B...","content":"SCETV is your local station. \n\n Change \n\n# Select Your Local Station\n\nThere are no stations available for your selected ZIP Code.\n\nSCETV Columbia, SC\n\nConfirm SCETV See More Stations\n\nBack\n\nPlease enter a valid ZIP Code\n\nPlease enter a valid State\n\n[Change your local station](javascript:void(0))\n\nChoose station\n\n## PBS IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY\n\nSCETV helps your community explore new worlds and ideas through programs that educate, inform and inspire. 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Please check your inbox to confirm.\n\n![Image 16: Nation](https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2019/03/newsletter-politics-1024x684.jpg)Close Popup\n\nNotifications\n\n#### Get news alerts from PBS News\n\n##### Turn on desktop notifications?\n\nYes Not now\n\nBy —\n\nBy —\n\n*   Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-try-to-sow-doubt-about-dna-evidence \n\n# Lawyers for man charged with killing Charlie Kirk try to sow doubt about DNA evidence\n\n[Nation](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation) Updated on Jul 10, 2026 4:27 PM EDT — Published on Jul 10, 2026 2:31 PM EDT \n\nPROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk tried to sow doubt about the case Friday, while a prosecutor countered that authorities have \"overwhelming\" evidence that includes DNA tests and apparent confessions by defendant Tyler Robinson.\n\nJudge Tony Graf will decide if the case should advance to a trial after he hears closing arguments in Robinson's preliminary hearing on Sept. 1.\n\nKirk, 31, was killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and could face the death penalty.\n\nFriday's proceedings capped a week of testimony and brought an emotional moment for Kirk's family when the court played surveillance video that prosecutors said showed Robinson on the rooftop where he allegedly fired a single bullet that hit Kirk in the neck.\n\nKirk's widow, Erika, watched intently as a person said to be Robinson ran across the roof. When the figure dropped to a crawl near the roof's edge , Erika Kirk turned and embraced Charlie Kirk's mother, Kathryn, who was crying. They held each other and looked away until the video was almost over.\n\n## Defense questions reliability of evidence\n\nProsecutors this week presented a recorded interview with a former roommate who said the 23-year-old defendant expressed remorse for the shooting before turning himself in. Lawyers from the Utah County Attorney's Office also offered DNA analysis that investigators said linked Robinson to both the suspected murder weapon and a tool he allegedly used to etch messages onto bullet cartridges.\n\nRobinson's team did not offer any alternative theories for who is responsible for Kirk's death. But one of his attorneys, Michael Burt, repeatedly questioned the reliability of DNA tests and other evidence cited by prosecutors.\n\nBurt used testimony Friday from a government DNA analyst to highlight the limitations of such tests. He noted that government policies don't allow analysts to say that DNA evidence is \"infallible\" or that it has a \"zero error rate.\" He also indicated it's possible for DNA to be transported by a third party.\n\n\"If you had a lot of DNA on your hand, we shook hands and I went to pick up an exhibit, a gun, and I touched the trigger of it, your DNA could be on that trigger, right?\" Burt asked Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.\n\n\"It is possible. Yes,\" Oliver replied.\n\nExperts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.\n\nChief Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander questioned the relevance of bringing in Oliver as a witness. He suggested prosecutors already had met the burden of proof needed to advance the case to trial.\n\n\"Your honor's heard four days of testimony now. The evidence is overwhelming. It's devastating,\" Grunander said.\n\n## Kirk family thanks supporters\n\nRobinson has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.\n\nKirk's family released a statement shortly after court ended, expressing gratitude for the support and prayers offered to them. They said the preliminary hearing \"marks an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.\"\n\n\"As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,\" the statement said.\n\nThe video that prosecutors said showed Robinson allegedly running across the roof at Utah Valley University was played for the court gallery at the request of Kirk's family. Portions of the recording were zoomed in to better show the figure on the roof, and red circles were added to some images. An unaltered version of that video was shown earlier.\n\nProsecutors on Thursday aired portions of an April 20 interview with Robinson's roommate, Lance Twiggs, who was Robinson's romantic partner. The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs \"he wishes he hadn't done it,\" a recording played in court revealed.\n\nLater that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted \"it was me at UVU yesterday,\" in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.\n\nDefense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson's right to a fair trial.\n\n## Roommate: Robinson never talked about Kirk\n\nProsecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk's campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.\n\nTwiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.\n\nThe weeklong preliminary hearing attracted intense media coverage and spectators who have angled for one of the 14 seats in the courtroom that are reserved for the public.\n\nPeople lined up early — sometimes sleeping there overnight — in hopes of getting in.\n\nPreliminary hearings typically don't last so long, according to legal experts. They said the slow pace reflects in part a cautious approach by Graf and the large volume of evidence from prosecutors.\n\nConjecture over that evidence fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter or that Kirk's death was staged.\n\n\"There have been various bizarre theories circulated about this case. I think that the prosecution wanted to dispel those theories by putting out into the public record the overwhelming case that it possesses against Robinson,\" said Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah and former federal judge.\n\n_Brown reported from Billings, Montana._\n\n A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. \n\nSupport trusted journalism and civil dialogue.\n\nLeft: Tyler Robinson listens as Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride speaks during a preliminary hearing for Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at the 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on July 10, 2026. Photo by Tess Crowley/Pool via Reuters\n\nBy Hannah Schoenbaum, Matthew Brown, Associated Press\n\nBy Matt Brown, Rebecca Boone, Associated Press\n\nBy Loreben Tuquero, PolitiFact\n\n## Go Deeper\n\nBy —\n\nBy —\n\nSupport Provided By:[Learn more](https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000677869)\n\n### Educate your inbox\n\n1.   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Read Jul 10[Trump will let bipartisan housing bill become law without signing in protest over GOP voter ID law](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-will-let-bipartisan-housing-bill-become-law-without-signing-in-protest-over-gop-voter-id-law)\n\n[World](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world)Jul 10\n\nBy Costas Kantouris, Associated Press\n\nBy Regina Garcia Cano, Associated Press\n\nBy Suman Naishadham, Associated Press\n\nBy Tim Reynolds, Obed Lamy, Associated Press\n\n[Nation](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation)Jul 10\n\n[Politics](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics)Jul 10\n\nBy Will Weissert, Associated Press\n\nBy Brian Melley, Associated Press\n\n[Science](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science)Jul 10\n\nBy Seth Borenstein, Associated Press","source_name":"PBS NewsHour","source_url":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-try-to-sow-doubt-about-dna-evidence","url":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/lawyers-for-man-charged-with-killing-charlie-kirk-try-to-sow-doubt-about-dna-evidence","author":"Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press","author_name":"Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press","published_at":"2026-07-10T18:31:04.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-10T18:31:04.000Z","image_url":"https://image.pbs.org/stations/wrlk-white-cobranded-logo-12YX7vH.png","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":8,"word_count":1427,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}