Judge to decide if Charlie Kirk case will go to murder trial after five-day hearing

A judge is set to determine whether the case against Tyler James Robinson, the man charged with murdering Charlie Kirk, will advance to trial, as a five-day preliminary hearing comes to a close on Friday.The US district judge Tony Graf is expected to sift through the evidence presented by the state and Robinson’s defense team in the coming weeks before issuing a ruling.This week’s legal proceedings also marked the first time Kirk’s widow, Erika, and his parents were present in the courtroom with the man prosecutors claim killed Kirk last year.Kirk, a prominent far-right political figure, was known for galvanizing young conservatives with his college-targeted advocacy group Turning Point USA. He was on tour and staging one of his marquee events at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025, where he would spar rhetorically with ideological foes, when he was shot in the neck.The court heard critical evidence about forensic testing that linked Robinson’s DNA to the firearm prosecutors say was used to kill Kirk, in addition to video footage allegedly showing him entering the campus and climbing on to a rooftop perch.Portions of an investigatory interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs were also played for the court. Twiggs recalled Robinson expressing remorse, saying he wished he “hadn’t done it”, a day after Kirk’s death.Robinson’s defense strategy came into clearer view as his attorneys sought to cast doubt on the accuracy of the DNA testing. Questions still swirl over whether he will enter a guilty plea.Graf reminded the defense, at times, to steer clear of the minutiae, as attorneys questioned witnesses.“We don’t need to go 100 miles down a path where one mile is where probable cause may be. I invite you to refocus … I’m not trying to limit your theories or such but I need to hold to probable cause,” Graf said in court on Thursday.