PROVO, Utah — DNA from accused gunman Tyler Robinson and his former roommate and former lover, Lance Twiggs, was found on a towel and a screwdriver recovered in the investigation of Charlie Kirk’s killing, prosecutors said at a preliminary hearing.
Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina of the State Bureau of Investigations testified that her evidence response team recovered a Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle wrapped in a dark towel near Utah Valley University and a screwdriver from the Losee Center rooftop, which prosecutors say was an alleged sniper’s perch. Faumuina said the rifle had been retrofitted to fire .30-06 rounds, consistent with fragments recovered during Kirk’s autopsy.
Faumuina and other witnesses said both the towel and the screwdriver contained DNA consistent with two males. FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker testified that Robinson was likely the majority donor in the mixed DNA samples and that Twiggs appeared to be a minority contributor. Faumuina testified that both men provided buccal swabs used to build full DNA profiles.
Prosecutors said Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting 31-year-old Charlie Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Robinson’s preliminary hearing began Monday and is expected to take the week as prosecutors seek to establish probable cause to move toward trial on charges including aggravated murder, which carries a possible death penalty. David Hull of the Utah Department of Public Safety returned to the stand as prosecutors played surveillance video they said shows Robinson moving around campus before and after the shooting and leaving in a Dodge Challenger.
Prosecutors also presented evidence they said included handwritten notes and text messages in which Robinson allegedly confessed to Twiggs, who lived with him at the time and is cooperating with investigators but has not been charged, prosecutors said. Defense attorney Michael Burt questioned Bakker at length, prompting repeated objections from Prosecutor Ryan McBride that the defense had gone “beyond the scope of determining probable cause.” Judge Tony Graf Jr. intervened during one line of questioning, and McBride quipped, “I’ll hold them to that,” drawing laughter in the courtroom. Observers including Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, watched testimony closely. Robinson has not entered a plea; a Maryland attorney quoted by Fox News Digital called it unlikely the state will fail to establish probable cause.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
