FBI forensic analysis has linked the DNA of accused killer Tyler Robinson and his former roommate Lance Twiggs to a towel wrapped around the suspected murder weapon and a screwdriver recovered from the alleged firing position in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, prosecutors revealed during a preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah.
The DNA evidence, presented on the second day of Robinson's hearing in Fourth District Court, adds a forensic layer to a case already built on surveillance footage, an alleged written confession, and text messages. Robinson, 23, faces aggravated murder and other charges carrying a potential death sentence. He has not yet entered a plea.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege Robinson fired from the rooftop of the campus Losee Center using a Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle retrofitted to fire.30-06 rounds. The rifle was later found in nearby woods, wrapped in a dark-colored towel.
Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina of the State Bureau of Investigations, who led the evidence response team that processed the UVU campus after the shooting, testified that her team recovered the screwdriver from the Losee Center rooftop, the alleged firing position, and the rifle-and-towel bundle from the adjacent woods. Both the towel and the screwdriver, she testified, carried DNA consistent with the same two males: Robinson and Twiggs.
FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker followed Faumuina on the stand and told the court that Robinson is likely the majority donor in the mixed DNA samples found on both items. Twiggs, she said, is believed to be the minority contributor on both. Bakker displayed a graph of specific DNA markers to illustrate her findings, as Fox News reported from the courtroom.
Twiggs, described as Robinson's former lover and roommate, is cooperating with investigators and has not been charged with a crime. Both men provided buccal swabs to law enforcement for DNA profiling.
Defense attorney Michael Burt subjected Bakker to lengthy questioning that consumed much of Tuesday afternoon. The cross-examination grew pointed enough that Judge Tony Graf Jr. asked Burt how far he intended to go. Burt indicated he had one more question before moving on.
Prosecutor Ryan McBride objected multiple times, arguing the defense line of questioning went "beyond the scope of determining probable cause." When the judge pressed the issue, McBride said simply: "I'll hold them to that", a remark that drew laughter in the courtroom.
Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, sat in the gallery throughout. She shook her head at one point during Burt's questioning of Bakker, then leaned forward and tilted her head as the FBI analyst walked through the DNA marker graph. Kirk's parents, Robert W. Kirk and Kathryn Kirk, were also present. Robert Kirk occasionally took notes. Tyler Robinson's parents, Matt and Amber Robinson, likewise attended.
Robinson himself listened and fidgeted during testimony.
The broader personal toll on the Kirk family has been visible well beyond the courtroom. Erika Kirk has publicly pushed back against conspiracy theorists targeting her family in the months since her husband's death.
Earlier Tuesday morning, Utah Department of Public Safety witness David Hull returned to the stand. Prosecutors played surveillance video during his testimony that allegedly shows Robinson moving around the UVU campus before and after the shooting and arriving and departing in his Dodge Challenger.
The DNA and ballistic evidence join what prosecutors describe as a substantial evidentiary record. Robinson allegedly confessed to the killing in a handwritten note addressed to Twiggs and in text messages sent to him. The content of those communications was not quoted verbatim during Tuesday's proceedings, but Breitbart reported that the alleged confession note read: "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it." Robinson also reportedly texted Twiggs that he targeted Kirk because he "had enough of his hatred."
Video footage from the day of the shooting is considered among the most significant pieces of evidence. Former prosecutor and trial attorney Wendy Patrick told Just The News that the defense appeared to be "testing the waters to see how much of what type of evidence the judge is going to admit, because that's going to inform their trial strategy."
The hearing, which began Monday, is expected to run all week. Its purpose is straightforward: prosecutors must establish probable cause for the judge to send the case to trial.
Outside legal analysts offered little suspense about the outcome of the probable-cause determination. Maryland attorney Randolph Rice, who previously represented the family of murder victim Rachel Morin, told Fox News Digital:
"Barring the prosecutor somehow forgetting how to get to the courthouse, there's no realistic chance the state fails to establish probable cause."
That confidence reflects the weight of what prosecutors have assembled: physical evidence, forensic DNA analysis, surveillance footage, and an alleged written confession. The defense, for its part, appears focused less on blocking probable cause outright and more on probing the boundaries of what evidence will be admissible at trial.
The case has drawn intense public interest since Kirk's death, and the proceedings themselves became a flashpoint when Robinson's defense team tried to bar cameras from the courtroom. Judge Graf ruled that media could film and live-stream the July hearing, citing the public's presumptive right of access to court proceedings.
As the Washington Examiner reported, Graf denied Robinson's request to close portions of the hearing. A separate June 12 evidentiary hearing was also set to examine whether prosecutors improperly discussed case evidence with media outlets. The New York Post noted that the ruling represented one of several back-to-back legal setbacks for the defense heading into the July proceedings.
Kirk's killing sent shockwaves through conservative politics. Vice President JD Vance has spoken publicly about how the loss affected him personally, revealing that Kirk's death moved him and his wife Usha to welcome a fourth child. Patrick, the former prosecutor, told Just The News that "that assassination really had a worldwide reverberation. I hope it's a wake-up call."
The threats and public attention surrounding the case have extended to Kirk's family. Erika Kirk pulled out of a Turning Point USA event with Vance after receiving threats, a reminder that the consequences of political violence do not end when the courtroom doors open.
Several details remain unclear. The specific purpose of the screwdriver recovered from the rooftop has not been publicly established. The full scope of charges beyond aggravated murder has not been detailed in open court. And the precise nature of Twiggs's cooperation, whether he has received formal immunity or remains uncharged on an informal basis, has not been addressed.
What is clear is the direction of the evidence. DNA on the towel. DNA on the screwdriver. Surveillance footage. An alleged confession note. Text messages. A retrofitted rifle found in the woods.
Robinson has not entered a plea. He is presumed innocent. But prosecutors are building their case brick by brick, and so far the defense has not laid a glove on the foundation.
A 31-year-old man was gunned down at a college campus for the apparent offense of showing up to speak. The least the justice system owes Charlie Kirk, and the country watching, is a full, public accounting of every fact.
