Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Utah Judge Rules Tyler Robinson Will Stand Trial for Capital Murder of Charlie Kirk | Crime Alert 09.03.26

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Utah Judge Rules Tyler Robinson Will Stand Trial for Capital Murder of Charlie Kirk | Crime Alert 09.03.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now.
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  Speaker 2: I'm Sydney Silvani. A Utah judge has ordered 23-year-old Tyler
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  Speaker 2: Robinson to stand trial for the fatal shooting of conservative
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  Speaker 2: political activist Charlie Kirk. Following four hours of intense closing
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  Speaker 2: arguments from both sides at a probable cause hearing in
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  Speaker 2: 4th District Court on Tuesday, Judge Tony Graff ruled that
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  Speaker 2: prosecutors established sufficient evidence for the capital case to proceed.
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  Speaker 2: Robinson faces multiple serious charges, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice,
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  Speaker 2: and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.
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  Speaker 2: If convicted of aggravated murder, the 23-year-old St. George resident
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  Speaker 2: could face the death penalty under Utah law. The assassination
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  Speaker 2: occurred nearly a year ago on September 10, 2025, during
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  Speaker 2: a Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University in Orem.
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  Speaker 2: Prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney's Office alleged that Robinson
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  Speaker 2: perched on a nearby rooftop and fired a single shot
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  Speaker 2: from a high-powered rifle into a massive crowd from approximately
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  Speaker 2: 140 yards away. The bullet struck 31-year-old Kirk in the neck,
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  Speaker 2: killing him instantly. Following an extensive, highly publicized manhunt, Robinson
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  Speaker 2: turned himself in to authorities the following day. During the
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  Speaker 2: recent hearing, which followed an initial five-day preliminary hearing in July,
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  Speaker 2: prosecutors presented physical evidence, including video footage of the shooting,
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  Speaker 2: DNA evidence, and clothing recovered from Robinson. In court audio,
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  Speaker 2: Prosecutor David Sturgill questioned State Bureau of Investigation agent David
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  Speaker 2: Hull about surveillance footage showing the suspect on the rooftop.
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  Speaker 1: You believe this to be Mr.
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  Speaker 2: Robinson?
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  Speaker 3: I'm sorry?
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  Speaker 1: You believe this to be Mr.
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  Speaker 2: Robinson?
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  Speaker 3: I do, yes.
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  Speaker 1: And how long is he out there on the edge
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  Speaker 1: of the building?
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  Speaker 3: Just until the reported shot was fired at 12, 23,
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  Speaker 3: and 28. The individual then stands up and then moves
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  Speaker 3: across the building to the north.
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  Speaker 1: Is that what we're seeing happening right now?
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  Speaker 3: It is, yes. They move behind the atrium area on
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  Speaker 3: the rooftop to the northeast corner where the white triangle is.
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  Speaker 2: The defense team, led by attorney Catherine Nestor, disputed that
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  Speaker 2: Robinson targeted Kirk for his political beliefs, describing the prosecution's
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  Speaker 2: theory as purely speculative and questioning the reliability of the
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  Speaker 2: state's DNA evidence. Defense counsel also pressed Agent Hull on
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  Speaker 2: whether the rooftop footage clearly identified the suspect.
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  Speaker 1: As of the 11th, before Mr. Robinson turned himself in,
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  Speaker 1: you all had not been able to determine that. Is
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  Speaker 1: that right?
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  Speaker 3: Excuse me. Determine who he was or determine distinguishing features?
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  Speaker 1: Determine distinguishing features of the video of the person.
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  Speaker 3: On the roof. Yes, we had a person of interest,
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  Speaker 3: and those images were released to the press.
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  Speaker 1: You're talking about the ones in the stairwell from the
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  Speaker 1: parking garage? Correct. But the video on the roof was
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  Speaker 1: not distinguishable, fair?
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  Speaker 3: That video was a standalone? Yes. It was not, no.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: Robinson's attorneys further argued that prosecutors failed to prove others
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  Speaker 2: were in danger during the shooting. However, court filings reveal
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  Speaker 2: that Robinson allegedly confessed to killing Kirk in at least
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  Speaker 2: 11 separate written messages sent to his partner, Lance Twiggs, writing,
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  Speaker 2: I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and
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  Speaker 2: I took it. Robinson has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
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  Speaker 2: More crime and justice news after this. In Mississippi, civil
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  Speaker 2: rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton is refusing to back down
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  Speaker 2: against threats of a defamation lawsuit surrounding the death of
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  Speaker 2: 18-year-old student athlete Nolan Xavier Wells. Attorneys representing three friends
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  Speaker 2: who were with Wells on Horn Island before he went
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  Speaker 2: missing on July 4th, Warren Hudson, Jax Batalo, and Morgan
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  Speaker 2: Seymour sent a demand letter alleging Sharpton defamed them during
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  Speaker 2: a July 14th TMZ interview and subsequent national appearances. Sharpton's
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  Speaker 2: legal team, led by attorneys Daniel Watkins and Wiley Steklow,
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  Speaker 2: issued a 15-page response, calling the claims meritless. Sharpton affirmed
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  Speaker 2: he will neither apologize nor retract statements originally raised by Wells' mother,
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  Speaker 2: Christine Wells-Wansley. Sharpton emphasized he is standing with the grieving
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  Speaker 2: parents as an ordained Baptist minister to find out how
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  Speaker 2: Nolan died. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department continues to lead
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  Speaker 2: the ongoing death investigation. Meanwhile, federal authorities in Mississippi have
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  Speaker 2: charged four out-of-state individuals for making horrific threats against witnesses
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  Speaker 2: and judicial officials tied to the case. Illinois resident Edward
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  Speaker 2: James Porter allegedly threatened to cut a witness's father into
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  Speaker 2: pieces and put him in a suitcase. Sacramento resident Joseph
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  Speaker 2: Alfredo Vasquez Dumars is accused of threatening to bomb the
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  Speaker 2: office of Chancery Judge Ashley Cole and targeting her stepson,
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  Speaker 2: Warren Hudson. Additionally, Jacksonville resident Brandon Ephraim Washington faces charges
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  Speaker 2: for threatening witnesses, while Michelle Edwards of Cincinnati allegedly made
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  Speaker 2: 21 terrifying bomb threats to local county offices. Finally, in
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  Speaker 2: Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 29-year-old Jacob Korber is in custody, charged
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  Speaker 2: with criminal homicide for the death of his mother, Kristen Hamilton.
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  Speaker 2: Authorities report that Hamilton's daughter discovered her body on August
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  Speaker 2: 30 inside her Sewickley Township home. Investigators say Hamilton had
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  Speaker 2: taken a shower and was wrapped in a towel when
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  Speaker 2: Korber allegedly assaulted her with his hands, feet, and objects
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  Speaker 2: on the front porch for over an hour. Local CBS
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  Speaker 2: affiliate KDKA obtained video showing Korber kneeling and surrendering to
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  Speaker 2: Pennsylvania State Police outside the home. State Police Trooper Steve
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  Speaker 2: Lamani revealed that Korber confessed during police questioning. Korber is
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  Speaker 2: being held without bail at Westmoreland County Prison with a
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  Speaker 2: preliminary hearing scheduled for September 14th. For more crime and
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  Speaker 2: justice news, be sure to join us for Crime Stories
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  Speaker 2: with Nancy Grace on Fox 1, YouTube, Sirius XM, and
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  Speaker 2: now streaming on Tubi. With this Crime Alert, I'm Sydney Silvani.