Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing (Day 6 Part 17) (11/4/26)

Transcript

Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing (Day 6 Part 17) (11/4/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the program. In
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to dive right back in to
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  Speaker 1: the Tyler Robinson transcript from day number six of the
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  Speaker 1: prelim hearing. The court's determination does not rest on crowd
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  Speaker 1: size alone or an assumed probability of wind, ricochet, overpenetration,
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  Speaker 1: or bullet deflection. It rests on the evidence concerning the
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  Speaker 1: location and manner of the shot, the documented position of
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  Speaker 1: several individuals in and around the canopy area, defendant's opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to observe those circumstances where the prelim hearing's requirement that
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: reasonable inferences be drawn in the state's favor. Whether the
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  Speaker 1: state can prove the aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt
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  Speaker 1: remains for trial. Count one is bound over for trial.
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  Speaker 1: This conclusion is limited to the circumstances reflected in this
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  Speaker 1: record and does not establish a categorical rule that a
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  Speaker 1: shooting committed in a populated location necessarily satisfies the 76-5-2022-A3.
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  Speaker 1: The state also alleges that the defendant intentionally selected Mr.
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  Speaker 1: Kirk because of Mr. Kirk's political expression under Utah Code 76-3-203.14.
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  Speaker 1: Defendant disputes this and whether the evidence establishes the required motive.
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  Speaker 1: For the reasons set forth below in the court's analysis
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  Speaker 1: of the sentencing enhancements, the court concludes that the state
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  Speaker 1: has established probable cause of as the victim, to the
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  Speaker 1: targeting allegation. The court does not rely on defendant's political associations, beliefs,
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  Speaker 1: or personal relationships alone. The relevant inquiry is whether the
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  Speaker 1: evidence reasonably supports an inference that the defendant selected Mr.
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  Speaker 1: Kirk because of defendant's perception of Mr. Kirk's protected political expression.
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  Speaker 1: As explained below, 76-3-203.14 does not expressly identify an additional
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  Speaker 1: penalty consequence for the capital felony conviction. The court, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: preserves the state's notice without deciding, what the allegation independently alters,
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  Speaker 1: the penalty applicable to count one. Count two, felony discharge
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  Speaker 1: of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, first degree felony.
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  Speaker 1: To bind defendant over on count two, felony discharge of
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  Speaker 1: a firearm causing a serious bodily injury, a first degree
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  Speaker 1: felony under Utah Code 7611-210-2 and 3C. the state must
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  Speaker 1: establish probable cause that defendant 1. discharge the firearm, 2.
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  Speaker 1: in the direction of Charlie Kirk, 3. knowing or having
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  Speaker 1: reason to believe that Charlie Kirk may be endangered by
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  Speaker 1: the discharge, and 4. that the act caused serious bodily
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  Speaker 1: injury to Charlie Kirk. The evidence described above supports a
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  Speaker 1: reasonable belief that defendant positioned himself on the roof of
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  Speaker 1: the Losey Building and discharged a Mauser. 30- 06 rifle in
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  Speaker 1: the direction of Charlie Kirk. The medical examiner determined that Mr.
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  Speaker 1: Kirk died from a gunshot wound to the neck and
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  Speaker 1: classified the matter of death homicide. The fatal gunshot wound
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  Speaker 1: constitutes serious bodily injury. Accordingly, count two is bound over
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  Speaker 1: for trial. Count three, obstruction of justice, second degree felony.
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  Speaker 1: To bind defendant over on count three, obstruction of justice,
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  Speaker 1: a second degree felony, under Utah Code 76-8306-2, the state
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  Speaker 1: must demonstrate probable cause that defendant one, acted with the
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  Speaker 1: intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, prosecution, conviction,
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  Speaker 1: or punishment of any person, 2. regarding conduct that constitutes
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  Speaker 1: a criminal offense, and 3. conduct concealed or removed the
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  Speaker 1: firearm allegedly used in the shooting. Under the statute, the
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  Speaker 1: offense is a second-degree felony if the underlying conduct constitutes
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  Speaker 1: a capital or first-degree felony. The underlying charged homicide constitutes
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  Speaker 1: a capital or first-degree felony for purposes of 76-80-306-2C. Following
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  Speaker 1: the shooting, a Mauser. 30- 06 rifle was concealed in a
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  Speaker 1: dense wooded area on UVU's campus, wrapped inside a dark towel.
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  Speaker 1: Defendants alleged intent to hinder the investigation as supported by
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  Speaker 1: text messages attributed to him, in which he stated he
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  Speaker 1: had concealed the rifle by leaving it in a bush
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  Speaker 1: where he changed outfits. The alleged concealment of the rifle
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  Speaker 1: in a wooded area after the shooting together with the
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  Speaker 1: attributed messages concerning its concealment and possible recovery supports a
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  Speaker 1: reasonable inference that defendant acted with the intent to conceal
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  Speaker 1: physical evidence and hinder his apprehension. Count three is bound
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  Speaker 1: over for trial. Count four, obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
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  Speaker 1: To bind defendant over on count four, obstruction of justice,
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  Speaker 1: a second-degree felony under Utah Code 76-1. The state must
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  Speaker 1: establish probable cause that defendant 1. Acted with the intent
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  Speaker 1: to hinder, delay, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, prosecution, conviction,
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  Speaker 1: or punishment of any person. 2. Regarding conduct that constitutes
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  Speaker 1: a criminal offense. And 3. Destroyed, concealed, or removed the
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  Speaker 1: clothing allegedly worn during the shooting. The state has presented
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  Speaker 1: sufficient evidence to establish probable cause as to count 4.
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  Speaker 1: The UVU surveillance video depicts a shooter wearing a specific
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  Speaker 1: outfit as he moved toward the rooftop of the Losee building.
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  Speaker 1: The communications attributed to defendant state that he had changed
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  Speaker 1: outfits in the wooded area where the rifle was left.
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  Speaker 1: The clothing depicted on the alleged shooter was not recovered.
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  Speaker 1: Those circumstances viewed together support a reasonable inference, for the
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  Speaker 1: purposes in this prelim hearing, that the defendant concealed or
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  Speaker 1: destroyed the clothing with the intent required by the statute.
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  Speaker 1: Count four is bound over for trial. Count five, tampering
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  Speaker 1: with a witness of third-degree felony. To bind defendant over
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  Speaker 1: on count five, tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony
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  Speaker 1: under Utah Code 76-8-508, the state must demonstrate probable cause
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  Speaker 1: that defendant, one, believing an official proceeding or investigation, and two,
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  Speaker 1: attempted to induce... or otherwise cause another individual to withhold testimony, information,
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  Speaker 1: a document, or an item. An instruction to delete communication
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  Speaker 1: may constitute an attempt to cause another person to withhold
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  Speaker 1: information or a document when made with the intent required
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  Speaker 1: by Utah Code 76-8508. After the shooting, defendant allegedly sent
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  Speaker 1: Twiggs text messages in which he stated he had shot
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  Speaker 1: the victim and concealed the rifle. At the end of
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  Speaker 1: the text exchange, Defendant allegedly sent Twiggs text messages in
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  Speaker 1: which he stated he had shot the victim and concealed
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  Speaker 1: the rifle. At the end of this, defendant texted Twiggs
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  Speaker 1: delete this exchange. The surrounding circumstances support an inference that
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  Speaker 1: defendant knew law enforcement was investigating the shooting and searching
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  Speaker 1: for the person responsible. The instruction to delete the exchange,
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  Speaker 1: considered in context, supports a reasonable inference that defendant attempted
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  Speaker 1: to cause Twiggs to withhold those communications from investigators by
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  Speaker 1: deleting them. Count five, bound over for trial. Count six,
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  Speaker 1: tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony. To bind defendant
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  Speaker 1: over on count six, tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony,
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  Speaker 1: under Utah Code 76-8-508, the state must demonstrate probable cause
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  Speaker 1: that the defendant, one, believed an official proceeding or investigation
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  Speaker 1: was pending, or about to be instituted or intended to
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  Speaker 1: prevent an official proceeding or investigation, and two, attempted to
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  Speaker 1: induce or otherwise cause another individual to withhold testimony, information,
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  Speaker 1: a document, or an item. The state alleges that the
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  Speaker 1: defendant committed this offense by directing his roommate to stay
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  Speaker 1: silent if police questioned them. The evidence shows that on
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  Speaker 1: September 11, 2025, defendants sent a text message to Lance
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  Speaker 1: Twigg stating, If any police ask you questions, ask for
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  Speaker 1: a lawyer and stay silent. Defendant argues that Count 6
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  Speaker 1: must be stricken as a matter of law. He contends
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  Speaker 1: that the message was merely advising a loved one to
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  Speaker 1: exercise constitutional rights to remain silent and seek counsel, which cannot,
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  Speaker 1: standing alone, constitute a criminal offense. Defendant therefore argues that
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  Speaker 1: the record does not support the required obstructive intent. The
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  Speaker 1: court considers this a meaningful distinction because the words ask
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  Speaker 1: for a lawyer and stay silent viewed in isolation describe
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  Speaker 1: a lawful advice concerning constitutional rights and do not themselves
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  Speaker 1: establish criminal intent. Standing alone, advising another person to request
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  Speaker 1: counsel and remain silent is lawful and does not establish
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  Speaker 1: witness tampering. The state relies, however, on context of communication,
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  Speaker 1: including defendants' earlier alleged instruction to delete the exchange. Viewed
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  Speaker 1: together in the light of most favorable to the state,
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  Speaker 1: those communications permit a reasonable inference that defendant intended to
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  Speaker 1: cause twigs to withhold information from investigators. The court does
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  Speaker 1: not determine at this stage whether the inference is ultimately
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  Speaker 1: more persuasive than defendant's lawful advice explanation, and it does
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  Speaker 1: not treat the exercise of legal rights or advice concerning
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  Speaker 1: those rights as criminal conduct standing alone. Although defendant's lawful
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  Speaker 1: advice interpretation remains a reasonable competing interpretation, the surrounding communication
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  Speaker 1: permit the state proposed inferences as well. Because the court
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  Speaker 1: may not choose between reasonable competing inferences at the preliminary stage,
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  Speaker 1: probable cause supports count six. Count six is bound over
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  Speaker 1: for trial. Count seven, violent offense committed in the presence
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  Speaker 1: of a child. class B misdemeanor, reclassified as a class
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  Speaker 1: A misdemeanor. To bind defendant over on count seven, violent
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  Speaker 1: offense committed in the presence of a child, a class
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  Speaker 1: B misdemeanor, under Utah Code 76.3, 203.10, sub 2 and 3,
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  Speaker 1: the state must demonstrate probable cause that the defendant 1.
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  Speaker 1: committed criminal homicide, 2. in the physical presence of a
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  Speaker 1: child younger than 14 years old, and 3. with the
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  Speaker 1: knowledge that the child was present and may have seen
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  Speaker 1: or heard the commission of the criminal homicide. The state
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  Speaker 1: further alleges that the defense is reclassified as Class A
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  Speaker 1: misdemeanor under 76.3203.14.3a2 because of victim-targeting allegation. The first two
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  Speaker 1: elements are supported by the evidence of the charged homicide
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  Speaker 1: and evidence that children younger than 14 were physically present
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  Speaker 1: at the event. The disputed and closer issue is knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: Defendant argues that State has not shown that from a
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  Speaker 1: distance of approximately 415 feet, he knew a child younger
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  Speaker 1: than 14 was present and might see or hear the offense.
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  Speaker 1: Knowledge may be established circumstantially, but it cannot rest solely
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  Speaker 1: on the general proposition that children sometimes attend public events.
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  Speaker 1: The relevant question is whether the circumstances described in this
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  Speaker 1: record permit a reasonable inference that defendant knew a child
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  Speaker 1: was present. The state relies on several circumstances specific to
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  Speaker 1: this event. Defendant allegedly had planned the shooting for more
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  Speaker 1: than a week, he visited the event area twice before
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  Speaker 1: the shooting, and had an opportunity to observe the venue
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  Speaker 1: in preparation. The state's evidence places him at an elevated
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  Speaker 1: location with a clear line of sight toward the event area,
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  Speaker 1: where thousands of participants were present, and the rifle contained
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  Speaker 1: an optical scope. The event videos also depict young children
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  Speaker 1: and infants within the event area. The court recognizes the
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  Speaker 1: force of defendant's argument that an opportunity to observe a
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  Speaker 1: large crowd does not necessarily establish knowledge that a child
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  Speaker 1: younger than 14 was present. The court, therefore, does not
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  Speaker 1: infer knowledge from crowd size alone. The combined circumstances permit
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  Speaker 1: but do not compel an inference that defendant knew a
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  Speaker 1: child was present and might see or hear the shooting.
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  Speaker 1: The court does not equate being familiar with a venue,
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity to observe the crowd, or the presence of
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  Speaker 1: an optical scope with actual knowledge. Rather, the court considers
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  Speaker 1: the circumstances collectively and under the prelim hearing requirement that
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  Speaker 1: reasonable inferences be drawn in the state's favor. Taken together,
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  Speaker 1: these circumstances are sufficient at this stage to establish probable
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  Speaker 1: cause as to the knowledge element. Whether defendant actually observed
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  Speaker 1: a child and whether the state's inference is ultimately persuasive
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  Speaker 1: remains a question for the trier of fact. Count seven
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  Speaker 1: is bound over for trial. All right, folks, we're going
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  Speaker 1: to wrap up right here. And in the next episode,
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  Speaker 1: we'll finish this bad boy off. All the information that
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  Speaker 1: goes with this episode can be found in the description box.