The suspect accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk admitted the killing to his roommate, cried at their apartment afterwards and expressed regret, a Utah court has heard.
The details emerged on the fourth day of testimony in a hearing for Tyler Robinson, 23, who faces charges including aggravated murder over the conservative activist’s death on 10 September 2025.
The prosecution played an investigative interview with ex-roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs and revealed the pair’s text messages.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea. Prosecutors are presenting evidence against the defendant, and the judge will determine whether it is enough for a trial in the possible death penalty case.
Portions of both Twiggs’ video statement and text exchanges were redacted, while others were played only for those in court – not for public consumption.
Twiggs appeared in the interview taped in April this year with long hair parted in the middle, a navy blue blazer and blue patterned tie. Twiggs paused at times to sip from a bottle of water as prosecutor Ryan McBride posed questions.
According to Twiggs, Robinson asked for an engraving tool in the months before the shooting, saying he wanted to inscribe bullets for an upcoming camping and hunting trip with his family.
- Full coverage: Ex-roommate tells police Charlie Kirk murder suspect confessed to killing and broke down in tears
The prosecution for the first time on Thursday also revealed images of the alleged murder weapon – a bolt-action rifle – as well as engraved bullets and cartridges found both at the scene and at Robinson’s residence.
Inscriptions at the scene included messages such as “If you read this, you are gay” and “Fascist! Catch!” – while a cartridge engraved with “Test Shot” was found at the home that the suspect shared with Twiggs.
In his interview with the prosecutor, Twiggs said Robinson sometimes discussed politics and listened to political radio shows while travelling to and from his jobs as an electrician.
But, according to the recording, the roommate did not share the same interests and didn’t “really contribute much” to such conversations.
Most of Robinson’s comments centred on President Donald Trump, or new legislation, Twiggs said, and they never discussed Kirk.
According to Twiggs, the pair also did not speak about LGBT issues.
On the day of the shooting, Robinson left earlier than usual, around 04:00, but Twiggs thought his roommate was going to a job that was farther away, according to the recording. Their apartment was more than 200 miles (320km) from where Kirk was shot.
After Kirk was killed, the alleged shooter texted telling Twiggs to “drop what you’re doing” and “look under your keyboard”.
As Robinson texted further, Twiggs asked: “You weren’t the one who did it, right?”
“I am,” Robinson wrote in a text message presented in court. “I’m sorry.”
ReutersWhen Twiggs asked why, Robinson responded that he’d “had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
He continued texting Twiggs that night, still near the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where Kirk was shot, telling his roommate that he’d left his rifle in bushes where he’d changed his clothes and was waiting to retrieve it.
“If I’m able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,” Robinson said in the text messages.
He complained about crickets being too loud and lamented that a sniffer dog may have located the firearm. A heavy police presence and squad car remained near the spot.
“I’m just sitting in my car watching reels for another hour,” Robinson texted Twiggs.
He also texted that he was leaving Orem, more than a three-hour drive from their apartment in St George, in southern Utah, telling Twiggs he was on his way home.
The next day, Twiggs said in the taped interview, Robinson was in their apartment when he woke up.
Robinson “didn’t go into detail” about the previous day, Twiggs said.
“I just asked him in person if what he said was true the night before and he said it was. He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it and then kept going around and just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something.”
Robinson told his roommate that he intended to turn himself in.
Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent Brian Davis previously testified on Wednesday that Robinson, accompanied by his parents and a family friend, arrived around 21:00 that day to turn himself in at Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Hours of court proceedings on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning centred on discussion between the prosecution and defence, as well as lawyers for the media and Erika Kirk, about whether Twiggs’ video statement could be published.
Judge Tony Graf eventually ruled that both the footage and text exchanges could be published, with some redactions, and with some portions visible only in the courtroom and not to the public.
Robinson’s defence team has raised repeated objections to exhibits and testimony throughout the proceeding. Earlier in the week, the prosecution presented an FBI report, which described DNA belonging to Robinson and Twiggs found on a rifle, screwdriver and towel recovered at the scene.
The defence then spent hours questioning the analyst who signed the report, asking about protocol, testing, interpretation and margins of error.
