The bullet that killed conservative commentator Charlie Kirk did not match the rifle used by his alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson, according to an incredible new claim from his lawyers.
The 22-year-old Robinson is facing multiple charges, which are eligible for the death penalty, over Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University late last year.
But his defence attorneys have argued that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT) had been “unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson”.
The lawyers filed a motion on Friday local time to push Robinson’s preliminary hearing back at least six months from May 18, when it’s currently scheduled.
In the motion, they said they may now offer the ATF analyst’s testimony as exculpatory evidence.
Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while on stage in front of a crowd of 3,000 people during a speaking event at the university on September 10.
The assassination sent shockwaves through US politics, with Donald Trump declaring it a “dark moment for America,” and saying he was “filled with grief and anger” at the loss of the right-wing activist.
Robinson, an electrical apprentice who was living with his family, was arrested two days later. His father had recognised him in suspect photos and urged him to turn himself in.
In their Friday motion, Robinson’s defence team also said they needed more time to analyse DNA reports filed by the FBI and ATF, because several different sets of DNA were found on some items of evidence.
The team had also received over 600,000 files from prosecutors during a meeting in March, which would take time to review, they said.
“Discovery in this case is incomplete, voluminous, and the processing of it is complex,” the lawyers wrote.
One of the defence’s experts, a forensic biologist, said she’d need six months to review the evidence.
The filing mentioned that prosecutors intended to call Robinson’s parents and his roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, to testify at the preliminary hearing.
The filing by Robinson’s defence attorneys doesn’t request that the next court hearing on April 17 be pushed back.
That hearing will be focused on public and media access to future court hearings, which includes a defence motion to ban all cameras from the courtroom.
Robinson’s defence team plans to show evidence they believe contains “harmful and prejudicial media coverage of this case thus far”.
“While there is simply not enough time to present all of what is referenced in the ‘motion to exclude cameras,’ the compilation anticipated will highlight the most egregious and most concerning media coverage impacting Mr Robinson’s case,” his attorneys wrote.
During a February 24 hearing, Judge Tony Graf denied a motion from Robinson’s lawyers that would have removed prosecutors from the case.
Robinson’s defence team tried arguing there was a conflict of interest because a prosecutor’s daughter was at the event at Utah Valley University when Kirk was shot and killed.
Judge Graf, in his response, said the court was “unpersuaded” by the defence team’s argument of an “appearance of bias” from prosecutors.
