The bullet which killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk did not match the rifle used by the accused, Tyler Robinson, according to a new claim by his lawyers. The 22-year-old’s defence team has requested a delay for the preliminary hearing scheduled for May, saying they need time to review an enormous amount of material and a bullet analysis that could contribute to his defence.
Kirk was shot dead last year at the Utah Valley University campus on September 10. Robinson was charged with one count of aggravated murder with the victim targeting enhancement, among other felony charges.
The Utah County Attorney's Office has filed a Notice of Intent to seek the death penalty.
The defence team for Robinson said that they did not receive existing evidence from the prosecution, and once they do receive it, they will need adequate time to review the evidence and discuss them with defence experts and determine how it impacts the case.
The defence team arguing for a postponement said that the ATF reports show “that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson.”
They also, however, said they did not recover the case files.
The defense also stated that they’ve received approximately 20,000 files with over 700 hours of video files and 31 hours of audio files. Additionally, they state they received another 600,000 files on March 12, which is expected to take sixty days to review.
“Discovery in this case is incomplete, voluminous, and the processing of it is complex,” the lawyers wrote.
Experts who conduct a ballistic analysis look for unique microscopic marking that are left on a bullet, and as it passes through the gun’s barrel, the scratches are like fingerprints in that no two firearms could make identical markings.
Prosecutors, however, claim that they have enough evidence against Robinson ti proceed with a trial.
They said that the DNA found on the trigger of the rifle was consistent with Robinson’s . Defence attorneys, however, note that forensic reports show multiple people’s DNA was found on some occasions.
Robinson also reportedly told his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had had enough of his hatred”, prosecutors said.
The filing by the team does not request that the next court hearing on April 17 be pushed back.