PROVO, Utah â A towel and screwdriver recovered during the investigation into Charlie Kirks assassination allegedly had his suspected killer Tyler Robinsons DNA on it â along with that of his former lover and roommate, Lance Twiggs.
Robinson, 23, allegedly used the towel to conceal the suspected murder weapon in the woods near Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
He is accused of fatally shooting the 31-year-old Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at the school that day.
Its unclear what the screwdriver was for, but police testified at Robinsons preliminary hearing this week that they found it near an alleged snipers perch overlooking the TPUSA event.
Both Twiggs and Robinson provided buccal swabs to law enforcement that were used to build their full DNA profiles.
Robinson’s preliminary hearing began Monday and is expected to take all week. Prosecutors must establish probable cause in order for the judge to green light the path to trial on a slew of charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential death penalty.
David Hull, of the Utah Department of Public Safety, returned to the witness stand Tuesday morning as prosecutors played surveillance video they allege shows Robinson making his way around campus before and after the shooting, as well as coming and going in his Dodge Challenger.
The second witness of the day, Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigations, led the evidence response team processing the scenes at UVU after the shooting.
Faumuina testified that her team recovered a screwdriver from the campus Losee Center rooftop, where Robinson is alleged to have fired the shot that killed Kirk.
She also testified that her team recovered the suspected murder weapon, a Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle wrapped in a dark-colored towel nearby. It had been retrofitted to fire .30-06 rounds, consistent with the caliber of bullet fragments recovered during Kirks autopsy.Â
Faumuina testified that both the towel and the screwdriver had DNA consistent with the same two males â Robinson and Twiggs.
In a handwritten note and text messages, Robinson is alleged to have confessed to the crime to Twiggs, who lived with him at the time and is cooperating with investigators. Twiggs has not been charged with a crime, and the alleged presence of his DNA on the evidence is expected to strengthen the case against Robinson.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: TIMELINE OF UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING, TYLER ROBINSON CHARGED
Later Tuesday, FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker testified that Robinson is likely the majority donor in mixed DNA samples found on both items. Twiggs is believed to be the
