What Tyler Robinson Allegedly Told His Roommate

0:00This is Hidden Killers with Telly Brusky. So Tyler Robinson has pled not guilty and the immediate reaction is almost kind of unavoidable. Not guilty. Not guilty of what? Exactly. Not guilty of being the person prosecutors say was captured on surveillance at Utah Valley University. Not guilty of the rifle forensic results handwritten notes, text messages, or allegedly telling your roommate and allegedly romantic partner that you did it and later wished you had not. The prosecutors place all of that evidence in one pile. Not guilty can sound insulting. Like somebody beside a burning building holding a gasoline can dramatic proof. He had anything to do with the fire. But the outrage has to be precise and not guilty plea is not testimony or sworn claim

1:05that every witness camera and forensic result is wrong while every mystery shooter committed a crime. As attorneys did not announce an alibi or identify another suspect, they answered a formal plea under Utah District Judge Tony Graff ruled on September 1st of 2020. 26 that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to send all seven charges to trial. The aggravated murder charge remains capital. So Robinson could face death of convicted and the additional legal requirements are proven. The next hearing is said for October 23rd to address scheduling. That ruling was not a conviction. Judge Graff was deciding probable cause. Not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. His order did not determine Robinson's guilt. Settle the ultimate weight of the evidence or guarantee that every item considered that preliminary hearing will be admitted at trial Robinson remains presumed innocence unless

2:09the state proves its case through admissible evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. So what does not guilty mean in a case like this? Just break it down because I get it. I mean, you look at and go, you're really, really dead to rights here, but there is really no such thing as a bulletproof case. So let's, let's try to understand here. You know, what is going to be argued in this case? And as we do, your thoughts in the comments section on sub stack and YouTube links are in the description. Love for you to do that and take us with you. The podcast is to search hidden killers with Tony Bursky, wherever you get podcasts or even easier. I put a little QR code there for you on the screen if you're watching us on YouTube. Takes you to our lead trees and go to Spotify or Apple, whatever you like. And then hit subscribe on the podcast.

3:09We do appreciate that. So what does not guilty mean? Under Utah's rules, if a defendant refuses to plead, the court enters a not guilty plea. And the case proceeds towards trial. Not guilty is the system's default whenever a defendant has not formally admitted the charge. Just does not require an alibi, another suspect or an innocent explanation at a ratement. It means I am not giving the government its conviction. Prove it. Prove that I was on the campus. And the proof and on that roof, prove that I fired the shot and possessed the rifle. Prove the forensic evidence was handled and interpreted reliably. Prove that I wrote the note and messages. Prove the obstruction, witness tampering and political expression allegations. Prove that I knowingly created the legally required risk to someone other than Charlie Kirk. And because this is capital, prove every fact necessary before Utah may ask a jury to

4:15impose death. That's what happens with a capital case. That does not mean Robinson's lawyers possess a hidden fact that makes the case disappear. It means they are refusing to perform the prosecution's job for it. The guilty plea would be dramatically different. Robinson would waive major trial rights, including the presumption of innocence, the right to remain silent, confront witnesses, receive a jury trial, enforce the state to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. His appellate rights would be substantially limited, limited, than not necessarily eliminated. Why would he surrender all of that without receiving something meaningful in return? Well, if he did it, why would it? Well, again, you're dealing with someone who thought this was a good idea. They're not exactly since they're going along with good ideas or what's going to make sense

5:17just because they got caught. They're going to continue to dig their feet in and do everything they possibly can to not take responsibility for their own toxic thoughts. A guilty plea alone would not necessarily remove death without an agreement changing the capital posture. Robinson would hand the state its conviction while preserving the punishment he most wants to avoid. No plea deal has been announced. And until one exists, not guilty preserves his rights, bargaining power, and ability to challenge the case. That's probably the most likely reason why it's not guilty. Because, yeah, they know. They know he's pretty much dead in the water. That's the one ship he has left. The case is extraordinarily damaging. Investigators presented the surveillance footage. They say traces Robinson's movements around the campus on the day Kirk was killed, testimony

6:19described a person arriving in a vehicle, believed connected to Robinson, moving through campus, returning in different clothing, climbing onto the low sea center roof, crouching and crawling towards a rooftop position and fleeing towards a wooded area after the shooting. The prosecution identifies that person as Robinson. You might have seen the video too. The defense can challenge image quality clothing, the vehicle connection, timing angles, and the assumptions connecting the clips. But imperfect video, and I'll tell you what, I've seen a lot of imperfect video. This is not that. This is pretty, pretty good video actually. Jersey may ask if that is not Robinson, who is it? Why does the remaining evidence point in the same direction and why does it look exactly like Robinson? Investigators also recovered a bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel near the elective

7:19edge escape route. FBI testing produced results prosecutors say strongly support Robinson's inclusion as a contributor to DNA mixtures on multiple items when reported comparison was 30 quintillion times more likely if Robinson and Lance twigs were contributors and if twigs and an unrelated unknown person were contributors. That likelihood ratio is enormous, but it is not a calculation again of Robinson's guilt. It's another piece of the puzzle, another piece of a circumstantial evidence that when lines up, weaned somewhere. DNA concerns or connects and concerns biological contribution to tested material alone. It doesn't establish when material was deposited, why it was there, what someone was doing. The defense explored transfer collection, mixtures and human error.

8:21Those questions are legitimate, but they do not erase the results. There's also a detail that has to remain clear here. A screwdriver recovered from the rooftop was part of the DNA evidence as well. Separately prosecutors presented toolmark evidence allegedly linking in engraving cutter recovered from Robinson's residence to markings on the spent casing and live cartridge is found in the rifle. Those are two different objects and two different categories of evidence. The ballistic evidence is less conclusive and examiner compared damage bullet fragments recovered during Kirk's autopsy with bullets test fired from the recovered rifle. The result was inconclusive. There were similarities, but not enough information to identify the rifle as the source or exclude it. It sounds spooky, doesn't it? It means the bullet blew up. What happens with bullets like this on impact? They're not like a handgun bullet. It's a rifle bullet.

9:22It's a very different trajectory, very different pattern in how they fly through the air basically and what happens to them on impact. It's useful to the defense, but inconclusive does not mean the rifle was proven to be the wrong weapon. And of course, there's the alleged statements too. I know the list just keeps stacking. Not guilty. Not guilty of all this. Are we sure? Are we sure Tyler? Prosecutors presented a handwritten note. They attribute to Robinson and characterized as admission. They also presented messages in which an account attributed to him allegedly answered, I am, I'm sorry. After twigs asked whether he was responsible. Twigs reportedly said Robinson later confirmed it in person and expressed regret. Other alleged messages discussed the rifle efforts to retrieve or conceal it instructions

10:26to delete in exchange. And acclaimed motive. The judges order also described a discord message allegedly saying it had been Robinson and UVU in that he was at UVU and that he was surrendering. Sounds like a confession because prosecutors are presenting it as a series of admissions. But an alleged out of court admission is still evidence, not a guilty plea. It must authenticate the accounts, devices, messages and note, establish authorship, preserve context and satisfy the rules of admissibility. The defense can challenge the authorship, the completeness, the collection methods, interpretation and witness credibility. Still, legal possibility should not be confused with an existing persuasive explanation if prosecutors authenticate those statements and jurors believe Robinson wrote them, the

11:29evidence will be devastating. So far no persuasive alternative explanation for the alleged admissions has been presented publicly. Robinson also surrendered after members of his family, reportedly recognized similarities between him and the publicly released images and helped arrange a peaceful surrender through a family friend connected to law enforcement. Again, surrender itself, not a confession, prosecutors, however, will place it besides the footage, the rifle, the forensic notes, the other note, messages and the alleged discord statement and argue that these are pieces of one continuous story. So will the defense actually claim Robinson was not the shooter? It can. The defense has preserved the ability to challenge identity, forensics, digital evidence, evidence, handling and witness credibility. It's not required to reveal its entire trial strategy during a preliminary hearing, but publicly it is not offered a developed alternate shooter theory explaining who climbed

12:32on the roof, fired the shot, abandoned the rifle, generated the forensic trail and sent the alleged messages and how it just happens to all point back to Tyler Robinson. The most developed defense appears narrower, even if prosecutors can prove Robinson fired the shot. Can they prove the death eligible form of aggravated murder they charged? The capital theory relies on the claim that the shooter knowingly created a great risk of death to someone besides Kirk. Prosecutors say a high-powered rifle was fired for more than 400 feet away while security personnel and others stood near Kirk and more than 3,000 people attended. They argue that anyone looking through the optic would have seen those people and understood what a mist deflected or over penetrating round could do. The defense answers one act, one shot, one bullet, one victim. Its argument is not that the killing was minor, but that the law requires more than

13:35the abstract possibility, you know, their person could have been hit. The state responded that nobody can fire towards the man surrounded by staff and security and then claim everyone else was safe because the first bullet reached its target. Judge Graff found enough evidence to let the aggravating circumstances proceed while recognizing that the defense's argument is substantial, the state still has to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt atrial. It's also a separate enhancement, alleging that Kirk was selected because of his political expression. That issue is distinct from the great risk circumstance supporting the capital charge. Prosecutors point to the ammunition engravings and Robinson's alleged statements. The defense disputes the interpretation and the connection. A jury is going to have to decide whether the state proves that enhancement as well.

14:42This is why not guilty does not necessarily mean nothing happened. It can mean if not proven precisely what you charge, the aggravating circumstances that make a capital or the separate enhances you attached to it. Could this positioning be for a plea agreement? Absolutely. But there's no basis to declare that a deal is coming yet. Robinson may change this plea later. The obvious issue would be death, a guilty plea and permanent imprisonment in exchange for prosecutors taking execution off the table. That is a possible structure. Till then, the defense can argue that the state has not proven Robinson was the shooter, argue alternatively that the capital, aggravator or political expression enhancement is unproven, negotiate privately and if guilt becomes likely, focus on persuading jurors not to impose death.

15:52What do you think? Where does this go next? Real accountability does not fear due process. It survives that. Is there a road? Is there any road for Tyler Robinson to go down? I don't see one. I'm happy about that. He should have no road to go down. This is a cowardice pathetic act, whether you agreed with Charlie Kirk or not. And I'll tell you what, I wasn't a big follower of Charlie Kirk in any way, shame, perform. But this is not how things like this are handled. Your thoughts on the comments section on Substacking YouTube.

16:55We'll continue it there. Until next time, I'm Tony Brusky. We'll talk again real soon.