Nuggets from the Robinson Charging Documents

Gleaning new information

Tyler Robinson made his first (virtual) court appearance today. The appearance itself was uneventful, but accompanying the appearance was the official unsealing of the charging documents. This 10-page file is available below, but below THAT we’ll go over some of the highlights.

RobinsonCharges

1.24MB ∙ PDF file

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The most important aspect of the charging documents are (surprise) the charges, so here they are:

Count 1: Aggravated Murder, a Capitol Felony. Aggravating factor committing the act in presence of a child. Possible aggravating factor if Robinson targeted Kirk based on his political beliefs. Carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Count 2: Felony Discharge of a Firearm Causing Serious Bodily Injury, a First Degree Felony. The same two aggravating factors as above “enhance” this charge as well.

Count 3: Obstruction of Justice, a Second Degree Felony. This is for ditching the gun.

Count 4: Obstruction of Justice, a Second Degree Felony. This is for ditching the clothes he was wearing.

Count 5: Tampering with a Witness, a Third Degree Felony. Instructing his roommate to delete a text message chain. (More on this later.)

Count 6: Tampering with a Witness, a Third Degree Felony. Instructing his roommate to remain silent and not talk to the media or police. (But you should never talk to the police, kids.)

Count 7: Violent Offense Committed in the Presence of a Child, a Class A Misdemeanor. This carries a possible enhancement if it’s found that Robinson targeted Kirk based on his political beliefs.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray has declared he’ll seek the death penalty in the case.

The documents state that DNA evidence left at the scene matches Robinson:

Here’s a little more information about how Robinson came to be in custody.

It was news to me that when the police searched Robinson’s apartment, they found additional etched bullet casings and targets. (More leads!)

Perhaps the most important aspect of the document other than the charges is the text exchange between Robinson and his roommate/lover. Presented without commentary, but with highlighting! (Robinson in blue, the roommate in pink.)

At some point in the text exchange, there was a time jump. In the above text messages, Robinson is still in Orem, the home of the UVU campus. In one of the below messages, he’s already at home and ready to turn himself in. However, it’s not exactly clear when this time jump (presumably Robinson driving to his parents house) actually occurs.

I have a lot of thoughts about that text exchange that I’ll save for the comments section. But let’s see what ABC’s Matt Gutman thought about them…

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