After a frenzied 33 hours to catch the suspected shooter of Charlie Kirk, prosecutors will unveil formal charges this week, providing their most detailed accounting yet of what happened and opening the next challenging chapter of the case.
Utah County prosecutors will formally arraign Tyler Robinson, 22, in court on Sept. 16, and they’ll have to sift through a mountain of interviews, photos, videos, and other forensic evidence to build the case against him.
Those charges will likely center on murder and are anticipated to leave the door open for the death penalty. Utah is one of 21 states that allows the punishment.
“Presumably, Robinson will be charged with murder for knowingly killing another person without justification, those are the elements of the crime,” said Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah. “Motive is not an element of the crime of murder.”
While some indications of motive could be included in the new court documents, Cassell said he expects prosecutors to initially focus on the opportunity, alleging Robinson was on the roof of a nearby building, and then hint at what drove him to allegedly fire at Kirk.
