The bullet which killed Charlie Kirk may not match up with the alleged assassin's gun, according to suspect Tyler Robinson's lawyers.
Robinson, 22, is facing capital murder charges and a possible death sentence over the shooting at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025.
Prosecutors allege that he drove three hours to the campus to carry out the attack on the right-wing activist.
In a recent court filing, however, the defence team have argued that the bullet recovered did not match up with the rifle tied to Robinson.
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 'was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr Robinson', the defence say.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, claim the Mauser model 98 gun had belonged to Robinson's grandfather, who gave it him as a gift.
Why the bullet may not match up with the assassin's gun
The original Mausers were built to fire eight-millimetre cartridges, yet the recovered gun was a .30-06 calibre rifle.
Zack Bonfilio, an expert, claims the bullets used in that type of rifle are difficult to be matched because they are designed to expand and break off when they hit their target, GB News has reported.
Amid plans to present the analyst testimony to support Robinson's innocence, the defence is requesting a delay of at least six months before the preliminary hearing proceeds.
Why the defence want to delay the case
"As these cases indicate, determining the number of contributors to a DNA mixture and determining whether the FBI and the ATF reliably applied validated and correct scientific procedures is a complicated process which requires the assistance of various types of experts, including forensic biologists, geneticists, system engineers and statisticians, all of whom must review and evaluate' several different categories," the filing states, as reported by Deseret News.
"The defence team has devoted, and will continue to devote, significant resources, to processing discovery, including identifying materials not yet received to inform readiness for the preliminary hearing,' the filing states.
"However, the defense team is realistic and the comprehensive review required to determine what is missing will take hundreds of hours."
Text messages
Prosecutors believe Robinson drove three hours from his home to the university campus to kill Kirk, 31.
In text messages sent to his roommate and partner, Robinson allegedly wrote: "If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.
"Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything about them finding it."
"I’m wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle," he continued.
"I'm worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle… idek [I don't even know] if it had a serial number, but it wouldn’t trace to me. I worry about prints I had to leave it in a bush where I changed outfits. didn’t have the ability or time to bring it with.
"I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints. how the f**k will I explain losing it to my old man... only thing I left was the rifle wrapped in a towel."
Robinson is scheduled to return to court on 17 April.
Topics: Charlie Kirk, US News, Crime
Anish Vij