The video showed Robinson standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap. There was no audio, but an investigator said he spoke to Robinson that night to get his name and date of birth.
The short clip played as state District Judge Tony Graf sought to keep a weeklong preliminary hearing on track and said he wanted to give both sides time to present their cases.
Instead, much of Wednesday was consumed by arguments over whether prosecutors can play a recorded law enforcement interview with Robinson's roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, in court.
Graf indicated he would allow prosecutors to play redacted audio of those statements Thursday. The judge will decide after the hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge in Kirk’s Sept. 10 shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Robinson’s lawyers said they were concerned about his right to a fair trial if Twiggs’ statements were played in open court and then broadcast by media outlets. They said prosecutors would attempt to portray Twiggs’ statements about what Robinson allegedly told him as a confession from Robinson, which could bias potential jurors.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family and the media had urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.
“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf.
Prosecutors allege Robinson sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
Twiggs was interviewed twice as part of the investigation, State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis testified Wednesday. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case, Davis said.
