Texted Confession Shocks Court

A persons hand using a smartphone in a city at night with blurred lights in the background

Tyler Robinson’s own text messages may be the most damaging evidence against him in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — and they were read aloud in a Utah courtroom by the man Robinson sent them to.

Story Snapshot

Robinson’s transgender romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, testified that Robinson confessed to the shooting in text messages, saying “I am, I’m sorry” when asked if he was the shooter.
A handwritten note found under Robinson’s keyboard allegedly read he planned to “take out Kirk” and “take the opportunity.”
Surveillance video placed Robinson on the Losee building rooftop at Utah Valley University at 12:23 p.m. — seconds before a gunshot rang out on September 10, 2025.
No shell casings were found on the rooftop, a fact that stunned the courtroom and gave the defense its strongest argument yet.

The Confession That Came Through a Phone Screen

Lance Twiggs took the stand and described the moment he asked Robinson directly if he had shot Charlie Kirk. Robinson replied in a text message: “I am, I’m sorry.” That four-word response is now at the center of one of the most closely watched murder cases in the country. Twiggs also testified that Robinson told him to “look under my keyboard,” where a handwritten note was found. The note said Robinson planned to “take out Kirk” and intended to “take the opportunity.”

In a 37-minute recorded interview played in court, Robinson told Twiggs he “wishes he hadn’t done it” and said he would either talk to his parents or turn himself in. Robinson also texted that he needed to “grab my rifle still” and had hoped to “keep this secret till I died of old age.” Those words suggest planning, not impulse. The prosecution’s case leans heavily on these digital admissions, and for good reason — confessions sent in writing are hard to walk back.

Surveillance Video Puts Robinson on the Roof

Prosecutors showed campus security footage from Utah Valley University that tracked Robinson’s movements on the morning of the shooting. He appeared near the amphitheater around 9:25 a.m., returned to his vehicle, then came back after 10 a.m. carrying a blue backpack. By 12:23 p.m., video showed him on the rooftop of the Losee building, crouching near the southwest corner. At 12:23:28 p.m., a gunshot was fired. Robinson was seen jumping off the roof seconds later, carrying an unidentified object. That afternoon, he appeared on campus with a noticeable limp.

The maroon T-shirt Robinson wore in holding room video the night he surrendered matched the shirt seen in campus footage from the day of the shooting. That kind of physical detail is small but meaningful. It ties the man in custody directly to the man on that rooftop. The defense has not challenged the footage’s authenticity or offered any explanation for why Robinson was on that roof at that exact moment.

The Missing Shell Casings Create a Real Question

Officer Bagley testified that he searched the Losee building rooftop thoroughly and found no shell casings and no unspent bullets. For a rifle, that is unusual. Rifles eject casings automatically when fired. Their absence does not clear Robinson — he was still on the roof, still confessed in texts, and still fled the scene. But it is a genuine gap in the physical evidence, and the defense is right to flag it. Either the casings were removed, the shot came from a slightly different location, or something else happened that has not been fully explained yet.

🚨 SHOCKING COURTROOM BOMBSHELL:

Tyler Robinson's demeanor SHATTERS live in court as his FORMER LOVER'S testimony is played for the world!

In the ongoing preliminary hearing for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, prosecutors dropped a devastating recorded interview with Lance… pic.twitter.com/dW3K1iCJTP

— Dr. Dawn Michael (@DawnsMission) July 10, 2026

The defense also challenged Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) DNA analyst Amanda Bakker’s findings, arguing her testing could not definitively match Robinson to samples on the rifle because the analysis relied on length-based comparisons rather than sequence testing. Defense attorney Nicole Deour separately argued that parts of the Twiggs interview may contain leading questions and could be ruled inadmissible at trial. These are legitimate legal challenges. But they are procedural attacks on how evidence was gathered, not factual rebuttals of what Robinson actually said. The core of the prosecution’s case — the texts, the note, the video — remains uncontested at the factual level.

What the Hearing Settled and What It Did Not

A preliminary hearing only decides one thing: whether enough evidence exists to send the case to trial. Even Deour acknowledged the state met that burden. Robinson faces charges of aggravated murder, with prosecutors arguing the crime should carry enhanced sentencing because Kirk was targeted for his political identity. The trial itself will be where the shell casing mystery, the DNA debate, and the admissibility of the Twiggs interview all get resolved. Until then, the most powerful evidence in the public record remains Robinson’s own words: “I am, I’m sorry.”