SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge is expected to decide Tuesday whether to keep prosecutors on the murder case against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Robinson, 22, who is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting
on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.State District Judge
Tony Graf has been weighing whether to disqualify the Utah County Attorney's Office from continuing to prosecute the case.
Robinson's attorneys argue that Chad Grunander, a deputy county attorney working on the case, has a conflict of interest because his adult daughter was in the audience when Kirk was shot.
An estimated 3,000 people were at the outdoor rally to hear Kirk when he was struck while taking questions. A co-founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump.
Grunander’s daughter, whose identity has not been disclosed to news media covering the case, testified in court that she did not record video of the shooting or the aftermath. She was looking at the crowd and did not learn until after she ran to safety that it was Kirk who had been shot, she told the court earlier this month.
Robinson’s attorneys also argue in court documents that prosecutors were quick to announce their intent to seek the death penalty, which they say is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” that merit disqualification of the entire team.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray testified this month that he thought about seeking the death penalty before an arrest had been made in the case, and his colleague’s daughter in no way influenced the decision.
Graf could decide to keep prosecutors on the case, dismiss them all or dismiss only Grunander.
If Utah County prosecutors are disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake County, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church has said.
The judge has been weighing other issues of fairness for Robinson, should he go to trial.
Full video recordings of Kirk’s shooting have not been shown in court after defense attorneys objected out of concern that the footage would undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Defense attorneys also seek to keep TV cameras and photographers out of the courtroom, arguing that “highly biased” news outlets risk tainting the case. Prosecutors, attorneys for news organizations and Kirk’s widow have urged Graf to keep the proceedings open.
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Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed from Fort Collins, Colorado.
