The man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk confessed to killing the right-wing activist in a message to his roommate, prosecutors have alleged, as they announced seven charges against him.
Tyler Robinson, 22, left a note under a keyboard for his roommate to discover, said Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray. He added that the roommate was the defendant’s romantic partner.
According to Mr Gray, the note said: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”
The prosecutor also shared text messages between the roommates, including one in which the defendant allegedly said he shot Kirk because he had “had enough of his hatred”.
The suspect is being held without bail in a special housing unit at the Utah County Jail. He made his first court appearance on Tuesday, appearing remotely as prosecutors read the seven charges against him.
The charges are aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent crime when children are present.
Getty Images A makeshift memorial has been set up outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, where a mother and her two children place flowers before a large poster of Charlie Kirk.Getty Images
A makeshift memorial for Charlie Kirk outside of the headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Arizona
They also said they would seek the death penalty over the shooting of Kirk, who was killed by a single gunshot fired from a rooftop as he was speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Arrested last week after a 33-hour manhunt, the defendant has not entered a plea or confessed to police. The prosecutor also stressed that the accused is innocent until proven guilty and will face trial by jury.
He unveiled a trove of evidence at a news conference on Tuesday, including the defendant’s alleged confession and DNA found on the trigger of the rifle suspected to have been used in the crime.
An alleged hidden confession
Describing the alleged hidden note at a news conference earlier on Tuesday, Mr Gray said the defendant had sent a text message to his roommate reading: “Drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard.”
After reading the apparent confession, the roommate, who has not been named and is co-operating with investigators, replied: “What?????????????? You’re joking, right????”
bbc.com