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NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: The Charlie Kirk case.

Five days of testimony offered the public an unusually detailed look at the prosecution's case. WORLD's Mary Muncy reports.

MARY MUNCY: Last week, Utah prosecutors laid out part of their case against 23-year-old Tyler Robinson. They presented footage they say places Robinson at Utah Valley University.

Investigator David Hull described footage after the shooting:

HULL: Mr. Robinson lowering himself and jumping off the roof of the Losee building onto the grassy area… He appears to be carrying some kind of object.

Investigators later found a rifle with engraved bullets near campus. They then matched an engraver at Robinson’s apartment with those bullets.

They also presented DNA evidence linking Robinson to items found at the scene.

The defense questioned the reliability of the DNA testing.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You're not in your report stating to the court that your testing has a zero error rate. Correct?

AMANDA BAKKER: Correct.

ATTORNEY: You're not saying that the test is infallible.

BAKKER: I am not. No.

Later, investigator Brian Davis read text messages Robinson allegedly sent to his roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs.

WITNESS: Tyler says, “I’m still okay my love, but I’m stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn’t be long until I can come home. But got to grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret until I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”

And then Lance replies, “You weren’t the one who did it right?”

And Tyler says, “I am, I’m sorry.”

Robinson turned himself in the day after the shooting.

The defense repeatedly requested evidence not be made public. They also called their own expert to testify about the DNA evidence.

SPENCER: I have never ever seen as much discussion about how evidence will be shown

Utah criminal defense attorney Randall Spencer thinks that may have to do with the case’s high-profile nature.

SPENCER: The defense is obviously concerned about the jury pool and the information that the the jury pool is being bombarded with from the media.

Spencer also thinks Kirk’s widow, Erika, wants people to know what happened. She represents the victim in the case, and her lawyers keep pushing for transparency.

SPENCER: She has been the subject of of attacks, criticisms, and and even assertions that she may have had something to do with with Charlie's death.

But Spencer thinks cameras in the courtroom can put strain on juries.

Others disagree.

JILL WINE-BANKS: I am a big believer that the American public would trust the courts more if they could see trials.

Jill Wine-Banks is a lawyer who worked as a special prosecutor on the Watergate case.

During the hearing, one piece of evidence that was to remain unpublished appeared on the screen while cameras were rolling.

BANKS: But it's not fatal, and especially because the particular piece of evidence is likely going to be trial evidence… you don't want something that won't be introduced in evidence to be seen by that jury.

Spencer expects Robinson to enter a not guilty plea. He believes the possibility of the death penalty may be why the defense entered so many objections and argued so often over procedure. That could aid an appeal later.

SPENCER: You never know what may end up being significant in the future when additional information inevitably comes to light.

At this point, the judge only has to determine whether there’s probable cause to go to trial… Spencer and Banks believe he will. Both sides will deliver their final arguments on September 1st. If the case does go to trial, Spencer believes a jury’s decision could still be up to a year away.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

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