Tyler Robinson: Court Vacuum Could Help Alternative Suspect Theories?

April 17 was another day in the courtroom for Tyler Robinson, but it seemed quite important in the pre-trial stage as new legal strategies started playing out.

While the state still pushes for a death penalty trial for the death of Charlie Kirk, the defense continues their efforts that stall momentum. While that sounds dry as dust, there’s another angle that seems very interesting. Read on to find out more.

Arguments On Withheld Evidence

In court, the defense team argued that the prosecution is “not handing over key evidence” regarding forensic processing. Certainly, they might have a point if they’re not getting that data. Apparently, they seem unsatisified about the data behind the DNA found on the “trigger” and a “towel” recovered by investigators.

Well, the prosecution didn’t seem too worried about that move and talked about surveillance footage from Utah Valley University.

As far as that goes, they believe they can prove that Tyler Robinson scouted “the campus” in a gray Dodge Charger before the assassination.

Camera, A Confession, & Confict

Then, it started getting interesting. You probably already know the defense planned a strategy to keep cameras out of the trial. Attempts to slow the court process seem fairly common with the defense.

Back in January, fears of delays arrived after Tyler’s legal team believed there was a conflict of interest. That involved an alleged family member of someone in the prosecutor’s office who was present when Charlie Kirk died.

Alledegly, those texts to the legal eagle relative ended up in the state’s hands in a rather unusal way. Another challenge they brought to the table was a demand to prevent a so-called confession letter from being allowed as evidence.

That all sounds like the sort of standard thing that any good attorney would push for. But one of the most important aspects is that Tyler Robinson’s camp want cameras disallowed.

Stopping Cameras In Court Assists The Defense

On Friday, soon after the hearing, Brian Entin Investigates dug a bit more into the efforts to stop media coverage. Joining him, Utah defense attorney Clayton Simms explained why the issue of cameras seems so important.

In his opinion, keeping cameras away from the court keeps the public in the dark. But obviously, it helps the defense in a way. Simms explained that keeping cameras out creates an information “vacuum” where “no real info comes out.”

If the media can’t cover the case, then what happens is that folks start guessing. True crime and conspiracy theorists have a field day. And that really helps the defense team in a big way. Talk about silence helping to “add fuel to the fire” of online speculation.

Conspiracy Theories

Interestingly, the defense’s own motions “repeated all of the conspiracy theories” they claim to be worried about. However, for them, limiting public access is a good thing. Why? Well, it allows “conspiracy theories to start circulating.”

Notably, that might influence a juror to “go rogue” and believe an alternative theory of the crime. Right from the start of the investigation, conspiracy theories abounded that suggested Tyler Robinson didn’t work alone, and was probably some sort of fall guy or patsy for others involved in the high profile death of Charlie.

Now, that mistrust of the state grows by the day. Plus, the confession letter that the defense team claim is “too perfect” fits that sort of social media chatter. The “alternative suspect” narrative gains a lot of traction thanks to popular influencers who argue Robinson’s being set up.

Free Assistance From The Public

For the defense, it’s not costing them a single penny to sew doubts about Tyler acting alone. Plus, Simms argued that public opinion swayed by conspiracy theories could just sow enough seeds of “doubt” to flip a juror. So, by keeping cameras out of the courtroom during trial, the “patsy” angle becomes a possible path to a not-guilty verdict.

As true crime followers know, it’s all very well arguing that the jury mustn’t read about the case or discuss it. But unless you blindfold them, hide them in a place with no WiFi and with nobody to talk to, inevitably, things do leak out.

Viewers React

It seems that the coversation on YouTube made folks convinced that the defense might use conspiracy theories to their advantage. One person opined:

No. Do not ban cameras. Depending on others interpretations of what’s going on in the court room will just breed more conspiracies. Hopefully this Judge has a grip on that reality & the mistrust in institutions at the moment.

Here are a few more responses from the discussion about Tyler Robinson’s legal team:

• Conspiracies go wild when there are voids or inconsistencies in the info and easy questions go unanswered…
• Delphi murders is a perfect example of why cameras should be in courtroom.
• If attorneys want to create confusion, to me that is unethical and dirty lawyering.

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