A text from a prosecutor's teenage daughter is now at the center of a bid to upend the entire prosecution in Utah's most closely watched murder case. At a Tuesday hearing, defense lawyers for 22-year-old Tyler J. Robinson—accused of fatally shooting conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during a Utah Valley University event in September—argued that the whole Utah County prosecution team must be removed from the case because one of them had a child in the crowd on the day Kirk was shot, the New York Times reports.
Prosecutor Chad Grunander's 18-year-old daughter was among roughly 3,000 people at the outdoor event and texted him "CHARLIE GOT SHOT" as the chaos unfolded. Grunander and his boss, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray, were called to the stand to explain why they kept Grunander on the case and later chose to pursue the death penalty. Gray testified he saw no conflict of interest "whatsoever," noting Grunander's daughter neither saw the actual shooting nor recorded it, and won't be a witness in the trial. Another prosecutor downplayed her relevance: "Is the child a witness to the circumstances? Sure, but so are 3,000 others."
The defense counters that the office brushed aside the appearance of a possible conflict of interest and should have "walled off" Grunander or consulted outside authorities before deciding how to proceed. They've also floated the idea that his daughter's presence influenced the decision to seek death, a suggestion prosecutors called "laughable." The defense team argues, per the Guardian, that the death penalty decision coming within days of Kirk's killing could be a sign of a "strong emotional reaction" from Grunander, but Gray testified that the announcement was made early simply because of the amount of public attention the case was getting. Legal scholars say the recusal push is unlikely to succeed, describing it as more useful as a delay tactic or a future appeal issue. Judge Tony Graf is expected to issue a written ruling later this month.
Also Tuesday, the defense objected to the idea of playing the full, graphic videos of Kirk's slaying in court, arguing they could hurt Robinson's right to a fair trial, the AP reports. "There were videos about the killing, and pictures and analysis (and) the entire saga of how this particular defendant came to turn himself in," says an expert not involved in the trial. "When jurors come to a trial with this kind of background information from the media, it shapes how they see the evidence that is presented in the courtroom." The defense also wants TV and still cameras kept out of the courtroom, but prosecutors are asking Graf to keep the proceedings open.
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