Local prosecutors in the Utah trial of accused Charlie Kirk’s killer, Tyler Robinson, faced a grilling in court on Tuesday from Robinson’s lawyers, who want them removed from the case.
Robinson’s lawyers allege that the presence of the Utah County Attorney’s chief deputy Chad Grunander’s 18-year-old daughter at the Sept. 10, 2025, murder of Kirk creates a conflict of interest, and that it therefore should be disqualified from trying the case. During a hearing in Utah court on Tuesday, Robinson’s lawyers questioned Utah County Attorney General Jeffrey Gray, Grunander, and Grunander’s daughter.
Gray told the court he relied on his past experience prosecuting crime to determine whether to pursue the death penalty in this case and if the presence of Grunander’s child poses a conflict of interest.
“The evidence that had been gathered supports the aggravated murder charge, and I believe that the death penalty is entirely appropriate in this particular case,” Gray said in response to questioning from Robinson’s lawyers.
Grunander testified that they discussed whether his daughter’s presence at the event constituted a conflict of interest, but ultimately concluded that it did not.
“We considered the appearance of conflict here, but when we learned and had a good grasp of what her experience was – or perhaps most importantly what her experience wasn’t, what she didn’t see — we felt confident that there’s just simply no conflict here, and once people become aware of the facts, there’s no appearance of conflict,” Grunander told the court.
Grunander denied that his daughter’s presence at the shooting motivated the decision to seek the death penalty for Robinson, adding that the topic did not come up when prosecutors discussed whether to seek the death penalty.
“I don’t believe it had any effect on Mr. Gray’s perspective,” Grunander said.
The motion to disqualify the Utah County attorney’s office was initially brought forward during a contentious hearing last month, when prosecutors accused Robinson’s attorneys of an “ambush” defense strategy and called it “another stalling tactic to delay these proceedings.”
Graf said he will issue a ruling on the disqualification motion during a virtual hearing on Feb. 24.
Media access has been another hotly contested topic ahead of Robinson’s trial. Media companies are seeking to preserve access to the upcoming trial. While the issue was not resolved during Tuesday’s hearing, the judge at one point ordered a still photographer to be repositioned after concerns from Robinson’s lawyers about how he would be photographed, which could endanger his right to a fair trial.
UTAH COUNTY ACCUSES TYLER ROBINSON LEGAL TEAM OF ‘AMBUSH’ EFFORT TO DISQUALIFY PROSECUTORS
Robinson faces multiple charges for his alleged assassination of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in September. The maximum punishment for the charges levied against Robinson includes the death penalty, which prosecutors have said they intend to pursue.
The trial of Robinson is expected to be one of the most closely watched cases of the year, after the public killing of Kirk sent shockwaves through politics last September.
