The legal team representing Tyler Robinson is preparing to call an expert witness with experience in one of the most closely watched criminal cases in recent years, as proceedings move forward in the case surrounding the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.
Robinson, 22, has been charged with murder in connection with the September 2025 shooting of Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University during an event hosted by Turning Point USA.
According to reporting from The Post Millennial, Robinson’s attorneys have retained Dr. Bryan Edelman, a trial consultant who previously played a role in the legal proceedings involving Bryan Kohberger.
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Edelman is expected to testify at an evidentiary hearing scheduled for April 17 regarding the presence of cameras in the courtroom.
Edelman, a co-founder of the consulting firm Trial Innovations, is anticipated to address how modern media environments can shape public perception and potentially influence jurors.
A defense motion states that Edelman believes “the modern internet and social media ecosystem — especially algorithmic curation and personalization — has fundamentally altered how news is consumed and makes local, high-profile publicity substantially harder to avoid for residents of the locality where the events giving rise to the case occurred and the case is being tried.”
The defense has argued that such conditions could impact the impartiality of jurors in Utah County, where the trial is set to take place.
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Edelman is also expected to present polling data tied to the case and provide analysis of the county’s adult population, which will form the jury pool.
Robinson’s attorneys — Kathryn Nester, Michael Burt, Richard Novak, and Staci Visser — contend that widespread exposure to pretrial coverage can shape perceptions before jurors ever enter the courtroom.
In filings, they argued that online content may “bias juror judgments, increase the likelihood of guilty verdicts in experimental settings, and contribute to memory and source-monitoring errors, including misattributing pretrial information as trial evidence.”
Edelman’s prior courtroom experience includes testimony in the Kohberger case, which centered on the killing of four University of Idaho students in 2022.
Kohberger was later sentenced to life in prison. Edelman supported efforts to move that case out of its original jurisdiction, and the proceedings were ultimately relocated to Ada County.
BREAKING: Former criminology Ph.D. student Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022.
Kohberger pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty in exchange for four consecutive life sentences. The lives of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle,… pic.twitter.com/2WUMAntGLs — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 2, 2025
During that case, Edelman testified about the local atmosphere surrounding the crime. “People here have demonstrated they would experience fear, stress, panic in this community,” he said, according to The Post Millennial.
“There’s significant rumors and misinformation that have been spread, and people have been exposed to in this community. There’s a feeling of pressure to convict.”
Edelman, who holds a Ph.D. in social psychology and is based in California, also conducted a telephone survey for Robinson’s defense team, presenting his findings in a report dated March 13, according to Fox News.
The case has also drawn attention following the release of previously sealed records, which include communications between Robinson and his roommate, Lance Twiggs. In one message, Robinson referenced “an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk.”
“If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text. I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it,” he wrote.
“I don’t know if I will/have succeeded, but I had hoped to make it home to you,” Robinson continued.
“I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary. I wish I could have stayed for you and lived our lives together.”
Unsealed court documents reveal the note that Tyler Robinson left for his lover, Lance Twiggs. pic.twitter.com/0XPQF7uUOC
— National Chronicle (@NCNewsOnX) April 10, 2026
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