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Breaking Crime News Now.

I'm Sidney.

We begin in Utah, where a critical legal decision has shifted a high-profile

capital murder case.

A Utah judge on Monday cleared the way for prosecutors to rely on hearsay evidence at next month's preliminary hearing for Tyler James Robinson.

Robinson faces the death penalty for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, outside Utah Valley University.

Judge Graff's ruling rejected defense efforts to compel a key witness's testimony. This clarifies what evidence will be permitted at next

month's hearing to determine probable cause. Robinson faces severe charges, including aggravated murder,

felony discharge of a firearm,

obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and committing a violent offense in the presence of a

child. Judge Graff denied defense challenges to Utah's hearsay rules. Graff emphasized that a

preliminary hearing remains distinct from a trial because its primary mechanism is not to determine guilt or innocence. Instead, the hearing serves the limited purpose of assessing whether sufficient evidence exists to continue prosecution. Because of this restricted scope, the court concluded Utah law constitutionally allows prosecutors to establish probable

cause through reliable hearsay accounts.

Judge Graff also rejected the defense's motion to force Robinson's former roommate, Lance Twiggs,

to travel from Texas to testify in person.

Court records reveal prosecutors intend to rely on Twigs' recorded interview with investigators.

This recording will be presented alongside electronic messages, a handwritten note, and corroborating

evidence, rather than requiring Twigs to appear live.

Robinson's defense attorneys argued they should be permitted to cross-examine

...