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PROVO, Utah — <\/span>A Utah judge will decide Tuesday if there’s enough evidence to put the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk<\/a> on trial for aggravated murder, which would make him eligible for the death penalty.<\/p>\n The hearing in state court comes after prosecutors in July spent five days<\/a> presenting what they said was \u201coverwhelming\u201d evidence that Tyler Robinson killed the conservative activist while he was speaking at an open-air event on a college campus.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old defendant turned himself in<\/a> a day after the shooting at Utah Valley University<\/a> last September. He has not yet entered a plea, and his lawyers have not offered alternative theories for Kirk\u2019s death. They’ve focused instead on blocking the case from proceeding to trial and trying to get the death penalty taken off the table<\/a>. <\/p>\n District Judge Tony Graf has the option to send the case to trial on a lesser charge of murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison, said Steve Burton, director of the Utah Defense Attorney Association. Graf could also dismiss the charges against Robinson, in which case prosecutors could refile them.<\/p>\n A key factor in charging aggravated murder is whether the shooting endangered others.<\/p>\n Attorneys will present final arguments Tuesday \u2014 closing out an unusually long preliminary \u2014 and Graf plans to announce his decision from the bench, state courts spokesperson Tania Mashburn said.<\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s widow, Erika Kirk<\/a>, and parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, were expected back in the Provo courtroom after attending in July.<\/p>\n Arguments will likely focus on whether Utah County prosecutors have enough evidence to support the heightened charge of aggravated murder. <\/p>\n In recent court filings, defense attorneys argued that the shooter \u201chit the intended target\u201d and did not endanger others. But prosecutors said numerous people were within a \u201czone of danger\u201d around Kirk when he was shot from a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 meters) away.<\/p>\n Robinson also faces potential sentencing enhancements if prosecutors can show he targeted Kirk for his political beliefs.<\/p>\n Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote<\/a> to help President Donald Trump win a second term.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have argued that an engraved bullet found in the suspected murder weapon<\/a> shows that Kirk was targeted for how the defendant perceived his politics. The inscription \u201cHey Facist! CATCH!\u201d is an \u201covert political reference,\u201d they argued in court documents. <\/p>\n A handwritten note that prosecutors allege Robinson left for his romantic partner read in part, \u201cI had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.\u201d They also allege Robinson wrote in a text message about Kirk: \u201cI had enough of his hatred. Some hate can\u2019t be negotiated out.\u201d<\/p>\n Robinson\u2019s attorneys have argued that prosecutors do not have strong enough evidence to prove a political motivation.<\/p>\n In July, investigators presented DNA analyses<\/a> that they said linked Robinson to the suspected murder weapon \u2014 a bolt-action rifle with one spent round \u2014 and a tool he allegedly used to engrave the bullet cartridges.<\/p>\n Robinson’s reported romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, told investigators in a recorded interview<\/a> that Robinson said the day after Kirk was killed that \u201che wishes he hadn\u2019t done it.\u201d Later that same day \u2014 and only about an hour before turning himself in \u2014 Robinson posted \u201cit was me at UVU yesterday\u201d in an online chat room, according to investigators.<\/p>\n Defense attorneys challenged the reliability of DNA tests and unsuccessfully fought against the public release of the Twiggs interview, warning prosecutors would characterize it as a confession. Twiggs said in the interview that he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Brown reported from Billings, Montana.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n