The elusive figure who is KEY to the Tyler Robinson hearing... but won't be there: Accused killer's trans lover Lance Twiggs to give evidence via video amid heightened security fears

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:19, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 21:26, 8 July 2026 He is central to the evidence against Tyler Robinson. But Lance Twiggs, the accused killer’s transgender lover who has been working with the police since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, won't be there to testify at the crucial pre-trial hearing this week.  Instead, all his comments are expected to be relayed to the court in bombshell video tapes, recorded statements or transcripts.  Robinson's attorneys fought to force Twiggs to appear in-person to be cross-examined, but the judge ruled that his recorded statements can stand on their own at his pre-trial hearings this week.  Twiggs was thrust into national infamy after Kirk's assassination as prosecutors said Robinson confessed to his lover in a chilling handwritten note left in their shared apartment in St. George, Utah.  'I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it,' Robinson wrote, according to prosecutors. Twiggs has not been charged with any crime and has cooperated with authorities. Twiggs, 22, who is transgender and uses the name 'Luna,' allegedly gave investigators their intimate texts after Kirk was killed, and volunteered his DNA.  The messages to Twiggs vaulted the quiet, video-game obsessed young adult into the spotlight, and he is now set to become the prosecution's star witness in their case against the alleged assassin.  Those who knew Twiggs say they were stunned when he was vaulted into the national spotlight by his partner's alleged crime.  Twiggs grew up in a Mormon family in St. George, Utah, as the son of a hot tub salesman father and insurance broker mother, and attended a high school for academically gifted teens where he excelled as a talented pianist.  Lance Twiggs, 22, appears set to become the prosecution's star witness in the case against his former roommate and rumored lover Tyler Robinson  Robinson, 23, allegedly killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025, and told Twiggs at the time he did it to stop the influencer's 'hate,' prosecutors say  Investigators seen at the townhouse Twiggs and Robinson shared in St. George, Utah, the day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated  Twiggs was granted limited immunity in the case, meaning his statements cannot be used against him by prosecutors, with his police interview and messages to Robinson after the shooting expected to become central to the trial.  Judge Tony Graf also ruled that Twiggs would not have to testify in-person at Robinson's pre-trial hearings, which Robinson's team had tried to force him to do.  Twiggs and Robinson went to high school just four miles from each other in Utah, but appeared to only cross paths after Twiggs graduated from Dixie Success Academy in 2022.  While a student at the high school, Twiggs was known as a talented pianist who performed Gershwin's Prelude No.1 in a recital in 2020, per The New York Post.  His brother was also a musician who played Chopin. Twiggs' mother once gushed on Facebook: 'The kids music had been like a peaceful river flowing through our home for many, many years. I feel so grateful.' But reports say Twiggs fell on hard times after he graduated and he fell out with his strictly Mormon family, and he moved into a townhouse in St. George, with Robinson. It is not clear how the pair first met.  A relative told Fox News that his father kicked him out aged 18 because Twiggs 'wasn't being respectful' and he was being 'problematic.'  The relative said issues with 'gender identity' played a role, but 'the real reason he was acting out was because he was using drugs and alcohol, and was addicted to gaming.'  Charlie Kirk seen moments before he was shot dead in front of a huge crowd at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025  Twiggs grew up in St. George, Utah to strict Mormon parents. His father Tyler is a hot tub salesman, and his mother is an insurance broker  Twiggs attended a high school for academically gifted teens where he excelled as a talented pianist Twiggs went into hiding for months following Kirk's assassination, but in February the Daily Mail tracked the suspect's roommate down to Texas , where he had reconciled with his strict Mormon family The relative added that there were 'other roommates' in the home at various times, but they all eventually moved out until it was only Twiggs and Robinson living together.  A Reddit account reportedly belonging to Twiggs told a similar story, as he wrote: 'Was told I was possessed by a demon and then within 30 mins kicked outta the house because I started laughing and wouldn’t go to the bishop for a blessing. 'Later found out they just didn’t like me and were looking for a way to get me out of the house. Wasn’t even 18 at the time.'  However, the account that Twiggs became addicted to drugs was disputed by former friend Braylon Nielsen, who said Twiggs fell out with his family because he rejected their Mormon faith.  'I loved Lance. His parents kicked him out of his house, and he lived with us. His parents never sat right with my family,' she told the Post last year.  She described Twiggs as a 'straight A' student who was 'very hardworking' as a teenager, but his parents couldn't accept his antagonism to their religion.  After meeting Robinson and moving in together, the pair reportedly began a romantic relationship.  It is unclear what Twiggs did for a living, with a relative saying he was 'maintaining a job and able to pay rent,' but he had dreams of being a professional video game player.  Twiggs went into hiding for months following Kirk's assassination, but in February the Daily Mail tracked the suspect's roommate down to Texas, where he had reconciled with his strict Mormon family.  Twiggs seen in February after relocating to Texas  Twiggs was a talented and academically gifted teenager, but allegedly fell on hard times after his high school graduation and was kicked out of his family home  Twiggs is not accused of being involved in Kirk's murder The pair were still living together when Robinson allegedly hatched a plot to assassinate Kirk, and after the conservative influencer was killed, Robinson allegedly confessed.  Prosecutors say he left Twiggs a handwritten confession, leading Twiggs to text him in disbelief and ask how long he had been planning the shooting. 'A bit over a week, I believe,' Robinson wrote back, per the court filings.  Robinson said he believed Kirk 'spread too much hate,' and texted Twiggs about his rush to flee the scene and contain evidence, according to court filings.  'If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence,' Robinson allegedly wrote.  'Going to attempt to retrieve it again... I might have to abandon it and hope they don't find prints.'  Authorities said when they found Robinson's rifle, they discovered unspent shell casings engraved with political messages, including one that read, 'Hey Fascist! CATCH!'  In his alleged texts, Robinson referenced these engravings, writing: 'If I see 'notices bulge uwu' on Fox News I might have a stroke.'  Robinson capped off his messages by warning Twiggs, 'Don't talk to the media please... if any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent,' the filings said.  Authorities said Twiggs showed the messages to investigators when questioned, and has cooperated with the case.  Twiggs also voluntarily provided a mouth swab of his DNA to help the investigation, which has been raised in Robinson's pre-trial hearings this week as his DNA was found on a towel wrapped around the alleged murder weapon.