Robinson’s defence team, led by attorney Kathy Nester, has sought to exclude much of the evidence and argued to have the death penalty taken off the table.
Nester spent much of Tuesday aiming to discredit key pieces of evidence being displayed by prosecutors.
Under questioning from Nester on Tuesday, Hull acknowledged that at least one other weapon had been found on campus on the day of the shooting.
Hull also said no shell casings were discovered on the rooftop near a suspected “sniper pad” – an impression in gravel discovered by another officer which appeared to indicate where a shooter was lying down with a direct line of sight to where Kirk had been speaking.
Nester also told the court some witnesses had described a different suspect on the rooftop, while a few others interviewed by police had claimed a bald man had been driving the vehicle alleged to be Robinson’s in security footage shown on Monday.
Robinson’s defence team objected repeatedly to evidence and testimony during the first two days of the preliminary hearing.
They argued that footage had been edited, and pointed out that those who had originally filmed the footage were not on the stand and not able to be questioned.
Their repeated objections, calling into question key pieces of evidence, have helped shed light on their potential defence strategy, which has remained a mystery since Robinson’s arrest.
Following Hull’s testimony, the prosecution called Jennifer Faumuina, a sergeant with the state bureau of investigation, who testified about how investigators processed DNA found on a screwdriver, rifle and towel recovered after the shooting.
Prosecutors then introduced an FBI report which found that the DNA matched Robinson, as well as his roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, who has co-operated with police.
The defence also called its first witness, FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker, who signed the DNA report – questioning her at length about protocol and the potential for interpretation or error in testing.
After the hearing – which is due to end on Friday – Judge Graf will not make a determination of guilt or innocence, but will weigh whether the prosecution has presented strong enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
The hearing almost resembles a trial but prosecutors have a low bar to meet, as they just need to demonstrate there are reasonable grounds that Robinson should be tried before a jury.
At a typical US trial, prosecutors need to prove a guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt”.
