Saturday, March 29, 2025
St. George / New Delhi, Sept 25, 2025 — The live-in partner of Tyler Robinson — the central suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk — reportedly had a turbulent adolescence marked by family estrangement and instability, multiple U.S. media outlets say.
According to reporting in The New York Post, Lance Twiggs, 22, left his parents’ home as a teenager after repeated clashes over his Mormon upbringing and reportedly spent his late high-school years staying with friends. Twiggs later identified as transgender and was living with Robinson in St. George at the time of the attack.
Sources who sheltered Twiggs through high school told the Post he “bounced couches” and sometimes stayed with a pair of brothers and their extended family beginning in 2021. A relative who spoke to the paper described him as hardworking and academically successful, saying he attended a program for gifted students and often helped others. The relative also said she was not aware of Twiggs’s transgender identity at the time.
Twiggs’s temporary hosts defended him in interviews, with one family member calling him “compassionate” and insisting he was not involved in the alleged plot. Another relative said Twiggs had been wrongly cast as a criminal and urged the public to wait for the facts.
Authorities say Twiggs is cooperating with the FBI. Utah Governor Spencer Cox, cited by PBS, said the partner “has been very cooperative” and that there was no indication the partner knew of any plot beforehand.
Local media reports indicate neighbors saw Twiggs and Robinson together publicly, including holding hands shortly before the shooting. Court filings cited in U.S. coverage say Robinson admitted planning the attack for about a week; investigators allege Robinson left a handwritten note declaring an intent to “take out Charlie Kirk,” and another note addressed to Twiggs was reportedly hidden under a keyboard.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot inside an auditorium at Utah Valley University after an audience exchange about transgender mass shooters; he was struck in the neck and died. Law enforcement has arrested Robinson and is continuing the investigation. Officials have not publicly detailed a motive beyond court filings and the evidence presented to date.
