Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer Tyler Robinson is being forced to wear a ‘turtle suit’ to prevent him from committing suicide.

Robinson was seen donning the garment as he made his first court appearance on Tuesday. 

He faces seven counts – including a capital murder charge – over the shooting of Kirk, 31, at a Utah Valley University event in Orem on September 10.

Prosecutors said that they plan to seek the death penalty for the alleged murderer if convicted.

The 22-year-old has been placed on suicide watch in jail, where his movements will be monitored at all times.

He is also not allowed to wear regular prison garb and instead he must wear the special anti-suicide smock – known among inmates as ‘turtle suits’ or ‘pickle suits – at all times. 

These are made of an especially thick and quilted material that they cannot tear or use to hang or suffocate themselves. 

Because the fabric is too stiff, the suit cannot be rolled or tied into a noose. 

Watch cells usually also have cushioned walls and floors so inmates can’t injure themselves by banging their heads against them. 

Tyler Robinson appears via video feed from jail as he makes his first appearance at Utah County Justice Court in Provo, Utah, U.S. wearing an anti-suicide vest. September 16, 2025 in this screen capture from court video

Inmates under special watch are given special anti-suicide smocks made of an especially thick material that they cannot tear or use to hang or suffocate themselves

Robinson was held without bail until his next court hearing on September 29, as Judge Tony Graf granted a pre-trial request to issue Kirk’s wife Erika a protective order.

He is accused of murdering Kirk because he was unhappy with the right-wing media star’s stances on gay and transgender rights.

He even reportedly told police officers ‘some hatred cannot be negotiated with’ when he was asked why he would kill the conservative influencer, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed in an interview with Fox News Tuesday morning.

He said that the FBI and local and law enforcement officers conducted witness interviews in which they discovered that Robinson ‘essentially admitted’ to killing the 31-year-old.

DNA from a towel that was wrapped around the firearm used to kill Kirk was also a match for the suspect, Patel said.

Robinson’s family and friends are now cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

His partner, a transgender person named Lance Twiggs, even handed over incriminating text messages in which the alleged killer reportedly confessed after Kirk’s murder and said ‘I’m sorry’.

Robinson allegedly texted Twiggs after the murder saying: ‘Drop what you’re doing, look under my keyboard.’

Charlie Kirk leaves behind his wife and their two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son

Robinson is accused of killing Kirk with a single rifle shot from a rooftop about 200 yards away before fleeing. He is facing charges of aggravated murder, first-degree obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm, causing serious bodily injury

If convicted, Robinson will likely be sent to the Utah State Correctional Facility, in Salt Lake City

The roommate then found a note that read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it’, cops found a picture of the note, Gray said.

When Twiggs later pointed out that police had taken someone else into custody for the murder, Robinson allegedly replied: ‘no, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing.

‘I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down,’ he allegedly added.

Robinson allegedly told the roommate that he had been planning the killing for about a week.

‘Delete this exchange,’ the alleged killer then told the roommate, according to authorities.

‘Don’t talk to the media please or make any comments, if any police asks questions just ask for a lawyer and stay silent,’ Robinson allegedly instructed Twiggs.

Charging documents obtained by the Daily Mail further claim Robinson told his partner: ‘I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.’

‘If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence. Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on.’

When asked how long he had been planning it for, Robinson is said to have responded: ‘A bit over a week I believe.’

Robinson is also alleged to have referenced engraving bullets, and investigators have said they uncovered unspent rounds with anti-fascist and pro-trans ideologies inscribed on them.

‘Remember how I was engraving bullets? The f***** messages are mostly a big meme, if I see “notices bulge uwu” on Fox News I might have a stroke’, Robinson allegedly said.

One of the bullets was engraved with ‘Notices bulge OwO, what’s this?’, a meme used to troll ‘furries’ and transgender people.

Furries are a community who adopt anthropomorphized animal personas, sometimes in a sexual context.

Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed

Robinson is said to have confessed to his roommate after Kirk’s murder and said ‘I’m sorry’ while asking Twiggs to scrub all evidence of their text messages

Robinson had been in a relationship with his transgender roommate, Lance Twiggs

The website ‘Know Your Meme’ points to the phrase reportedly engraved on the bullet being used online to troll furries.

OwO is intended to represent a wide-eyed face of surprise, with ‘notices bulge’ referring to the male appendage.

Another engraving said ‘Hey Fascists! Catch’, alongside an up arrow, a right arrow symbol and another three arrows pointing downwards.

Social media users have pointed to a video game called Helldivers 2, a 2024 shooter game.

A code to call in an airstrike in the game requires the player to hit up, right, followed by hitting down three times.

Another was engraved with the words of prominent Italian anti-fascist song ‘Bella Ciao’, which is dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against Nazism.

The song has also seen a recent uptake in interest after being heavily featured in the Netflix series Money Heist.

The final unfired casing was inscribed with: ‘If you read this you are gay LMAO’, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has said. LMAO is an internet acronym for ‘laughing my ass off’.

There is no suggestion Twiggs knew what was going to happen has not been charged with any crime.

Authorities released this image last week as they ramped up the search for the suspect, with Robinson’s parents seeing it and believing it was their son 

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray revealed that Robinson confessed to his parents about murdering Kirk, telling them: ‘There is too much evil, and the guy spreads too much hate.’

Robinson’s family are MAGA Republicans, but Robinson had become more left wing in the year before Kirk’s murder and slammed Kirk over his stances on LGBT rights, it is claimed.

Charging documents say that his mother had seen the photo shared by authorities and immediately thought they looked like her son.

After calling Robinson, he is said to have told her he was at home and unwell, and had been the day when Kirk was gunned down.

Still, the documents say this did nothing to quell her suspicions, and she raised her concerns with his father who agreed with her.

She explained to investigators that in the last year her son had become increasing more political, and started expressing left wing views – including pro-gay and trans-rights messaging.