The transgender partner of the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk has reportedly vanished from their hometown, six weeks after the shocking political assassination that stunned the nation. Lance Twiggs, 22, has kept a low profile ever since his boyfriend, Tyler Robinson, allegedly shot and killed Turning Point USA co-founder Kirk, later sending Twiggs a series of text messages confessing to the crime, according to federal investigators.
Since then, Twiggs has stayed away from the $1,800-a-month apartment the couple shared on the outskirts of the quiet desert town of St. George. Authorities have said that Twiggs is cooperating with the investigation, though he has declined to speak with the media.
Vanished from Public Eye
Meanwhile, Robinson remains in custody awaiting trial at a Salt Lake City jail. Robinson appeared briefly in court on Monday, where he put forward a legal argument similar to the one used by fellow accused political assassin Luigi Mangione.
The Utah native requested permission to wear regular clothes instead of a jail jumpsuit during future hearings, claiming the jumpsuit could unfairly influence potential jurors. He also asked to appear without shackles.
The judge agreed to let him wear civilian clothing but denied the request to remove the shackles, giving Robinson only a partial win. Mangione had made a comparable plea in his own case, but his judge was less lenient, and he was later seen in standard prison attire.
Robinson is set to return to court on January 16, with his arraignment set for January 30.
Robinson and Twiggs — whom authorities have referred to using male pronouns — moved in together after Twiggs was kicked out of his devout Mormon parents' home in 2018.
It appears the family may have mended their relationship in recent years. Transactions on Twiggs' Venmo show several payments from his parents over the past two years, labeled for things like "prescriptions" and "gas money."
The most recent payment from his father came just a few months before Charlie Kirk's death.
Everything Still Unclear
It's currently unclear whether Twiggs has returned to live with his parents or if he's still living in St. George, about four hours away from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was fatally shot.
Twiggs' Infiniti FX35 is now parked in his parents' driveway. Neighbor Jesse Riley, who lives only a few houses away from the apartment Twiggs and Robinson once shared, said he hasn't noticed any activity there since Robinson, also 22, surrendered to police, the New York Post reported.
"It definitely is a shock it happened here. It's a quiet neighborhood. You know your neighbor on your left or your right, but people are pretty isolated," Riley told The Post last month.
Twiggs had a strained relationship with his strict Mormon parents, though accounts of what caused the tension differ.
A family member told Fox News that Twiggs had been "disrespectful and problematic," struggled with drug use, and was addicted to online gaming.
However, others who knew him paint a more sympathetic picture. Members of the Nielsen family, who took Twiggs in after he was kicked out, described him as a kind and hardworking teenager who took his studies seriously and genuinely cared about his friends.
"I loved Lance. His parents kicked him out of his house, and he lived with us. His parents never sat right with my family," said Braylon Nielsen, 19, whose brothers were close with Twiggs and members of a group chat with him as well as Tyler Robinson.
"He had straight As. He was very hardworking, not a big partier [...] He just took care of people," Nielsen added.
It appears Twiggs has at least partially reconciled with his parents in recent years.
Investigators say he received a series of messages from Robinson describing the shooting, where the weapon was hidden, and his attempts to evade capture.
"You are all I worry about, love," Robinson reportedly texted Twiggs before eventually surrendering to police.
Robinson was charged on September 17 with aggravated murder and several related offenses in the killing of conservative activist and devout Christian Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10.
Court records suggest Robinson confessed to the crime in text messages sent to Twiggs during a 33-hour manhunt — messages that Twiggs later handed over to law enforcement.
Twiggs has not been charged and is said to be cooperating fully with investigators.
