PROVO, Utah – A Utah Supreme Court case arising from the 2021 murder of Gabby Petito could help Charlie Kirk’s family pursue a wrongful death lawsuit over alleged security lapses tied to his assassination at a Turning Point USA event last year, an attorney connected to the appeal said.
“As the law stands now, claims by Kirk’s family would probably be dismissed, just as the Petito family’s case was,” said Brian Stewart, an attorney representing Gabby Petito’s family in the Utah appeal. “For Charlie Kirk’s family to move forward, the Utah Supreme Court would have to overturn Tiede.”
The reference is to Tiede, a 1996 Utah Supreme Court ruling that upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit involving the 1990 murders of Kay Tiede and her mother, Beth Potts. The two Texas women were killed by parolees who attacked their family after leaving a halfway house, according to a Deseret News report at the time.
This undated portrait of Gabby Petito served as the inspiration for a mural painted of her in her hometown of Blue Point, New York. (Family of Gabby Petito)
That ruling affirmed the constitutionality of Utah’s governmental immunity law as it applies to wrongful death lawsuits. Stewart said the law generally blocks claims against government entities when an injury results from an assault or battery committed by a third party.
The Petito family’s appeal centers on its contention that the Utah Constitution prevents lawmakers from restricting or abolishing the right to seek damages in a wrongful death case.
The family sued the Moab Police Department, arguing officers acted negligently during a traffic stop involving Brian Laundrie roughly two weeks before he killed Petito. A judge rejected the lawsuit, citing governmental immunity.
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 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. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Kirk’s family filed a notice of claim in September, the required step before bringing a lawsuit. Their lawyers accused Utah Valley University, the state and several officials of failing to adequately protect the event, despite allegedly accepting responsibility for rooftop security. They say those failures contributed to Kirk’s wrongful death on Sept. 10, 2025.
The filing says UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long responded, “I got you covered,” after Turning Point USA organizers expressed concerns about access to rooftops overlooking the campus courtyard.
Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina, of the Utah Department of Public Safety, motions toward a map of the Utah Valley University campus during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026 (Spenser Heaps/AP via Pool)
Prosecutors allege that a sniper positioned on a rooftop across the courtyard fired the shot that killed Kirk.
Still, Stewart said the alleged text-message assurance may not be sufficient to bypass Utah’s broad governmental immunity protections.
A view of the location where Charlie Kirk was shot. (Alec Thornock for News Outlet)
“It represents another negligent act that may have increased Charlie’s vulnerability and contributed to his death, but it likely would not alter the statute’s application,” Stewart said. He compared the situation with the Petito case, where Gabby’s parents might have brought her home or intervened but relied on officers’ assessment that the traffic-stop incident was not serious and that no arrests were necessary.
According to Stewart, that police response conveyed that the situation was under control—much like Long’s alleged reassurance to the event organizers.
The Petito family maintains that Tiede should not govern its lawsuit. Alternatively, the family argues the precedent should be overturned because the Utah Constitution declares, “The right of action to recover damages for injuries resulting in death, shall never be abrogated.”
Floral tributes and a prayer vigil sign are placed next to large concrete planters at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, at the exact campus location where Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot one year ago. Turning Point USA is hosting its “Freedom Built to Last” memorial service on campus today to mark the first anniversary of his death on Sept. 10, 2026. (Getty Images)
Stewart said attorneys for Kirk’s family have also begun preparing the foundation for a possible federal lawsuit.
Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old man accused of killing Kirk, pleaded not guilty through his attorneys during a Sept. 1 arraignment. If convicted of aggravated murder, the case’s most serious charge, Robinson could receive the death penalty.
He’s due in court Friday afternoon for a scheduling hearing.
