Amanda Bakker
:::caution Legal Disclaimer Nothing on this page alleges wrongdoing by Amanda Bakker. She is a living FBI forensic examiner who testified under oath. DNA statistics and lab phrasing are evidence claims, not a verdict of guilt. Tyler Robinson is charged, not convicted. All persons named are presumed innocent. :::
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Amanda Bakker |
| Role | DNA forensic examiner, FBI laboratory (reported as FBI HQ / Quantico, Virginia) |
| Called by | Defense (out of order on Day 2 to accommodate her schedule — per open-court statement by prosecutor Ryan McBride) |
| Connection to CK Case | Live sworn witness — mixture DNA on towel (around recovered rifle) and screwdriver (Losee Center roof) |
| Hearing day | 07/07/2026 (Preliminary Hearing Day 2) |
| Evidence Rating | CONFIRMED (public court testimony / PBS, AP, Fox, ABC4, KSL, CNN) |
| Status | Alive |
Why she is on this site
Amanda Bakker is the only FBI person reported to have taken the live witness stand during the July 2026 preliminary hearing in State of Utah v. Tyler Robinson. Other FBI personnel assisted the investigation and authored reports that were referenced, but contemporaneous coverage does not put other FBI special agents on the live stand in that hearing.
Roster: People on Witness Stand.
Navigation: Court L2 → People on Witness Stand (or full list) → this page. Same path from People L2.
Connection to the Charlie Kirk Case
Items at issue:
- A towel wrapped around the bolt-action rifle recovered in a wooded area near Utah Valley University (physical recovery presented through SBI Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina).
- A screwdriver recovered from the Losee Center rooftop — the position the State identifies as the shooter's perch after Chris Bagley's roof response.
Faumuina testified that the rifle went to the ATF for testing while the towel and screwdriver went to the FBI for DNA analysis (NewsNation / press summaries). Bakker is the FBI DNA examiner who authored the relevant DNA report and then testified.
Who called her — and why out of order
On the Day 2 record, prosecutor McBride told Judge Tony Graf the State would call Faumuina briefly, pause her, and then call an FBI DNA analyst out of order because "It's a defense witness, but that's to accommodate that witness's schedule." Bakker was then sworn and examined. Multiple outlets (KSL, PBS, AP-family stories) likewise describe the defense team bringing Bakker — the report author — for extended technical examination.
Defense counsel Michael Burt led the aggressive DNA cross. That posture matches the defense strategy of putting forensic limitations on the live record before bind-over.
Reported testimony (attributed to press + hearing coverage)
Mixture and contributors
- DNA on the towel and screwdriver was a mixture, not a single-source profile.
- Initial testing indicated at least two contributors, with possibility of as many as three (AP/WTOP live reporting).
- After Lance Twiggs provided a comparison sample, Bakker reportedly re-ran analyses and attributed the DNA to two people (PBS / AP).
- Robinson described as majority / major contributor on mixed samples; Twiggs as minority / minor contributor (Fox News and pool summaries). Citizen and TV commentary sometimes cite rough 95%/5% or 89%/11% style splits — treat percentages as secondary reporting, verify against certified transcript when available.
- Lab language: Robinson included as a "possible contributor" — FBI policy (as Bakker explained on the record, per NewsNation/ABC4) bars analysts from calling results an "absolute identification," from expressing conclusions to a "reasonable degree of scientific certainty," or from claiming DNA testing is error-free.
Degradation
- Screwdriver DNA showed some degradation (pieces of genetic information can be lost).
- Towel showed slight degradation, less than the screwdriver.
- On cross, she reportedly said degradation did not prevent her from reaching the conclusions in the report (KSL clip transcriptions).
Statistics (as reported)
- Press and Court-TV-adjacent posts have quoted very high likelihood ratios for the two-person mixture belonging to Robinson and Twiggs versus two random unrelated people (one widely circulated figure: 30 quintillion — treat as attributed press/TV, not independently verified math on this page).
- CNN summary of the prelim week used "very strong support" style lab phrasing for towel/screwdriver contribution by Robinson and Twiggs.
What she did not claim (per her own policy testimony)
She did not testify that DNA science is infallible or that the profiles were an absolute match. That limitation is exactly what the defense wanted on camera for the jury pool and for the bind-over record.
How citizen investigators and X treat her testimony
X and independent coverage treat Bakker's day as the load-bearing DNA day for towel/screwdriver:
- Pro-State frames: mixture still includes Robinson at high support; items sit on the roof and on the wrapped rifle.
- Skeptical frames: "possible contributor" language + mixture + shared-residence/intimate-partner DNA with Twiggs undercuts sole-shooter certainty; degradation and policy hedges matter.
- This site records both frames as public discourse — not as a finding that Bakker erred or that Robinson is guilty or innocent.
Court calendar links
| Date | Role |
|---|---|
| 07/07/2026 — Prelim Day 2 | Live sworn testimony |
| Transcript | Preliminary Hearing — Day 2 |
| Related recovery witness | Jennifer Faumuina |
| Related ATF DNA (rifle itself) | Caitlin Oliver (Day 5) |
| Related ATF ballistics | Samantha Karner (Day 4) |
| Full stand roster | People on Witness Stand |
Open questions
- What does the certified full transcript show for exact LR values, contributor percentages, and which swabs/exhibits map to towel vs screwdriver?
- Which raw data files (if any) were produced to the defense under Brady/discovery fights before she testified?
- Will Bakker be re-called if the case is bound over after 09/01/2026?
Interesting In This Area
- Utah's chief examiner was new, and her report came in through one agent.
- A legal commentator's Substack is where much of the primary court record actually lives.
- The sheriff's surrender account and the reported 6:25 custody time do not align.
- Tyler Robinson is charged, not convicted; Lance Twiggs is charged with nothing.
Interesting In Other Areas
- No gunshot-residue result is public, and standard tests were reportedly skipped.
- Cellebrite, an Israeli firm, supplied the tooling that extracted the phones.
- Gag orders and sealing keep the case record largely out of view.
- Engraved bullets in a towel is the detail the state's story struggles to carry.
Other Pages In This Section
A private individual named in a charity filing and a December 2025 transfer into a family trust. Both are ordinary lawful steps; the page prints them only because the family name entered the record through someone else.
Read thisA claimed medical-examiner appointment that no official record supports. The page exists to say so, because an unverified staffing rumour repeated often enough starts to read like a fact.
Read this
One of the most prominent pro-Israel voices in American media, and a fixture in the donor and media commentary around Charlie Kirk's last months. He is named in that commentary only; no involvement is alleged.
Read thisA producer who said publicly that he witnessed Mikey McCoy's calls — set against a 12:24:02 frame that appears to show McCoy alone. Either the frame or the memory is wrong, and both are on the record.
Read thisElsewhere In The Investigation
No GSR & Missing Physical Tests
No publicly reported gunshot-residue result. For a case built on a rifle fired from a roof, the missing test speaks louder than any test that was performed.
Read this
Cellebrite — Israeli Forensics Firm
The Israeli forensics firm whose tooling extracted the phones at the centre of the case. Who built the extraction is not a neutral detail when foreign leads are part of the argument.
Read this
Standard Forensic Tests Reportedly Skipped (Claims)
Standard forensic tests that were reportedly never run. In a case where residue and trace evidence would decide the argument, what was skipped shapes the record as much as what was found.
Read this
The Engraved Bullets in a Towel — Why the Story Does Not Hold
Engraved bullets, wrapped in a towel, left on a roof. It is the detail the government's story struggles hardest to carry, and the page works through why.
Read thisSources
- PBS NewsHour — DNA disputed by defense (07/08/2026)
- AP / WTOP live updates — contributor count and "possible contributor" language
- Fox News — majority/minority donor framing (07/08/2026)
- ABC4, KSL, NewsNation Day 2 coverage
- Open-court McBride statement: Bakker is a defense witness (Day 2 transcript)
- Site: Day 2 transcript, Testimony, Twiggs Phone
This website's author is @HolonCitizen on X and YouTube/@HolonCitizen. Follow me there.
Interesting
- The Pentagon's top intelligence official is named in commentary about SAM-702.
- The foreign-nexus map flags which threads the halted NCTC review never ran down.
- Four of those devices reportedly resurfaced inside a US-Iran negotiation hotel in Pakistan.