THE grainy black and white footage was hard to make out – but as I stated at the phone screen in front of me I wondered: Was I watching the proof that Charlie Kirk’s killer had an accomplice?
And having spent the last fortnight on the ground in Utah – delving into the tragic killing of the – I can’t help but feel that while Charlie has been laid to rest, the case is far from dead and buried.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated while giving a speech at Utah Valley University
The alleged killer was unmasked as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson
The Charlie Kirk case is far from dead and buried, says The Sun’s Scarlet Howes
have swirled online since the shot was fired which killed President ‘s beloved influencer on September 10th.
Most of these wild rumours have been proven from the moment they surfaced.
But locals near showed me ring doorbell which appeared to show the suspect in conversation with someone minutes after the killing.
For their part the – a no-nonsense lot – have done little to shut down the idea of a mystery accomplice.
One thing is for sure, in more than a decade as a journalist I’ve never covered a killing like Charlie’s.
‘This is big’
In an astonishing coincidence, I was barely 20 miles away from the scene of Charlie’s demise, wrapping up a totally unrelated story when the news first broke of a in .
That meant I was one of the first reporters on the scene.
Within seconds my phone pinged with messages from friends who told me: “This is big.”
But none of us realised quite how huge – and how the killing would expose a deep rooted battle in American life.
I rushed to the scene at Utah Valley University where had been giving a speech – arriving just moments after he was rushed to hospital with a single bullet wound to the neck.
had already raced to the scene and lined every corner with SWAT vans.
Amid the madness, I quickly spotted the tent where in front of an audience of 3,000 people. Police tape already cordoned off the bloodstained spot.
Panicked students immediately gave me gruesome accounts of what they saw.
Within the hour the conspiracy theories were flowing too. Everyone had something to say with one audience member insisting it was a professional hit.
“How could he have shot him so perfectly? It was surreal,” she exclaimed.
No way, she insisted, had this malicious ace been carried out by a student. We were told an elderly man had been arrested after shouting that he was the culprit.
But it wasn’t long before police exclusively revealed to me they – and the shooter was still on the loose.
Students were evacuated from campus as officers launched a manhunt.
One teenager said students had seen the shooter on the roof but they thought he was protecting Charlie.
Locals near the university showed me ring doorbell which appeared to show the suspect in conversation with someone minutes after the killing
He then gave a compelling account suggesting the OAP might have coughed to it to create a diversion allowing the real killer to scarper.
He suggested ‘hand signals’ were made at the time of the shooting.
That’s when journalists flocked to the scene as details trickled out about the murder weapon and where the suspect may have fled.
But I was one step ahead as I befriended a smart young man who’d taken it upon himself to try to crack the case.
He helped me retrace the murder suspect’s steps and track down the spot where the murder weapon was hidden.
FBI investigating a wooded area near the crime scene
A drone view shows the reported location of the shooter on a rooftop
Kirk pictured before being fatally shot during a Q&A session at the university
‘Someone else involved’
It was here down a private wooded road hidden from view from the street, that I spoke to a source who claimed doorbell footage from a property had caught somebody talking about the shooting.
That person was the shooter, said our man.
He had written in messages on a group chat seen by The Sun: “Guys, the shooter walked past my house and the weapon was hidden in my neighbourhood.”
He was quick to show me the black and white footage which picked up video and faint audio of a young man on the phone mentioning the shooting.
This was just minutes after had been gunned down.
The man told me: “There must be someone else involved.”
The FBI was interviewing his family at the same time that he was showing me the chilling footage – which he had handed over to the feds.
I interviewed old friends and neighbours of Tyler’s and all of them told me one thing – someone else must be involved
My heart dropped and my blood ran cold when I saw a figure that could be the suspect talking into a mobile phone.
Surely this means the person on the other end of the line would have had to be involved?
The house was on the route which the suspect would have taken to retrieve his car. It was just a few houses down from the wooded area where the weapon was found and the FBI was taking it seriously.
At that time we didn’t know how the suspect had fled but I was told that marks on the road and oil spills indicated that a car had been waiting.
We have since had confirmation the suspected gunman took his car to drive to the scene and back to his family home.
Within 36 hours police caught the alleged culprit.
And he wasn’t a professional hitman but – a gamer from an upstanding Republican Mormon family who reside in a smart neighbourhood south of Utah.
Candles and flowers are seen near a portrait of the right-wing activist at a memorial
Erika Kirk wipes tears as she speaks at the memorial for her husband
President Trump hugs Erika Kirk at the memorial for the activist
A cursory glance on showed me that he was awho had had a ‘normal’ upbringing that consisted of decadent with loving parents who people have had only nice things to say about.
I interviewed old friends and neighbours of Tyler’s and all of them told me one thing – someone else must be involved.
Then news broke that he had been living with a romantic partner who was transitioning from a man into a woman.
I asked myself: “Was this who he was on the phone to?”
Police say the partner hasn’t been charged and has been cooperating fully with the .
But they released text messages which show Tyler confessing to him in what appears to be just moments after the killing.
In them he mentions his partner “remembering” him engraving bullets. We know ammunition was found at the scene engraved with anti-fascist messages and gen-Z slang.
I can further reveal a neighbour saw two cars from – more than 1,000 miles away – outside the apartment Tyler shared with his partner weeks before the killing.
She told me the occupants were weird and didn’t “seem like good people” but they were young just like Tyler.
She said that they were working on a car and she just had a feeling that something was wrong.
In hindsight, she told me, these strangers could have something to do with the shooting.
Then it was claimed by a family friend that there were a lot of vehicles coming in and out of the residence a week prior to the shooting.
We know that people in the messaging app Discord – which Robinson used to talk about the killing – are under investigation.
During on Sunday, said they are looking into the “possibility of accomplices”.
He added: “We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential “signals” near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025.”
Charlie may no longer be with us, but his story is far from over.
Charlie Kirk's rise to hero of the youth MAGA movement
CHARLIE Kirk transformed conservative youth activism from a marginal movement into a powerful force before his assassination on a college campus at 31.
Kirk was an American conservative political activist, author, and media personality who rose to prominence as the co-founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
He launched the organization in 2012 when he was just 18 years old, with the goal of promoting conservative principles to high school and college students and became a significant figure in American politics by building a massive grassroots network, framing himself as a “culture warrior.”
The rise of Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA’s mission was to counter what Kirk and his allies saw as liberal dominance on American college campuses.
It quickly grew to prominence through his use of provocative activism and viral social media campaigns.
They created watchlists of professors pushing leftist propaganda and organized events to debate students on controversial topics.
The strategy helped them gain a significant following and financial backing from wealthy conservative donors.
Kirk’s ability to connect with a new generation of conservatives was one of his most notable impacts.
He cultivated a style of political engagement that was heavily reliant on social media, podcasts, and confrontational public appearances.
His organization’s events, such as the annual Student Action Summit, drew thousands of young attendees and featured prominent conservative speakers, creating a new kind of political ecosystem for young people who felt alienated from traditional conservative groups.
A key ally of Donald Trump
Kirk also became a staunch supporter and ally of President Donald Trump.
He was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention and served as an aide to Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential campaign.
This relationship solidified his position within the Republican Party’s “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) wing, and his organization became an integral part of Trump’s political apparatus.
Through his popular podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” and his frequent appearances on conservative media, Kirk was a powerful voice in the pro-Trump movement.
He often framed political issues as a “spiritual battle” between good and evil and championed a pugnacious, populist form of conservatism.
His influence was so significant that after Trump’s 2024 victory, Kirk was credited with helping to mobilize younger voters for the campaign.
Influence on culture and social issues
Beyond traditional politics, Kirk’s influence extended deeply into social and cultural issues.
He was a vocal opponent of “woke” ideology, particularly in education and media.
He promoted traditional values, often encouraging young women to prioritize becoming homemakers and mothers over professional careers.
Kirk also openly criticized programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
He was also a major proponent of Christian nationalism, arguing that there is no true separation of church and state in the United States.
The Turning Point Empire
Kirk’s activism led to the expansion of the Turning Point brand into a larger political and media empire.
He launched Turning Point Action, a political advocacy group focused on voter mobilization, and Turning Point Faith, aimed at engaging evangelical Christian communities in conservative politics.
These affiliated organizations allowed him to broaden his reach and influence beyond college campuses, into a more mainstream political force.
