Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: "KIRK SHOOTING SUSPECT'S FRIENDS & 'FURRIES' EYED"

Date: September 16, 2025
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

Episode Overview

Nancy Grace dives into the investigation of the public assassination of Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two, allegedly killed by Tyler Robinson. The episode scrutinizes whether Robinson acted alone, the involvement of his friends and online associates (“furries”), and the disturbing digital footprint predicting Kirk’s murder. Grace explores legal, forensic, and psychological angles, questioning whether online encouragement and ideation could amount to real complicity in murder. Critical evidence includes a destroyed note, suspect online chats, surveillance footage, and forensic traces in vehicles and objects.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Crime and Immediate Evidence

• Shooting Details: Charlie Kirk, age 31, was shot and killed in a calculated sniper-style assassination. He was a public figure, and the murder had clear signs of planning and concealment.
• Destroyed Note: Investigators recovered forensic evidence of a destroyed note in which Robinson allegedly confessed his intent to “take out Charlie Kirk.” (04:15)
  • “Suspect wrote a note saying ‘I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.’ That note was written before the shooting.” — Joe Scott Morgan [04:15]
• Forensic Recovery: The FBI reconstructed the note’s contents through partial physical evidence and aggressive interviews. (04:24–07:49)
  • “If all it was was torn up, we could put that right back together again, no problem. If it were burned, different thing… usually, unless the ashes have been scattered, you can still read what’s on the ashes.” — Nancy Grace [08:13]

2. Legal Implications for Friends and Online Associates

• Potential Co-Defendants: The act of destroying evidence, such as the note, could result in accessory charges—obstruction of justice or aiding and abetting. (10:06–11:42)
  • “If I call you on the phone and go, ‘Hey, I left a note, can you destroy it?’ ...You’re certainly looking at serious charges on what might be one of the most serious public murders in quite some time. You are in a heap of trouble.” — Joe Scott Morgan [11:10]
• Statutory Encouragement: Encouraging the crime via online exchanges could be legally significant under aiding and abetting statutes. (16:45–17:37)
  • “If you aid, abet, encourage... The black and white letter of the law says if you encourage a murder, you’re in it up to here.” — Nancy Grace [16:45]

3. Online Radicalization and Prediction

• Discord and Social Media: Friends in Discord servers made explicit statements predicting Kirk’s death, with some naming the date and place. (13:11–14:49)
  • “Didn’t they post several of them something big is going to happen on September eleventh? Some even naming the place. ‘It'd be funny if someone like Charlie Kirk got shot on September tenth, laughing my ass off.’ Really?” — Nancy Grace [13:11]
• Lack of Clairvoyance: Panelists reject that these are coincidences; some friends appeared to have foreknowledge or were complicit.
  • “I don’t see a way to defend against ‘oh I didn’t know anything was happening.’ It seems like you did.” — Elena Shirazi [14:49]

4. Motive and Psychological Analysis

• Old Hatreds and Ideology: Evidence indicates the killer was driven by longstanding hatred, possibly amplified by online radicalization and group dynamics.
  • “Some hatred cannot be negotiated with.” — Alleged shooter’s text cited by Nancy Grace [20:11]
• Psychological Profile:
  • Group dynamic likened to cult-like complicity.
  • Violent video games and fantasy life (including the “furry” community) contributed to a sense of power and excitement around the act. (18:35–19:52)
    • “He was kind of creating an army of support... these people wished Kirk dead as much as the perp did, they just didn’t have to pick up the gun and do it themselves.” — Dr. Bethany Marshall [18:35]

5. Forensic and Investigative Developments

• Multiple Crime Scenes: FBI and local authorities investigated the shooting site, suspect’s home, vehicles, and digital platforms. (09:04–09:51)
• Vehicle Forensics: Investigators are parsing car telematics to determine if Robinson had help during escape or weapon disposal. (34:46–37:12)
  • “They now have that car and they have pulled the data... if it was moving at the time Charlie Kirk was murdered, that’s going to potentially take them in another direction.” — Joe Scott Morgan [34:46]
• DNA Evidence: Towels and objects with Robinson’s DNA found near where weapon was ditched; searching for touch DNA from potential accomplices.

6. Public and Social Fallout

• Celebration and Consequences: Several individuals and employees at hospitals and retailers faced professional discipline or termination for celebrating Kirk’s murder (e.g., a surgeon suspended, store staff fired for refusing to print vigil posters). (50:34–53:44)
  • “A surgeon resigned after loudly proclaiming Kirk got what he deserved. DC canceled a comic book series after just one issue because the artist posted ‘I hope the bullet’s okay.’” — Elena Shirazi [50:34]
  • “We may think it’s bloodthirsty and disgusting... but it’s the First Amendment.” — Nancy Grace [53:44]
• Viral Hate: Footage of young people mocking Kirk’s death (“your homie dead, he got shot in the head”) further illustrated divisions and social media’s role in amplifying extremism. (51:08–51:56)

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On Complicity in Murder
  “You don’t cheer somebody on unless you also have homicidal ideation... I think these people wished Kirk dead as much as the perp did, they just didn’t have to pick up the gun and do it themselves.”
  — Dr. Bethany Marshall [18:35]

• On Destroying Evidence
  “If you encourage a murder, you’re in it up to here… They’re going to talk, rather than do twenty hard [years] on obstruction.”
  — Nancy Grace [16:45]

• On the Online Culture
  “He was radicalized online, steeped in political hatred… There were over two thousand hours of him playing online, streamed publicly.”
  — Elena Shirazi [22:40]

• On the Investigation’s Breadth
  “There’s all kinds of secondary and tertiary scenes involved in this, so this would have been an all hands on deck.”
  — Joe Scott Morgan [09:04]

• On the 'Furries' and Fantasy Life
  “I’m kind of sad that furries have gotten drawn into this… but a small portion of them have fetishes... the shooter made a reference to his bulge, telling me he equated shooting Charlie Kirk with having an erection… a sexual thrill.”
  — Dr. Bethany Marshall [44:22]

• On Gloating After the Crime
  “He saw the governor speaking, and in the chat, he sneers, ‘only if I get a cut [of the reward].’”
  — Nancy Grace [39:44]

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:10 | Opening: Introducing the case—focus on shooter’s friends/furries | | 04:15 | Evidence: Destroyed note and its forensic recreation | | 10:06 | Legal panel: Hypothetical on destroying evidence and accomplice law | | 13:11 | Discord chats: Predictions about Kirk’s murder | | 18:35 | Psychological analysis by Dr. Bethany Marshall | | 22:40 | Online radicalization: shooter’s streaming history | | 34:46 | Car forensics and possible co-conspirator involvement | | 50:34 | Social/media reactions: firings for celebrating murder | | 53:44 | Free speech boundaries and workplace consequences |

Podcast Tone and Style

• Nancy Grace: Hard-hitting, emotional, and relentless in pursuing justice for the victim. Moves between legal analysis, crime scene breakdowns, personal outrage, and empathy for the victim’s family.
• Expert Panel: Blunt, technical, sometimes graphic. Willing to speculate but careful to distinguish theory from fact. Legal and forensic details are explained for a lay audience.
• Overall: Unfiltered, urgent, and driven to expose possible complicity, both in the real world and online.

Conclusion

Nancy Grace’s episode scrutinizes not just the act of murder, but the environment that fostered it: radicalized digital communities, enabling friends, and a web of encouragement, fantasy, and apathy. The episode is a dense mix of evidence breakdown, legal consequences, and sharp condemnation of those who cheered or abetted. Grace and her panel make clear: online encouragement or concealment is on notice—law enforcement is watching, and the law may not be kind.

If you have information on the case, contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.