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Haunted by the Final Night
Since that horrific day, Erika admits she has not returned to sleep in their bedroom. Instead, she drifts from room to room, clinging to his memory. She even refuses to wash the towels Charlie used in his final shower.
The night before the Utah trip, Charlie and Erika shared dinner with a faith leader. Both she and their friend raised alarms about his safety. Threats had been mounting for over a year. Erika begged her husband to wear a bulletproof vest. Their friend pushed him to speak behind protective glass.
Charlie rejected both.
“Not yet,” he said, putting his trust in security and in God’s plan.
Looking back, Erika recalled moments when Charlie seemed to acknowledge the danger, almost as if he had already accepted the cost of living boldly for truth.
The Call She Dreaded
Erika was originally supposed to travel with him to Utah but stayed behind to care for her sick mother in Phoenix. Charlie encouraged her to stay, reassuring her with the words: “Home needs you. We’ll go together to Colorado State.”
The next morning, Erika sat in her mother’s hospital room when her phone rang. It was Charlie’s longtime assistant, Michael McCoy.
“In retrospect, I knew it before he screamed it,” Erika said. “‘He’s been shot!’”
A Love Story Cut Short
Charlie and Erika’s love story began in 2018 at a Turning Point event. Charlie arranged to meet her again in New York, under the guise of a job interview for her Christian clothing line. It quickly became more than business.
Charlie, who never attended college, was known for devouring books. Erika, who studied at Arizona State and earned a master’s degree from Liberty University, brought her own intellectual depth. Their marriage was built on shared values and unshakable faith.
The Killer’s Plot
Authorities say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson meticulously planned the assassination. Hidden under his computer keyboard, investigators found a handwritten note: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Robinson’s romantic partner, a biological male identified in court records as his roommate, handed police a photo of the note along with text messages showing Robinson’s erratic behavior.
After the shooting, Robinson reportedly sent a chilling message to his partner: “I’ve had enough of his hatred.”
He now faces charges of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and felony discharge of a firearm.
Erika’s Final Words
Despite the unbearable loss, Erika insists her husband’s legacy cannot be erased.
“Charlie lived without fear,” she said. “But he also lived for others. That’s how he died, and that’s how he will always be remembered.”
