Candace Owens claims missing surveillance video of Robinson turning himself in never existed

Conservative commentator Candace Owens claims that surveillance video of the alleged suspect of the Charlie Kirk murder, Tyler Robinson, turning himself in, never existed. These allegations came forth from Owens when the 2News Investigation uncovered that the Washington County Sheriff’s Office does not have any video of Tyler Robinson turning him in.

In a post on the social media platform X, Candace Owens wrote, “The footage simply does not exist anymore or…maybe it never existed in the first place. You decide!”

Missing surveillance footage of Robinson

At first, 2News enquired about the publicly available records of Tyler Robinson entering the Washington County Jail/holding area and Robinson in a holding room.

“We do not have any records responsive to this portion of the request, as Tyler Robinson did not go to or enter the jail area,” wrote a records officer with the Sheriff's Office.

A couple of weeks later, it again enquired about recordings showing Tyler Robinson walking into the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

“Our office does not have any applicable records responsive to this request, as the surveillance footage is no longer available after the 30-day retention period,” said the Sheriff's Office. It also added that the video was never sent out to any agency.

Why is the video footage crucial?

Authorities had Tyler in custody within 33 hours, and the apprehension process was under “gentle” conditions. Rudy Batista, a criminal defence attorney of Utah County, working on capital punishment cases, said that it was crucial evidence for the case. “If in fact it has been destroyed and not preserved, it's very concerning". He further added that they are shutting out, "this letter leads, in my opinion, as trying to shut the door and not give you free access to the press.” Batista claims that even though the crime is serious but it does not legally amount to capital punishment.