Some People on the Internet Have a Theory That a Trans Woman Killed Charlie Kirk — Who Is Skye Valadez

In the aftermath of a high-profile murder like the shooting of Charlie Kirk, it's fair to say that the information that can be found on the internet is not as reliable as you might expect. Almost immediately, amateur sleuths across the internet began "investigating" the killing for themselves, and quickly came to some dubious conclusions about who might be involved.

One popular theory involves a trans artist who lives in Utah named Skye Valadez. Some on the internet have begun to suggest that she is responsible for Kirk's death. Here's what we know about why they're saying that (even though it's very unlikely).

Skye Valadez is apparently a trans musician who, at least at one point, lived in Utah. Theorizing that she was involved in Kirk's killing began after some users alleged that she released a song called "Charlie Kirk Dead at 31" in August, according to Marca. Screenshots of her account also suggested that she once lived in Ogden, Utah, but changed her location to "leave me alone" after Kirk's death.

These screenshots are not verified and might not even be real. Valadez has not said anything publicly about the allegations, and law enforcement has not signaled that she is even a person of interest in the case. The images they have released of the person they suspect to be the shooter don't resemble Valadez much, so the likely explanation is that the internet has just decided that she should be.

It's probably not an accident that many who have started "investigating" Kirk's death eventually decided that a trans woman was responsible for the crime. Although we still don't know much about the shooter and their ideology, many on the right quickly began suggesting that Kirk's death was caused by the "violent left," and there has long been a false emphasis on trans people as uniquely violent individuals.

The information that has been released in the days since Kirk's death has left us with more questions than answers. President Trump announced on Sept. 12 that a person of interest was in custody, per the BBC, but stipulated that the information was preliminary.

In the days since his death, reports have been released suggesting all sorts of things, including that the bullets in the shooter's gun were inscribed with trans ideology (this turned out not to be true). So, while some people are rushing to try to figure out who Kirk's killer is and why he was gunned down, it probably makes sense for most of us to take a beat and wait for more official reports to be released.