His sister Eloise also reveals the devastating moment she heard her brother’s heart stop
Charlie was fatally stabbed three times. (Image: ITV)
Following the fatal stabbing of his 17 year old son Charlie, father Martin Cosser made a heartfelt vow – he would secure justice and devote his remaining years to combating knife crime.
Charlie was killed by 16 year old Yura Varybus during an end-of-term celebration on 23rd June 2023 at a farmhouse in West Sussex. Medical staff fought desperately to preserve his life but sadly, Charlie passed away two-and-a-half days later in hospital. His father Martin shared his anguish on TikTok, and the tale of how the murder case became a viral sensation is now featured in the second series of ITV1’s TikTok: Murder Gone Viral.
In devastating footage, viewers will witness Charlie’s younger sister Eloise recount the moment police arrived at their family residence during the night.
She remembered: “I woke up to the sound of the door being banged on really hard. The police officer tells us she’ll be driving us to the hospital where they’ve taken Charlie. I didn’t have time to put my shoes on. I just ran out in the darkness into the police car.” Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
One of the three knife wounds had pierced Charlie’s aorta and he suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance. Medics performed surgery in the ambulance then succeeded in stabilising him before his relatives assembled at his bedside, reports the Mirror.
Heartbreakingly, Charlie died when his devastated family consented to switching off his life support following medical advice, as tests revealed Charlie had sustained irreversible brain damage.
Eloise Cosser(Image: ITV)
Eloise described the heart-breaking moment she witnessed her beloved big brother, who was nicknamed Cheeks, slip away as his heart ceased beating.
She said: “I can’t even describe how it feels like to watch your brother die. I put my head on his chest and I was listening to his heart beat for the last time.
“I looked at his face and I could see the colour draining from his face and he became even more pale than he was before. I was told I needed to step back because I was in such a state but I’m refusing because I don’t want to leave his side in his last moments and that’s when I put my head back on his chest and realised his heart was no longer beating.
“I just held Charlie’s hand and I made him a promise. I promised him justice but the main promise was that I would spend the rest of my life educating people about the dangers and immeasurable impacts of knife crime. I felt so isolated and alone in the immediate aftermath and I just recorded into the phone.”
Martin shares content using his son’s identity @CharlieCosser17. His most popular clip shows Martin’s emotional response to Varybus’ conviction and has attracted 4.7 million views.
Charlie with his mum and dad(Image: ITV)
ITV reporter James Dunham, who covered the case, explained how the posts caused the murder to go viral.
He said: “Once Martin started posting his videos on Tiktok he soon gained a lot of attention but because police had arrested their prime suspect quite quickly, there wasn’t the usual Tiktok speculation about who the killer might be or where they might be hiding. Instead we got raw, unfolding agony.”
The documentary exposes how the brutal attack took place.
Charlie suffered three stab wounds following a confrontation at the party.
Upon his arrest, he initially admitted guilt, but was granted permission to withdraw his guilty plea to not guilty, putting the family through a murder trial.
“An application had gone in for him to vacate his guilty plea,” Martin tells the documentary. “As far as we were concerned he’d already been found guilty, he was guilty. That was torture, absolute torture.”
Nevertheless, the case against Varybrus was compelling.
Whilst the murder weapon was never found, eyewitness testimonies described Varybrus as being “drenched in blood”, with one witness claiming they heard him declare “I’ve stabbed someone”.
He destroyed the clothing he had been wearing and was observed altering his mobile phone settings, which investigators believed was an attempt to interfere with location evidence.
Varybrus received a murder conviction along with possession of a bladed weapon, resulting in a life sentence with a minimum sixteen-year term.
Due to Varybrus being under eighteen when the killing occurred, reporting restrictions initially concealed his identity, though the judge removed these following conviction, permitting media outlets to reveal his name.
During the programme, Charlie’s father Martin displays the grey T-shirt Charlie wore on the fatal night. “You can see three stab wounds clearly on there,” Martin explains.
“Actually they are really small knife wounds and yet they caused catastrophic damage.”
Martin’s activism transformed the incident into a nationwide discussion point and launched his mission to inform others about knife crime’s devastating consequences. Martin and his spouse Tara have now established a charity named Charlie’s Promise, which highlights the perils of carrying and wielding knives.
Martin stated: “I set about putting the wheels in motion and setting up a charity called Charlie’s Promise and the talks I go out and give are to prevent and make a difference to knife crime in this country.
And while there is air in my lungs I will continue to tell the story of my little boy and how incredible he was and make a difference in this country to prevent other families like ours going through this misery.”
TikTok: Murder Gone Viral begins on Tuesday 21st 9pm, ITV1 and ITVX.
