Murder of Anthony

Anthony standing next to his killer, EtheriDuckhead, one day before the murder took place.

### Motive

Unknown; presumed that Etheri killed Anthony out of pure hatred for Iron Golems and Smosh.

Anthony, a member of the YouTube comedy group known as Smosh, as well as the national guard chief for Turtle Town, was murdered by explosives on February 18th, 2019, by EtheriDuckhead outside of blockminer88's house in Turtle Town. After Anthony was killed, Etheri was charged with murder by the Turtle Town police, due to his suspiciousness and several pieces of evidence pointing against him.

The event has since become a very controversial subject and is one of the most theorized about events in TaftCraft history, mainly due to the fact that Anthony was one of the most beloved people in all of Turtle Town and was considered a role model for the entire nation of Taftia. TaftCraft Awards gave Anthony's murder the award for "Most Tragic Event of the Year" in 2019.

## Timeline of events

### Before the murder

On February 17th, 2019, one day before Anthony's murder, Etheri was spotted standing next to Anthony near Terry the Turtle's Home, and many local investigators stated that Etheri seemed suspicious and had a "noticeably evil look in his eyes, as if he was overwhelmed by rage and wanted to kill Anthony right then and there". blockminer88 took a photo of Anthony and Etheri standing next to each other, and it is believed to be the last photo of Anthony ever taken. The photo has since become known as the "Murderous Garfield photo", and it's currently on display in some random museum that no one knows the name of in Nigeria.

Many people also accused Etheri of hating Iron Golems as well as the entire Smosh YouTube channel. Some say that the reason Etheri dislikes Golems is that they remind him of robots, and Etheri has been an outwardly spoken hater of robots in the past.

### The day of Anthony's murder

On February 18th, 2019, EtheriDuckhead murdered Anthony right outside of blockminer88's house with some form of explosives (presumed to be TNT by the Turtle Town police).

Etheri began messaging blockminer88 after he committed the murder. The conversation began with Etheri alerting Caso of Anthony's death and acting displeased over it. Caso proceeds to be completely speechless, and Etheri states that he "watched a creeper blow up Anthony" as soon as he got there. Etheri also sent a picture of a creeper at night time.

After a short discussion, Caso eventually decides to go and accuse Etheri of the murder since "Iron Golems don't attack creepers". Caso proceeds to take a mugshot of Etheri and then arrest him. Eventually, the deputy mayor of Turtle Town, cubebuster07, heard about the news and also accused Etheri of being responsible for Anthony's death.

## Aftermath

### Public reactions & Anthony memorials

After Anthony's death was announced to the public, the entire country of Taftia was devastated, since he was considered to be one of the greatest people in the entire nation, as well as a role model for everyone in Turtle Town. Except for Stupid News Show, who wrote the headline saying "STUPID POLICE OFFICER NAMED ANTHONY DIES, LOOOLL NO ONE CARES HAHAHA #DESERVED".

Anthony was buried across the street from the Dollar Plant and Gun Store. Eventually, Etheri would murder Anthony's close friend, Ian, and he was buried right next to Anthony. In 2022, a statue commemorating Anthony was built near the Turtle Town Theater.

### Etheri's rebuttal

After almost 3 years of mostly silence about the situation from Etheri, on February 14th, 2022, he released a six-chapter, 30-minute video essay titled "*The Truth Behind Anthony's Murder & The Prejudiced Politicians of Turtle Town: A Visual Masterpiece*", in which he attempts to prove his innocence about the Anthony case, as well as prove his innocence regarding the Ian and Courtney case, and even prove that the Turtle Town government is corrupt and biased.

The video opens up with Etheri revealing that he has been receiving nonstop hate due to his involvement in Anthony's death. Etheri then recaps the basics of the case and eventually begins making various points regarding the Anthony case. Etheri once again doubles down on the point that a creeper killed Anthony and states that he doesn't remember whether he was in survival or creative mode during the incident.

Etheri asked Caso to send him all of the proof he has regarding Anthony's death, Caso responded by sending every single photo he had taken between February 17th to February 19th, 2019. Etheri begins by making a point regarding the infamous "Murderous Garfield photo", stating that no matter what, when wearing the Garfield skin, he constantly looks angry. Etheri accuses the Turtle Town government (notably Caso and Cube) of being racists who are prejudiced against orange people.

Etheri then admits that Iron Golems won't attack creepers and demonstrates this fact by attempting to get a Golem to hit a creeper, to no avail, however, he says that it's "not impossible for an Iron Golem to be killed by a creeper". Etheri shows that in Minecraft 1.13 (the version he was on during Anthony's death), it's possible for a creeper to explode by a skeleton shooting it with an arrow. He also shows that it's possible for creepers to explode by skeleton arrows in both creative and survival m. He also demonstrates that skeletons will shoot at both creepers and Iron Golems, regardless of whether it's creative or survival mode.

Etheri also denies the claims that he hates Iron Golems and Smosh. He shows that he once had an Iron Golem guard named Bobiono in his laboratory. He also shows his YouTube history, which reveals that he's watched many Smosh videos.

Etheri shows that he sent Caso a photo of a creeper standing next to the spot where Anthony died, on the day of Anthony's death. Etheri says that this photo proves that Anthony's death happened at night time, meaning that it's possible for a skeleton to have been around since they would usually burn in the daytime.

Etheri mentions that during Anthony's death, he was standing very close to him, "close enough to set off a creeper", meaning that he was most likely in survival mode. Etheri then accuses Caso and Argentarium of murdering Etheri's pet cats without any repercussions. He even mentions that there's a lot of evidence against Cube regarding Terry's death and that he also faced no punishment, however, this section has since been criticized by many since more evidence has come out about Terry's death, with almost none of it pointing towards Cube having any involvement in his death. Etheri comes to the conclusion that Caso and Cube have been attempting to frame him for many horrible crimes with "a bunch of evidence that can be easily disproved".

#### Response to Etheri's video

Etheri's video received a mixed reception, with many saying that the video made "no sense and has very easily disprovable points in it". However, many conspiracy theorists stated that the video is a "masterpiece" and "100% proves Etheri's innocence". Following the video's release, the Stupid News Show asked random people on the streets if Etheri's video changed their minds, 30% say that the video convinced them that Etheri's innocent, while 70% said that the video was dumb and that Etheri is a murderer.

The Turtle Town police have confirmed that they will be making a response video to Etheri's video sometime in 2024 and that people shouldn't "jump to conclusions just yet". Caso, who has been working with the FBI during the creation of this video, has stated that the video will leave "no room for debate", and also claimed that the video will "end Etheri's career".

## Awards and nominations

List of awards/nominations received from TaftCraft Awards.