Beauty Turned to Horror: Influencer Murdered in Cold Blood

A normal day turned into a national tragedy when Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez was murdered during a TikTok livestream. She had been chatting with her audience from her salon in Zapopan.

During the stream, Marquez received a small package and jokingly showed off the stuffed animal inside. Her lighthearted mood quickly gave way to terror when an armed man entered the salon.

Without saying a word, he shot her. Blood spilled across the surface in front of her, and the livestream captured the gruesome aftermath before someone picked up the phone and stopped the video.

Authorities are calling it a suspected femicide, the killing of a woman specifically due to her gender. This case adds to the growing list of female victims of brutal public attacks in Mexico.

Just earlier in the week, a similar incident occurred in Veracruz involving a female politician. The nation is facing a disturbing trend of women being attacked while they are live and visible.

In recent years, femicide has become more prevalent in Mexico. In 2020, these cases made up about a quarter of all female homicides. They happened in every part of the country.

Human Rights Watch argues that a lack of effective investigations and legal outcomes allows this crisis to continue. Without systemic change, women like Marquez will continue to die without justice.