In Zapopan, Mexico, 23-year-old beauty influencer Valeria Márquez, who had garnered close to 200,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, was tragically killed during a live TikTok stream at her salon, officials report.
Just before the incident, Márquez, famous for her beauty and makeup content, opened a stuffed animal package sent to her shop, joyfully telling her audience, “He’s a little piglet!”
She was overheard saying, “They’re coming,” before someone in the background asked, “Hey, Vale?” as reported by The Guardian. Although the live broadcast ended abruptly, viewers caught a glimpse of the ensuing chaos following the attack.
The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office is investigating Márquez’s slaying as a suspected femicide, the gender-based killing of a woman.
The prosecutor’s office did not identify a suspect in Márquez’s death.
The slaying of Márquez has drawn attention to the high levels of violence against women in Mexico. Just days earlier, a mayoral candidate in Veracruz state was also fatally shot during a livestream.
While not all homicides involving women are classified as femicides, many are. Amnesty International reported that in 2020, a quarter of female killings in Mexico were investigated as femicides.
