A young influencer of Mexican social networks, known for his videos about beauty and makeup, was blatantly killed to death during a live transmission from Tiktok, Reuters reported.
The death of Valeria Márquez, 23, is being investigated in accordance with femicide protocols, the murder of women or girls for reasons of gender, said Jalisco state prosecutor in a statement published Tuesday night.
Femicide may imply degradation of violence, sexual abuse, a relationship with the murderer or body of the victim exposed in a public space, according to Mexican authorities.
Márquez was killed Tuesday in the beauty hall, where he worked in the city of Zapopan for a man who entered and shot him, according to the statement. The prosecutor did not appoint a suspect.
Seconds before the incident, Márquez was seen in his live transmission of Tiktok sitting at a table grabbing a teddy toy. It was heard saying: “They come”, before a voice in the background asked “Hey, okay?”
“Yes,” Márquez replied, just before silencing the sound in live broadcast.
Moments later, they killed her. A person seemed to lift his phone, with his face briefly showing the live broadcast before the video ended.
Márquez, who had almost 200,000 followers on Instagram and Tiktok, had said before in the live broadcast that someone came to the living room when he was not there with an “expensive gift” to deliver him. Márquez, who seemed worried, said he did not plan to wait for the person to return.
Mexico is linked to Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as countries with the fourth highest femicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the latest data of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, with 1.3 of those deaths per 100,000 women in 2023.
Jalisco occupies the sixth place of the 32 states of Mexico, including Mexico City, for homicides, with 906 registered there from the beginning of the mandate of President Claudia Sheinbaum in October 2024, according to Tresearch data consultant.
