What we know about the Mexican influencer killed while recording live on TikTok

"Maybe they'll kill me or kidnap me," Valeria Márquez told her audience during a live stream, unaware that seconds later she would be murdered and that the incident would be recorded on TikTok.

The crime occurred on Tuesday, May 13, in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, at approximately 6:30 p.m., while the 23-year-old influencer was broadcasting from her beauty salon, where she was commenting on an unusual delivery she would receive.

According to the video, a woman informs Márquez that hours earlier, a supposed delivery man had arrived to leave her a package but that he would only deliver it to her.

During the broadcast, a man enters the beauty salon and asks for Márquez. At that moment, the influencer turns off her microphone and seconds later she is shot three times.

According to the official version, municipal police arrived at the scene and found Márquez dead, with two gunshot wounds to her body, one in the skull and another in the chest, and several bullet casings on the floor. 

On Thursday, the state prosecutor, Eduardo Almaguer Ramírez, ruled out any involvement with an organized crime group in the murder. He also confirmed that Márquez had not reported any threats. However, it was reported that the young woman was in a relationship with Ricardo Ruiz Velar, alias RR, identified as one of the leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). However, the prosecutor indicated that these reports are unconfirmed and that a press conference will be held this Friday to discuss the progress of the investigation.

According to journalists who attended Márquez’s  funeral, the ceremony was very private on the part of the family, with only her grandfather publicly demanding justice from the authorities.

On her Instagram profile, Márquez described herself as a model and mentioned winning the Miss Face 2021 pageant. As an influencer, she had 101,400 followers on TikTok and 80,000 on Instagram.