A beauty influencer who was shot dead during a TikTok livestream revealed her fear just moments before she was killed, telling her followers, "I'm worried." Valeria Marquez, 23, was shot dead on Tuesday inside her beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico, while her phone was streaming live.
The shooter remains unidentified, but Denis Rodríguez, a representative for the Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office, said that a masked man posing as a delivery person showed up at the salon several hours before the shooting. The man was accompanied by another person and told a woman at the salon that they needed to speak with Marquez to deliver a "valuable gift," CBS News reported.
Worst Fear Comes Turns True
When the beauty influencer arrived and was told that two men were looking for her, Marquez told her followers, "Maybe they were going to kill me." "Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I'm worried," Marquez then said on the live stream.
Soon after she shared her concern, the two men came back to the salon and asked about the influencer. "They're coming," she told her viewers, just before someone off-camera could be heard saying, "Hey, Vale?"
She responded and was handed a stuffed toy and a Starbucks drink before the masked attacker suddenly opened fire, shooting her in the head and chest.
Marquez fell to the ground as the livestream continued. Rodríguez said that investigators suspect the two men were contract killers. "The aggressor arrived asking if the victim (Márquez) was there. So it appears he didn't know her," Rodríguez said.
"With that, you can deduce — without jumping to conclusions — that this was a person who was paid. It was obviously someone who came with a purpose."
In another video, Marquez confessed to her followers that she had previously dated "gangsters," saying, "I've changed. I don't go out anymore, I don't drink anymore, I've stopped being around thugs, I'm a good girl."
Paramedics pronounced Marquez dead at the scene, and police are actively searching for the gunman, who is still at large.
While no suspect has yet been identified, the Mexican newspaper El Heraldo reported that a notorious cartel figure known as Doble R is a key focus in the ongoing investigation.
Dangerous Liaisons
Marquez had reportedly been in a romantic relationship with the man and grew jealous when her followers began sending her lavish gifts. Doble R is linked to a violent wing of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, which has taken control of the area.
He has a lengthy rap sheet and has been previously tied to the killings of Venezuelan model Daisy Ferrer Arenas and influencer Juan Luis Lagunas, who had allegedly offended cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera.
Marquez's killing has sparked global outrage and drawn attention to the growing femicide crisis in Mexico, where women are often victims of murder and abuse.
Gender-based violence has escalated dramatically across Latin America, with cartel members responsible for many of these horrifying acts.
Just days before Marquez's death, Mexican mayoral candidate Yesenia Lara Gutierrez was shot dead while talking to locals on the street.
Her assassination was also caught on video, showing chaos as bystanders fled in panic amid the sound of gunfire.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum released a statement on Thursday, confirming that authorities are actively working to identify Marquez's killer.
Marquez gained a large fan following on social media through her beauty and lifestyle content, attracting more than 110,000 followers.
