Influencer shot dead during live stream for fear the fear minutes for murder:

The social media influencer who was shot during a live stream On Tiktok in the Mexican state of Jalisco Leek to be murdered by a hit man and expressed fear before they were killed, said prosecutors on Thursday.

The creepy murder of the 23-year-old Valeria Márquez shocked the Latin American nation on Tuesday and was missing rumors about the motive behind her murder in a region that has been overshadowed by cartel violence in recent years. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her administration is working with local researchers to track the murderer and extend her condolences to Márquez’s family.

Denis Rodríguez, a spokesperson for Jalisco’s public prosecutor, gave new details about the murder on Thursday, but said Prosecutors were still investigating The death of the model and the beauty influences with more than 113,000 followers on the social media app.

Rodríguez said that early Tuesday afternoon, hours before the shooting, a masked man who posed as a delivery person arrived at the beauty salon on the outskirts of Guadalajara, accompanied by another man on a motorcycle. According to a woman in the salon, the men said they had a “very expensive” gift for Márquez that they had to deliver personally. When Márquez arrived and people looked for her heard she expressed fear in her live stream.

“Maybe they would kill me,” she said in the video minutes before she was killed. ‘They went and take them with them and take what, what? I’m worried. “

When the men returned, they asked if it was Márquez who was now in the Salon, something that prosecutors led to believe that the men were hired, Rodríguez said.

“The aggressor arrived and asked if the victim (Márquez) was there. So it seems that he didn’t know her,” said Rodríguez. “With that you can distract – without jumping into conclusions – that this was a person who was paid. It was clearly someone who came up with a goal.”

Marquez was seen on the live stream and said, “They are coming”, before a voice off screen asked “hey, vale?” and Marquez answered “yes”, the Reuters News Agency reported.

Márquez received a hug and a bag of Starbucks coffee while she was sitting on the live stream, and was shot in the head and breast, pantry on camera. Tiktok has since deleted the influencer’s account.

Although it was still unclear who was behind the murder, the region is strongly controlled by one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and Rodríguez noted murders by rented weapons on motorcycles, often known as “Sicarios”, have become a common event.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has recently been accused of using fake vacancies to lure new members and of Recruit and kill recruits who resist.

Rodríguez said that the authorities were also investigating whether death was connected to the murder of a former congressman, only a few hours earlier in the same area of ​​Guadalajara, also performed by two men on a motorcycle. The The office of the public prosecutor said He was killed in a shopping center in Zapopan.

Femicide epidemic and violence against influencers

The murder of Márquez has shocked Mexico – where murders and abductions are a daily event – and both the femicide epidemic and the growing violence against influencers have brought in sharp focus.

It is not the first murder of a social media star in Mexico, with a history of musicians, influencers and other celebrities who become entangled in the criminal underworld.

In January, a small plane would have dropped pamphlets on the northwestern cartel stronghold of Culiacan who threatened around 20 artists and YouTubers for alleged handling of a fighting faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Various influencers in Sinaloa have already been killed.

David Saucedo, an independent expert in the field of Mexican cartels, said that people who fell in the gangs, informants, money washingers and people in romantic relationships are with criminals.

“Influencers have become another gear in the machine of organized crime,” he said.

Zapopan Mayor Juan Jose Frangie said that his office has no record from Marquez who asks for help from authorities because of threats against her.

“It is incredible that you make a video and then you will be killed. A femicide is the worst,” said Frangie.

According to the United Nations, 70 percent of women older than 15 years have experienced a form of abuse at least once in their lives in Mexico. Since 2001, at least 50,000 women have been killed in Mexico, According to the UNBut only 2% of the cases end in a criminal punishment and only one in 10 victims report their aggressor.

About 10 women or girls are murdered every day in the Latin -American nation, but few attract as much attention as the sudden death of Marquez while dealing with her fans.

On the Instagram account of Marquez, where photos are the young woman lounging on a yacht, through a swimming pool and in a private aircraft, some users brought a tribute to the influencer.

Others speculated about the motif, the sources of her apparent wealth and possible role of an ex-boyfriend.

“Justice for Valeria,” demanded several messages.

“So young and beautiful, she didn’t deserve to take her life away,” wrote a user.

Agence France-Presse has contributed to this report.