Valeria Marquez was chatting with her TikTok audience during a livestream from her beauty salon in Zapopan, Mexico, when her day took a tragic turn. A small parcel arrived at the salon’s entrance, and she momentarily left her audience to retrieve it. With a smile and a cheerful tone, the 23-year-old beauty influencer returned to the screen, unwrapping the package to reveal a stuffed animal. “He’s a little piglet!” she exclaimed, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
Tragically, within moments of that joyful moment, Marquez was fatally shot. She slumped lifeless in her chair, blood soaking the desk in front of her, while the livestream continued uninterrupted. It only came to a stop when another person at the scene picked up her phone, their face briefly visible to the online viewers.
The Jalisco state Attorney General’s office confirmed that Marquez was shot and killed by a man who entered her salon. Authorities are treating her death as a suspected femicide — a gender-based killing of a woman, which remains a persistent and deeply troubling issue across Mexico.
With more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, Marquez was a rising social media figure, and news of her murder has reverberated across the country. Her death has once again placed a spotlight on the violence women face in Mexico and the dangers faced by women, even in their workplaces or while engaging with fans online.
According to a spokesperson for the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office, the man believed to have carried out the attack arrived at the salon before Marquez and inquired about her whereabouts. He returned later in the day, and that was when the fatal shooting occurred. This timeline aligns with what was captured on the livestream, the spokesperson confirmed.
The suspect has not yet been named, and at present, officials have indicated that the incident is not believed to have any connection with drug cartel activity, which is often behind violent crimes in the region. This detail further underscores the disturbing nature of the crime, pointing instead toward a more personal or gender-based motive.
Marquez’s killing is not an isolated event. Just days before her death, another woman — this time a candidate running for mayor in Veracruz — was gunned down while livestreaming as well. In that incident, three other individuals were also killed. These back-to-back attacks on women, both carried out during live broadcasts, have sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny of Mexico’s ongoing struggle with gender violence and impunity.
While not all murders of women are legally classified as femicides, many are. In 2020, data from Amnesty International showed that about one in four killings of women in Mexico were investigated as femicides. These types of killings were reported in every one of Mexico’s 32 states, indicating a nationwide crisis.
The Mexican government reported 847 cases of femicide in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, authorities have already logged 162 cases. These statistics reflect a deeply rooted and persistent pattern of violence against women across the country.
Critics say that Mexico’s institutional response to these crimes remains alarmingly inadequate. Investigations into homicides, including femicides, are often slow, incomplete, or result in little to no accountability.
“In 2022, around 4,000 women were killed in Mexico, which amounts to 12% of all homicides that year,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas Director at Human Rights Watch, in an interview with CNN. “And the rate of cases that lead to a verdict is around 67%.”
This figure indicates that a significant number of cases either go unsolved or never make it to trial. According to Goebertus, one of the main issues is the lack of capacity among authorities to conduct thorough investigations and offer protection to witnesses and victims. The challenge, she emphasized, lies in building stronger institutions that can respond effectively and deliver justice in cases of gender violence.
As Mexico grapples with this pervasive issue, public outrage continues to grow. Social media platforms are flooded with tributes, demands for justice, and calls for systemic change following Marquez’s death. Her killing has come to symbolize the vulnerability many women face in Mexico, regardless of fame or social standing.
Marquez was known for her beauty tutorials, light-hearted content, and online engagement with her followers. That a young woman so visible and seemingly full of life could be murdered while livestreaming has only deepened the sense of alarm and sorrow in the nation.
Her fans and fellow influencers have taken to Instagram and TikTok to share their grief and demand justice. Some have posted messages using hashtags linked to femicide awareness and women’s rights in Mexico. Others have condemned the broader culture of violence that continues to claim lives with tragic frequency.
The Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office has assured the public that the investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify and apprehend the suspect. However, given the country’s track record with gender-based crimes, skepticism remains high.
The lack of consistent legal accountability and a broader culture of impunity has long enabled gender violence to flourish in Mexico. Despite recent reforms and increased awareness, femicides continue to occur at alarming rates, and survivors or families of victims often struggle to see justice served.
Advocates say that beyond investigations, Mexico needs deeper structural changes — from police training and judicial reforms to public awareness campaigns and community protection programs. Only with a multi-layered approach, they argue, can the cycle of violence against women begin to be dismantled.
Marquez’s killing serves as a grim reminder that women in Mexico still face significant risks, even in what should be the safest of spaces. Her death has turned the lens once more on the failures of the justice system and the urgent need for reform.
While the young influencer’s life was tragically cut short, the impact of her death continues to ripple across Mexico. Her story has become part of a larger narrative of fear, resilience, and the growing demand for change in a country grappling with gender-based violence.
As her family, friends, and followers mourn, there is hope that her loss might at least push the country a step closer to confronting the epidemic of femicide with the seriousness and resolve it deserves.