Second Latin American influencer gets killed in less than two weeks: What’s the deal?
So, for the second time in just two weeks, we have another shocking case of a young Latin American influencer being tragically killed. Last week, it was Valeria Márquez, a 23-year-old Mexican influencer, who was brutally murdered during a live stream from her beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico. And now, we have the heartbreaking news of Colombian model María José Estupiñán, 22, being gunned down after innocently opening her door to a fake delivery person. These two cases are not only devastating but also eerily similar.
### A Tale of Two Tragedies
Reports have revealed that Estupiñán was killed on May 15 after opening her door to a man pretending to deliver a package. Magda Victoria Acosta, president of the National Gender Commission of the Colombian Judiciary, mentioned that Estupiñán was about to receive a significant sum of money as a result of a domestic violence case involving her ex-partner.
Márquez’s murder mirrors that of Estupiñán in a disturbing way: a masked man showed up at her salon, pretending to make a delivery, just before the fatal attack. When Márquez arrived later and started streaming on TikTok, an unknown person on a motorcycle outside the salon began shooting through the window, tragically ending her life.
### Moments of Terror
During the live stream, Márquez, who had a sizable following on TikTok, managed to utter “they’re coming” before the shots rang out. A voice off-camera even called out her name just moments before the attack. After the violence, a figure briefly appeared on the stream, picking up her phone before the feed abruptly ended.
Prosecutors involved in the case suspect that Márquez’s assailants were hired hitmen. “The attacker arrived asking for the victim (Márquez). It seems he didn’t know her,” Rodriguez, one of the prosecutors, explained. “It appears to be a targeted hit, carried out by someone with a specific agenda.”
Even in the midst of the live stream, Márquez expressed her fears. “Maybe they were going to kill me,” she mentioned minutes before the attack. “Were they coming for me or what? I’m scared.”
Translated from Gizmodo US by Lucas Handley. You can read the original version [here](original version link).
