Beauty influencer shot dead during livestream ‘had dated cartel hitman who was enraged about her receiving gifts from followers’ – and posted ‘I’ve stopped being around thugs’ shortly before she died

A Mexican beauty influencer who was brutally gunned down while livestreaming had allegedly been in a relationship with a notorious cartel hitman accused of killing another beauty queen. 

Valeria Marquez, 23, was murdered on Tuesday by a killer disguised as a delivery man while broadcasting live from her beauty salon in Zapopan, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.

A feared cartel leader named ‘Doble R’ has been identified as the prime suspect in Valeria’s murder, Mexican newspaper El Heraldo reported. 

Local media reports suggest that he had been in a relationship with the TikToker for several months and became enraged over her receiving expensive gifts from online followers.

He is said to be involved with a violent faction of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel – considered to be one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organisations. 

‘Doble R’ has a long criminal history dating back to 2012, including his alleged involvement in the murder of Venezuelan model Daisy Ferrer Arenas, whose body was found in a sewage canal in Guadalajara.

He is also accused of ordering the murder of another influencer, Juan Luis Lagunas, known as ‘El Pirata de Culiacan,’ who insulted CJNG boss Nemesio Oseguera in a viral video.

Just hours before she was murdered inside her salon, Valeria revealed during a livestream that a masked courier had tried to deliver her an expensive gift earlier that day. 

A Mexican beauty influencer who was brutally gunned down while livestreaming had allegedly been in a relationship with a notorious cartel hitman

A feared cartel leader named ‘Doble R’ has been identified as the prime suspect in Valeria’s murder

Valeria had also previously claimed that she was being threatened

‘Maybe they were going to kill me or something,’ the influencer told her followers.  

Valeria had also previously claimed that she was being threatened, claiming that her ex-boyfriend should be held ‘responsible for anything that happens to me and my family.’

In another clip filmed in the moments before her death, Valeria reflected on the recent changes she had made in her life, 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.’ 

Footage shows the horrific moment the gunman stormed into the salon and opened fire on the social media star, striking her once in the chest and twice in the head before dropping dead.

The influencer was known for sharing beauty and lifestyle videos with her 110,000 TikTok followers. 

Police are investigating Valeria’s murder under Mexico’s femicide protocol, with her senseless killing being just another example of the high levels of gender-based violence in the Latin American state.

Mexico has long been plagued by ‘machismo’ and violence against women, which can range from comments on the street to, in its most extreme form, acid attacks and brutal slayings of women. 

The influencer was known for sharing beauty and lifestyle videos with her 110,000 TikTok followers

Police are investigating Valeria’s murder under Mexico’s femicide protocol

Valeria’s callous killing is also the latest in a spate of cartel violence that has claimed the life of three other influencers. 

In October, TikToker Juan Carlos Lopez was killed by two hitmen while recording a video. 

In November, YouTuber Jesus Miguel Vivanco Garcia was found dead on a roadside with 70 bullet wounds and signs of torture. 

The following month, internet star Leobardo Aisputo Soto was murdered in broad daylight after a group of armed men shot at him while he walked in the street with his wife. 

Valeria’s horrific murder also comes days after a Mexican mayoral candidate was tragically shot dead alongside three of her supporters including her daughter during a live broadcast of her campaign rally.

Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, representing Mexico’s ruling Morena party, was gunned down in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night as she greeted residents in the streets of Texistepec.

The horrifying incident was captured on a Facebook livestream, showing people running and screaming as gunshots rang out off camera. Mexican newspaper Reforma reported that the candidate was greeting ‘women with children in their arms’ when the gunfire began.

Footage posted online depicted the chaos, with at least 20 shots head in the clip that was still available on Gutierrez’s Facebook page the following day. Other images shared online appeared to show bodies in the street.

Valeria’s brutal killing is also the latest in a spate of cartel violence that has claimed the life of three other influencers

Footage shows the horrific moment the gunman stormed into the salon and opened fire on the social media star

Valeria’s horrific murder also comes days after a Mexican mayoral candidate was shot dead during a live broadcast of her campaign rally

Veracruz Governor Rocio Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Gutierrez’s daughter was among those killed by gunmen.

‘No office or position is worth a person’s life,’ Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice.

Gutierrez had posted several images on Facebook, showing her campaigning throughout the region. ‘The strength of our youth is the vitality that motivates me to keep walking day by day,’ she wrote just hours before the shooting.

The violent attack underscores the dangerous climate surrounding political campaigns in Mexico, where criminal groups often target local candidates to exert influence over municipal governments. 

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