TikTok beauty influencer shot dead during live stream in Mexico

Valeria Marquez, a 23-year-old beauty influencer with over 100,000 Instagram followers, was shot and killed during a livestream in her salon in Zapopan, Mexico. The video, which remained online until someone picked up her phone, showed the moment she received a small parcel and cheerfully unwrapped a stuffed piglet. Moments later, she was slumped over, shot dead at her desk.

Authorities are investigating the killing as a suspected femicide a crime defined in Mexico as the murder of a woman because of her gender.

According to the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office, the assailant was a man who entered the salon and shot Marquez in front of her viewers. Her death has stirred renewed outrage in Mexico, where violence against women remains alarmingly high.

“Too many women in Mexico are being killed, and not enough cases lead to justice,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas Director at Human Rights Watch.

The incident comes just days after another woman, a mayoral candidate in Veracruz, was also shot dead on a livestream. That attack claimed four lives, including the politician’s.

Femicide is a growing crisis in Mexico. According to Amnesty International, one in four killings of women in 2020 was classified as femicide. These cases occurred in all 32 states.

Official figures from the Mexican government reported 847 femicides in 2023, with 162 cases already recorded in the first quarter of this year.

More broadly, around 4,000 women were killed in Mexico in 2022, which represents 12% of total homicides, according to Human Rights Watch. However, only 67% of those killings resulted in a verdict.

“The main challenge is building institutional capacity to investigate and protect,” Goebertus said. She called for stronger efforts to safeguard potential victims and witnesses, as well as more robust legal outcomes.

Despite government commitments, the low rate of prosecutions underscores the difficulty of combating gender-based violence. Activists say Mexico needs more than awareness it needs action, funding, and stronger protections.

Marquez’s death has reignited calls for justice for women and influencers working in public-facing roles. Her followers, shocked by the sudden on-camera attack, have flooded social media with demands for accountability.

Her killing, and the ongoing violence against women in Mexico, continues to highlight systemic failures in protecting lives—especially when those lives are lived online and in the public eye.

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