Mexican influencer likely killed by hitman during TikTok live stream, prosecutors say

The social media influencer who was shot dead during a live stream on TikTok in the Mexican state of Jalisco appeared to be murdered by a hitman and expressed fear before being killed, prosecutors said on Thursday.

The grisly murder of 23-year-old Valeria Marquez on Tuesday shocked the Latin American nation, igniting rumours about the motive behind her killing in a region that has been eclipsed by cartel violence in recent years.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration is working with local investigators to track down the killer and extended her condolences to Marquez’s family.

Denis Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office, provided new details on the killing on Thursday, but said prosecutors were still investigating the death of the model and beauty influencer with more than 113,000 followers on the social media app.

Rodriguez said early on Tuesday afternoon, hours before the shooting, a masked man posing as a delivery driver 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 Marquez that they had to deliver in person. When Marquez arrived and heard people were looking for her she expressed fear in her live stream.

“Maybe they were going to kill me,” she said in the video minutes before she was killed. “Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I’m worried.”