Whodunnit? Prime Suspect In Brutal TikTok Murder
A beauty influencer gunned down live on air in a brutal killing was allegedly in a relationship with a notorious cartel hitman accused of treating women like property and previously suspected of killing another beauty queen girlfriend.
The murder by a killer disguised as a courier happened in Zapopan, a city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, on Tuesday, 13th May.
Valeria Marquez, 23, was shot dead during a livestream from her beauty salon as fans including many watching from Spain, watched the horror unfold.
She was killed by a gunman who stormed into the salon at around 6:00 pm and opened fire without warning, with numerous local media outlets reporting that Ricardo “N”, alias “RR”, “El Tripa”, or “Doble R”, a feared leader of the Elite Group of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG), has been identified as the prime suspect believed to have ordered the killing.
However prosecutors moved to downplay the speculation at this early stage saying: “In response to media reports that directly point to the alleged perpetrators of the murder of a woman, which occurred yesterday in Zapopan, the State Attorney General’s Office clarifies that, to date, there are no specific allegations in the investigation file.”
The Elite Group the man is part of is a violent faction within the CJNG, currently engaged in a bloody conflict with the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel in Guanajuato.
Local media speculated that Valeria had been in a relationship with the cartel hitman for several months before her death.
Initial reports suggest that he became enraged over her receiving expensive gifts from online followers, possibly triggering the attack.
Just hours before she was murdered inside her salon, Blossom Beauty, Valeria revealed during a livestream that her employee Erika had told her someone had sent a valuable gift that could not be delivered without her being present.
The influencer asked viewers during the broadcast: “They came in the morning to get me to give me a gift. Did they want to kill me?”
Valeria had also previously claimed that her ex-partner had threatened her life and warned that if anything happened to her, he would be responsible.
The killing is being investigated under Mexico’s femicide protocol, typically used in cases involving gender-based violence.
Ricardo “N” has a long criminal history dating back to 2012, including 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 “El Mencho” in a viral video.
The livestream video of Valeria’s killing was widely circulated online before being taken down.
She had over 120,000 followers on TikTok and more than 90,000 on Instagram, where she shared beauty and lifestyle content.
She is one of a growing number of influencers and journalists murdered in Mexico as violence linked to organised crime escalates.
The investigation is ongoing.
