Investigation into murder as possible femicide under way

16/5/2025 6:14

Mexico's powerful

security cabinet is investigating the murder of a young beauty

influencer killed as she livestreamed a video on TikTok,

President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday.



Authorities say the death of Valeria Marquez, 23, is being

probed as a possible femicide, the killing of women or girls for

reasons of gender.



The brazen killing has sent shockwaves through a country

that faces high levels of violence against women.



"An investigation is under way to first find those

responsible and the motive behind this situation," Sheinbaum

said in her regular morning press conference.



"Our solidarity goes out to her family," she added.



Marquez was killed on Tuesday in the beauty salon where she

worked in the city of Zapopan by a man who entered and shot her,

the Jalisco state prosecutor said. The prosecutor's office did

not name a suspect.



Seconds before the incident, Marquez was seen on her TikTok

livestream seated at a table clutching a stuffed toy. She was

heard saying, "They're coming," before a voice in the background

asked, "Hey, Vale?"



"Yes," Marquez replied, just before muting the sound on the

livestream.



Moments later, she was shot to death. A person appeared to

pick up her phone, with their face briefly showing on the

livestream before the video ended.



Paramedics at the scene confirmed she died of gunshot wounds

to the head and chest, according to news outlet El Financiero.



Marquez, who had nearly 200,000 followers across Instagram

and TikTok, had said earlier on the livestream that someone came

to the salon when she was not there with an "expensive gift" to

deliver to her. Marquez, who appeared concerned, said she was

not planning to wait for the person to return.



"Up to this moment, there are no accusations against

specific individuals," the Jalisco prosecutor's office said in a

Wednesday night statement.



Femicide can involve degrading violence, sexual abuse, a

relationship with the murderer, or the victim's body being

exposed in a public space, according to Mexican authorities.



Sheinbaum said Mexico's security cabinet, staffed by senior

ministers, is working to solve the murder case with prosecutors.



Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as the

countries with the fourth-highest rates of femicide in Latin

America and the Caribbean, according to the latest data from the

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the

Caribbean, at 1.3 such deaths for every 100,000 women in 2023.



Jalisco is ranked sixth out of Mexico's 32 states, including

Mexico City, for homicides, with 909 recorded there since the

beginning of Sheinbaum's term in October 2024, according to data

consultancy TResearch.