23-year-old TikTok influencer shot dead during livestream in Mexico

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.

Seconds before the attack, Marquez was livestreaming on TikTok, seated at a table holding a stuffed toy. She was heard saying, “they’re coming,” followed by a voice in the background asking, “Hey, Vale?” to which she replied, “Yes,” before muting the sound. Moments later, gunshots were heard. A person appeared to pick up her phone, briefly showing their face before the livestream ended.

Earlier in the livestream, Marquez told her followers someone had visited the salon with an “expensive gift” for her when she wasn’t there. Looking concerned, she said she was not planning to wait for the person to return.

Marquez had nearly 2,00,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram. Her killing comes amid alarming femicide rates in Mexico, which ties with Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia for the fourth-highest rate in Latin America and the Caribbean—1.3 femicides per 1,00,000 women in 2023, according to UN data.

Jalisco, where the killing occurred, ranks sixth among Mexico’s 32 states in homicides, with 906 recorded since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, according to data consultancy TResearch.