An investigation into the death of influencer Valeria Márquez, who was fatally shot during a TikTok livestream, is ongoing.
The 23-year-old influencer died inside a salon in May 2025, with users taking to her Instagram to share their condolences.
“I had the opportunity to meet her in person, a person with a very beautiful energy,” one user wrote via Instagram, translated to English. “[I] am still in shock, [I] can’t believe I will never see her [livestream] again.”
More than one year after she was killed, authorities announced a major development in the case after a Mexican cartel leader was arrested in connection to Márquez’s death.
Scroll down for everything to know about the investigation into Márquez’s death:
When Was Influencer Valeria Marquez Killed?
Márquez was killed on May 13, 2025, while she was on a livestream. AP News reported that the influencer was handed a stuffed animal and a bag of Starbucks coffee before she was shot and collapsed on camera. The TikTok appeared to be taken down following her death, but a video of the incident was shared online and confirmed by the prosecutor’s office.
Mexican Cartel Leader Arrested in Connection to Valeria Marquez’s Death
Us reported in August 2025 that cartel leader Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala was accused of ordering a hitman to kill Márquez in August 2025.
Federal security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch took to X to announce that Ayala, who is commonly known as “El R-1,” was arrested after he developed the plan to have Márquez killed after she broke up with his son.
“The son of R1 had a romantic relationship with Valeria [Marquez], he had threatened her on several occasions, and everything indicates — and this will be proven — that the son asked his father, R1, to commit the femicide,” he said in the statement, translated to English.
Ayala was taken into custody, while both Alvarez and the hitman are still on the loose.
Ayala is a well known senior figure in the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The group is considered to be one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations.
What Has the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office Said About the Investigation?
Denis Rodríguez, a spokesperson for the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office, told AP News in May 2025 that a man posing as a delivery driver and another man on a motorcycle arrived at the Mexican salon in search of Márquez. The men were looking to deliver a gift to her in person, which led her to express feelings of worry on the livestream.
“Maybe they were going to kill me,” Márquez said in the video, per the outlet. “Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I’m worried.”
When the men returned, they asked for Márquez again — which Rodríguez told the outlet led prosecutors to believe that they were hired assassins.
“The aggressor arrived asking if the victim was there. So it appears he didn’t know her,” Rodríguez said. “With that, you can deduce — without jumping to conclusions — that this was a person who was paid. It was obviously someone who came with a purpose.”
The prosecutor’s office previously told The New York Times that the incident was being investigated as a potential femicide, meaning when a woman is presumed to be killed due to her gender.
What Has the Mexican President Said About the Investigation?
AP News also reported in May 2025 that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration is working with local investigators to locate the killer. She also extended her condolences to Márquez’s family.
