Valeria Márquez Killed on TikTok Live: Beauty Influencer's Death Tied to Crime, Betrayal, and Online Fame

• by Arlen Fitzpatrick
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The Shooting That Shook Social Media

Ordinary TikTok fans joined Valeria Márquez’s stream expecting beauty tips, a bit of glam, maybe some gossip. Instead, they watched a nightmare unfold. On May 14, 2025, Valeria, only 23, was connecting with nearly 200,000 followers from her Blossom the Beauty Lounge in Zapopan, Jalisco. She was just unboxing a cute pig plushie—one of several costly gifts delivered to her salon—when her evening took a deadly twist.

In the middle of her stream, Valeria looked off-camera and remarked about the pricey present, uttering, “They’re coming.” Seconds later, a man stepped in, pulled a gun, and fired twice. One bullet to her chest, the other to her head. Viewers saw her collapse, her phone tumbling and capturing shaky glimpses of worry and chaos. A woman, whose identity was unknown at the time, picked up the phone to stop the broadcast, giving followers a brief look at her face. The stream ended. Valeria was pronounced dead right where she fell, the echoes of her vibrant online life silenced in an instant.

Crime, Jealousy, and the Shadows of Online Fame

The shock didn’t stop with the livestream. Valeria wasn’t just any influencer. She rocketed into the public eye after winning the Miss Rostro beauty pageant in 2021, quickly building her salon into a staple at the upscale Santa María shopping plaza. Her journey from pageants to entrepreneurship was followed closely by fans—now all wondering why her life ended so violently in front of them.

Investigators are unraveling a web that stretches way beyond the salon. The single most alarming detail is the suspected involvement of her romantic partner, Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, better known as “El Tripa” or “RR.” Authorities say he has notorious ties to organized crime. There’s growing talk that jealousy, revenge, or dirty criminal dealings may have contaminated Valeria’s life—in ways her followers never imagined.

But Ricardo isn’t the only name that’s surfaced. Another influencer, Vivian De la Torre, is under suspicion as well. According to investigators, Vivian might have played a key role by organizing the delivery that brought Valeria to work on that fatal day. The theory is that the gifts weren’t tokens of love or fandom—they could have been bait.

That night, Jalisco prosecutors arrived quickly, treating the case as femicide, the legal term for a woman’s murder tied to gender-based violence. It’s not just about Valeria’s celebrity status; it’s a chilling reminder of the risks women face, even in places meant to be safe. When the stakes involve internet fame, romance, and organized crime, the lines between friend and foe blur dangerously fast.

• Valeria Márquez was killed during a live broadcast in a popular salon, a space her followers considered part of their own digital routine.
• Her suspected killers include her own partner, a man alleged to have deep links to criminal organizations in Jalisco.
• Gift deliveries—normally the stuff of influencer daydreams—may have been used to set her up for murder.
• The case is loaded with social shock: public violence against a woman, corruption, betrayal, and the risks of online overexposure.

Mexican authorities are facing pressure on all fronts—not just to solve Valeria’s murder, but to show that the country is serious about tackling crimes against women, no matter how high-profile. For her followers, the horror will linger online, a viral video that crossed the line from shareable to unspeakable. As the case picks up speed, the world is left wondering how a moment meant for connection could so quickly become a scene of violence—and how many shadows are cast by the bright lights of social media fame.