Law&Crime Sidebar - Beauty TikToker Gunned Down During Livestream

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

Valeria Marquez, 23, a beauty influencer in Mexico, was shot twice as she livestreamed to her thousands of fans. According to investigators and Marquez’s own posts prior to the shooting, someone pretending to deliver an expensive gift to Marquez killed her instead. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber spoke with Mexican attorney German Terriquez Cordova about the hunt for the shooter and the consequences he could face.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. A beauty influencer, live streaming with her thousands of followers on TikTok in one moment, looked away from her camera and into the eyes of her killer. Valeria Marquez was gunned down on film as she sat in her beauty salon in Holisco, Mexico, and police are now hard at work trying to figure out who did this and why. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. A 23-year-old social media influencer or model who showed off her hair and makeup to thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram is now being mourned in Zapopan, Mexico.

shot dead inside of a salon called Blossom Beauty Lounge. Now, some Mexican media outlets have claimed that Valeria Marquez herself had operated the salon. Others say she only worked there. That part remains unclear. But I'll tell you what is particularly chilling is that Valeria posted a selfie from inside the salon on Instagram on May 13th, showing off her outfit for the day. That is the same outfit that she would later die in. valeria it seems often filmed live content for her followers not necessarily doing anything exciting but just you know going about her day and in one point in a video on that Tuesday

valeria recounted a story she said she had been away from the shop when somebody apparently stopped by asking for her saying they had a package to give her so when employees offered to hold on to the package for her this person according to her declined saying it was something very expensive so they needed to give it to her in person and they left. Now Valeria says on the video that she wasn't going to wait around for the person to come back and according to the AP actually theorized at one point that maybe the person had been coming to kill her. And that leads us to approximately 6.30 p.m. that Tuesday, which is when local police say all this happened. Now despite saying she was going to leave, Valeria's sitting on a live stream holding a pink stuff pig in her arms happy

when someone off-camera catches her eye. A spokesman for the Holisco State Prosecutor's Office told the New York Times that two men apparently pulled up outside the salon on a motorbike and one of them entered wearing a mask. Now, Valeria said in Spanish, they're coming. Then a man said, hey, Valeria? She responded yes. And then for some reason, she reached over and muted the live stream

so you can't hear her or the person off camera anymore. But that is when the shooting happened. So we froze in the video, but live stream viewers actually watch this in real time as someone fired a gun at least twice, Vilaria in the chest and the head. It is an unbelievable situation. It is incredibly disturbing and chilling. I've never, ever seen anything like this before. And get this, just a few seconds after Valeria slumps over, motionless, someone seemed picking

up the phone and turning off the live stream. So far that person hasn't been identified, but some online have theorized that the woman was an employee or client of the salon. But others have pointed out that she seemed very calm for someone who just witnessed what is essentially a cold-blooded murder. It appears Valeria's TikTok page has been removed, but at the time of this recording, her Instagram is still active. And I talked about how she had a significant following. People magazine citing 149,000 Instagram followers for their TikTok, 114,000 followers. So there are a lot of people looking day in and day out at the life of Valeria.

Many people have commented, have expressed their condolences on her photos online. And despite the live stream being taken down, the Holisco State Prosecutor's Office confirmed to the New York Times that snippets of the video that have been spreading like wildfire online, they are authentic. And here's something that's very interesting. The spokesman also said that the gunman asked who it was, like he didn't know who Valeria was. The representative told the AP, with that you can do. without jumping to conclusions that this was a person who was paid. It was obviously someone who came with a purpose.

There have been multiple theories floating around social media right now about what might have led to Valeria's apparent assassination, including that a close friend may have been involved in plotting the murder, although we have no confirmation of that or evidence to support that. But so far, the prosecutor's office hasn't commented on these theories at the time of this recording or what might have happened. By the way, actually right before this recording, we found out that another woman, 22-year-old model and also social media influencer, Maria Jose Estopinan,

was shot and killed in Colombia when she apparently opened her door to a fake delivery person. So very similar to the allegations and what we're talking about here with Valeria days before. Apparently, there's surveillance footage showing the suspect in Maria's killing running away. Now, according to the New York Post, she had made a prior report for domestic abuse against an ex-partner. Don't know if that's related. Don't know if these cases are related. But my gosh, very strange that we have two women who are doing the same kind of things on social media being killed in very similar fashion. It is just eerily, eerily similar.

So to talk about the investigation so far, what's next for the legal process once police have their man or men or suspects, whoever these people are. I want to bring in a special guest. I'm joined right now by Hermann Terriquez Cordova, Tijuana Mexico criminal lawyer who will give us a lot more insight than we know because there's one thing. I might know about the law here in the states. I am not as familiar as the law in Mexico. Thank you so much for taking the time. Really, really appreciate it. And welcome to Sidebar. Thank you, Jesse Weber. Thank you for your trust. And well, I'm here to respond all the questions that you have. Well, fantastic. Thank you. So first of all, my first question is, what is just your reaction to this?

I have to tell you, I've covered crimes all the time. I've never seen someone shot to death on a live stream. I mean, this is something that is truly horrifying. And we watched the video. We didn't play it here. We only showed screenshots of it. It is so disturbing. What is just your reaction? to seeing something like this? Well, Jesse, yes, in Mexico, obviously, we see all the time a serious offense,

like femicide, like murder, but just online, see online that femicide. It's obviously, it's a surprise in Mexico for us. And obviously, all the Mexican community, all the Mexican criminal defense

attorney we are surprised with that with that facts and well we hope that the prosecution and the justice arrives and determines soon who is the suspect and who is the yes the defendant who commits this crime right hey everybody this is another law and crime legal alert if you receive depro provera birth control shots and were later diagnosed with a brain or spinal tumor called meningioma you may be eligible for a lawsuit. You see, Morgan and Morgan is investigating claims that patients weren't properly warned about this risk. It's free to check, just takes a few minutes,

and you don't pay unless they win. So scan the QR code on screen, click the link below, or head over to forethepeople.com slash LC Depot to see if you qualify. I don't know if you saw this other story, but it just came out. There is a 22-year-old model and social media influencer from Columbus.

who was shot and killed, apparently opened her door to a fake delivery person. Are we seeing a lot of violence against social media people? In Mexico, it's increased. I don't know, maybe one year ago, violence for social or for influencers, we see examples in Kuliacan, maybe you know about that. But, yes, it's strange for us, for Mexico, to see the violence against the influencers. Yes, it's strange for us. And yes, I think in my point of view, it's that violence, it's increasing for the influencers, right?

When you look at Valeria's story, does it look like the killer or killers didn't know who she was? because they asked, it seemed to be, is she there? And that kind of gives clues as to what might have happened here. Do you agree? Well, yes, it appears the shooters. It doesn't know the victim. But, well, in this moment, we review the prosecution, media, and the press conference. And I think in this moment, there's no suspect.

In this case, in social media, we read about persons, but I think in my point of view is that the shooter, it doesn't know the victim. Did you think it was strange, the woman who seemingly picked up the phone right after the shooting? At first, you don't know who this person is, and I'm not entirely sure who this person was, but that was very, very strange. now. Yes, yes. Yes, the community in Mexico, the point of view for the community, it's strange that the person who takes the cell phone, it seems like take it easy. I don't know if that is the word. Take it easy, take the phone, and well, that seems that maybe she knows something about that, right? Right. Yeah, it's strange. I want to ask you about the legal system in Mexico.

So what does it take to arrest somebody? Here in the United States, we have probable cause to make an arrest. What is it take to arrest somebody? What kind of evidence do you need to make an arrest? Yes, Jesse. In Mexico, it's similar than the U.S. In Mexico, we need a probable cause to arrest someone. When the prosecutor has evidence, obviously,

the femicite, it's the prosecution has evidence for the femicide for the crime, for the offense. But the prosecution needs to go for more proofs to for the suspect. And when

the prosecution has this evidence, he's going to go with the judge to go for a warrant order. And when the prosecution get, the warrant order, he can arrest the person, the person who is the suspect in this case.

But yes, it's similar than the U.S. We need that probable cause, who is, it's necessary to go for the fierce appearance to the preliminary hearing, right? And we here in the United States, a criminal suspect, a criminal defendant has certain rights when they're arrested. You know, they have rights to due process. They have rights against, you know, improper searches and seizures. Is there a Mexican constitution?

Is there, do criminal defendants have rights to say, you know, my rights were violated when this arrest happened? How does that work? Yes, actually, the Article 20 for the Constitution, Mexico law, established the rights for the defendant. He has a lot of human rights. He knows what he's arrested. He can try to nullify the evidence who, how can explain?

If the evidence who is recollected for the prosecution is violent, the human rights or the human process, that the criminal defense attorney for the defendant can try to eliminate that evidence. evidence for the defendant. But yes, it's similar the human rights for the defendant in Mexico than the US. You had mentioned femicide. Is that an actual charge, like murder, or is it a type of murder? It's like a type of murder. Actually, around 20 years ago, it's not, the femicide is not sized in the case.

in Mexico. The representatives, the congressman, and the congresswoman in Mexico reformed the law around 20 years or 15 years to incorporate the crime for suicide. And yes, the difference between the murder in first grade and the family side is that the family site first of all has several penalties, around 40 years to 70 years for jail. But when a person, first of all, needs to be a woman in femicide. The victim needs to be a woman, obviously. Second one, if the suspect or if the guilty person killed the woman in a hidden place, or if the suspect or if the guilty person is family, maybe husband, or, well, this is like the, the points that different, the preemicide for the first-degree murder.

So if it's a stranger, let's say it's a hitman, okay, it's an assassin, would this class? classify as murder, or could this be famicide? And if it is murder, if it is murder, what's the punishment for murder? The punishment for murder, it depends. Remember that this happened in the state of Halisco, Guadalajara, Zapopan, it's part of that state of Halisco. So in Mexico, similar to the U.S., we have penal codes in each state okay so in halisko the penalty for a murder it's for 30 years to 60

years for for jail and femicide it's 40 years to 70 years for prison in this case it's going to be investigated and i don't have doubt um that it's going to be investigated and it's going to be sentence if the person is fine guilty for femicide because there's a lot of main points that the crime is going to be charged by femicide. The person's surprise the victim with a shung-gun and it's going to be femicide. I can guarantee that it's going to be that charge. So if they're looking at 40 to 70 years in prison, do they get paramed? roll? Could they get released early? No, it's going to be difficult because when the suspect is going to be arrested and if he's

fined guilty in a trail, he's going to be sentenced, well, for example, 50 years. And in Mexico, it size the benefits of the law when a suspect and when a suspect, when a sorry, when the guilty person has the 70% or the 70% for the penalty accomplished, he can go for the benefits for the law. But in this case, in Femmicide, the law is not prevent that. So my point of view is when the guilty person is going to be fined guilty, He is going to be in jail, minimum, 40 years, and max 70 years for jail. Does it take years for a case to go to trial?

So if someone is arrested tomorrow, when could they go on trial in Mexico? It's a, okay, in Mexico, the Constitution is not prevent an exact timeline or a time that the defendant is going to be on trail. But it's usual that in these cases, in popular cases or cases that the population is interesting, the trail is celebrating around six months, around six months. until or since the person is going to be arrested actually the congressmen's and the congresswoman in Mexico

it's trying to reform the law to prevent that the maximum time to celebrate the trial is going to be four months but in this moment it's not a time that we have to celebrate the trial but for example or in the practice law the trial celebrates around six months in these cases.

In the United States, it could take years, years from an arrest to actually have a trial. In Mexico, too, but in not popular cases, in Mexico, it's so political the criminal law and the criminal cases, it's so political. So when cases like this, like Valer's case, It's happening. The prosecution, the judge, the court, tries to celebrate the trial as soon as possible.

And I want to talk about the investigation, too, and what might be happening. But I wanted to also ask you, is it proof beyond a reasonable doubt to get a conviction? That's what we have here in the United States. Is it similar or the same in Mexico? Yes. It's equal in Mexico. Actually, maybe you don't know that, but in Mexico, since 2008

reformed the law about the criminal process and it's similar to that the criminal process in Mexico, it's sort of similar to than the US, but we don't have jury here in here in Mexico or when the prosecution can prove beyond reasonable doubt the judge is going to be

the judge needs to find guilty the person. Yes, it's equal in Mexico than the U.S. And if there's an arrest, does that person make bail? Could they make bail in a case like this or no? No, no, no. In Mexico, the bail is not working like the U.S. In Mexico, when a person is arrested, the prosecution needs to prove in front of the judge

that the person needs to stay in jail, in the process because he's a danger in freedom. Obviously, in Femmicide, when the person is arrested, he's going to stay in jail. Obviously, for the secure, for the victim, because maybe for the maximum penalty for famicide, 70 years. And obviously, with all that proofs and with all that facts, that person who is arrested is going to stay in jail all the process. The bill in Mexico is not working in these cases.

So now let's talk about if there's going to be an arrest. So talk to us about what is happening with the investigation. Do investigators, do authorities, do they look through surveillance video? Are they looking through Valerius' social media activity? Are they speaking to witnesses? What does an investigation typically look like in your country? Yes, Jesse. Yes, first of all, when the police and investigators arrives to the crime scene, they need to recollect just the videos, the blood in that scene.

And well, yes, the prosecution and investigators is going to try to get the tests and information for the social media for the victim. WhatsApp, Snapchat, Messenger. Obviously, the prosecution to get that information, first of all, need to go with the human rights judge because that information is part for the privacy, for the privacy, for the victim, and the judge needs to give a permission for a prosecution to review that information.

And yes, obviously, the prosecution and the investigators is going to make a, it's going to interview witness to review what's happening. It's usual in Mexico that maybe the police has a suspect or, yes, has a suspect. But first of all, the police is interview as a witness. and then when the investigation advanced, that witness is changed to suspect. It's usual in Mexico. But, yes, that is the usual investigation that the police and the prosecution realize in these cases. Do you think there's going to be an arrest in Valeria's case? yes yesy i don't know who but just because in mexico as i explained you before it's so political

and the governor the president everyone is taking care for this case and obviously the jess it's going to be an arrest because in previous cases when a case it's so political with a case, it's so violent, it's so influential like this case, the prosecution is arrested someone. I hope that it's arresting the guilty guy, because obviously, with that evidence and with that information, we can get a sentence on a trail. If the prosecution arrest the grand guy, we can have an unguilty resolution for the judge, right? Oh, well, we don't want that. We want to make sure that the right person is ultimately apprehended for such a heinous, heinous, disturbing crime. I mean, how often do you see a crime committed

actually on tape? It's pretty unbelievable and chilling to say the least. Hermant-Rikas, Cordova, thank you so much for taking the time. Loved having you here on Sidebar and really appreciate you watching the show as well. well, thank you. Thank you, Jesse. And that is all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. Add free right now on Wondery Plus.

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