Just days after Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez was shot dead during a livestream, reports of Columbian influencer Maria Jose Estupinan Sanchez, aka ‘La Mona’ being fatally shot have made headlines. The 22-year-old student of Francisco de Paula Santander University (UFPS) is believed to have been shot outsider her home in Cucuta, Norte de Santander, earlier this week, according to local media outlet Noticias Caracol. They relied on Cucuta Metropolitan Police’s Commander of the District One Colonel Leonardo Capacho’s account of the incident.

Uncanny similarity between influencers’ killing

Maria Jose Estupinan’s death bears an uncanny resemblance to the circumstances leading up to 23-year-old Valeria Marquez’s demise. Akin to how the Mexican woman was shot dead at her workplace, a beauty salon, by a man reportedly posing as a deliveryman, the Columbian influencer’s suspected killer was also dressed as a man who claimed to have approached her to deliver a gift, as per outlet TuBarco Noticias.

ALSO READ

Footage of the brazen shooting was captured visuals of the alleged shooter fleeing the scene on foot after killing the 22-year-old. The university student, though rushed to a local hospital, ultimately succumbed to her injuries.

Although neither suspect nor the motive has been confirmed yet, the person responsible for La Mona’s death bears the description: “man in a black cap, jacket, and jeans, carrying a backpack.”

Maria Jose Estupinan death: Any suspects yet?

As Marquez’s murder is being investigated as a possible femicide, local Mexican media called out a man identified as her ex-boyfriend, who is also believed to be a regional leader of the notorious drug cartel Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Similarly, Maria Jose’s death comes a day after she reportedly won a domestic abuse case against her own ex-boyfriend. She secured a settlement of 30 million COP (approx $7,000). According to Canal TRO, while no arrests had been confirmed at the time of writing, this ex-romantic partner is being investigated as a key suspect.

ALSO READ

More about Maria Jose Estupinan

According to the El Colombiano, Maria, who was enrolled at a communication program at her university, had big aspirations to make it to the TV spotlight. “She had the dream of becoming a presenter for a major national channel (…), at the same time she was making arrangements to complete her professional internship at Canal TRO and her degree project was focused on systematizing commercial radio stations in Cúcuta,” said an unofficial source.

Affectionately known as “Mona,” she had passionate plans to explore the world. In addition to the domestic violence complaint she originally filed against her former partner in 2018, it was believed that Maria Jose was entangled in a relationship with one of two men killed inside a vehicle weeks ago in the Villa Antigua neighbourhood.

Estupinan’s murder again highlights the concerning high rates of femicide in Latin America.