Cartel-style execution: Mexican TikTok influencer, family meets tragic end

The bodies of Esmeralda Ferrer Garibay, a 32-year-old TikToker and singer, her husband Roberto Carlos Gil Licea, 36, and their two children, 13-year-old Gael Santiago and 7-year-old Regina, were discovered wrapped in plastic and dumped in their pickup truck in Guadalajara, Mexico, on August 22. According to authorities, the family was likely executed in a cartel-style hit.

Prosecutor Alfonso Gutierrez Santillan revealed during a press conference that surveillance video was used to trace the route of the truck back to a nearby auto repair shop. At the shop, investigators found bloodstains, spent bullet casings and ballistic evidence indicating that the family was probably killed at the site before being driven to another location.

Two men were detained in connection with the murders, but they were later released due to insufficient evidence. Shockingly, minutes after their release, the pair were kidnapped by armed men outside the prosecutor's office. Three of the four individuals involved in the kidnapping were taken, while one managed to escape and is still at large.

Esmeralda Ferrer Garibay had a significant social media presence, with over 44,000 followers on TikTok. She frequently shared videos showcasing her luxurious lifestyle, featuring designer brands like Dior, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, as well as luxury cars and expensive vacations. Some of her videos also featured narco-corridos, a Mexican ballad style that glorifies the exploits of drug cartels. In one viral video, she posed with a Gucci handbag, captioned "Advantages of having a narco boyfriend," which garnered almost 1,40,000 views.

According to Mexican outlet El Financiero, the husband, Roberto Carlos Gil Licea, is believed to have been the target of the murders.