Shocking Rise in Murders of Social Media Influencers

A blurred woman smiling as she takes a selfie with her phone attached to an extended selfie stick, focus on the phone

A Brazilian influencer, known as "Nesaku" on TikTok, was tragically shot in the head during a live broadcast. The incident was witnessed by his entire audience and captured on his phone. Early investigations suggest that the culprits are suspected drug dealers. During the live stream, Nesaku, whose real name is Romim, was seen smoking a cannabis cigarette. The sudden shift in focus of the device during the stream alerted viewers to the unfolding tragedy. Nesaku's death adds to the growing list of influencers who have been killed without any discernible motive.

In a similar incident, Kevin Brayan Flores Aguilar, a social media influencer known as Kevin Kaletry, was shot dead in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. Originally from Puerto Rico, he had traveled to Mexico to collaborate on a project with other influencers. Witnesses report that the 26-year-old was attending a press conference at Casa Comtesse, a boutique hotel, when a person walked in and shot him. Following the incident, authorities apprehended one of the potential assailants in the Doctores neighborhood. Wendy Guevara, another influencer, confirmed the events and expressed her shock.

Anjali Ryot, an Indian influencer passionate about travel and fashion, was one of two victims of a fatal shooting at "La Malquerida," a restaurant in the tourist area of Tulum, Quintana Roo. The LinkedIn senior engineer was at the bar when a gunfight broke out between a group of drug dealers and a man seeking refuge there. The Attorney General's Office of Quintana Roo attributes the shooting to a territorial dispute over drug sales.

Gabby Petito, who was touring the United States with her fiancé Brian Laundrie, was strangled to death in a relationship marred by anger and violence. In September 2021, Laundrie returned to his parents' home without Petito. After a grueling search for their daughter, Petito's parents discovered that Laundrie had left her ten days before her disappearance. He was identified as a suspect in her murder. A week later, two bodies were found in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Once it was confirmed that one was Petito's, the manhunt for Laundrie began. A month later, the FBI confirmed that Laundrie had taken his own life in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.

In 2017, 17-year-old Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales was killed following his rise to fame as a "narcoyoutuber" in northern Mexico. After threatening the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in one of his videos, he was gunned down a month later. His death became one of the most widely discussed on the internet, marking one of the first cases of an influencer being murdered.


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