Influencer, 21, is murdered by ‘besotted classmate’ who thought she was ‘the love of his life’: Body is found burned in the back of a car after victim vanished while on her way to visit friends
- Carolina Guitierrez was last seen leaving her home Wednesday evening
An Argentinian influencer has been found dead in a parking lot after being murdered by a “love-struck classmate” who said she was the love of his life.
Catalina Gutierrez, 21, was found dead in her mother’s Renault Clio in an empty parking lot in the Argentine city of Cordoba on Wednesday evening.
According to reports, her body was found partially burned in the backseat.
The woman, who has 100,000 followers on Instagram and 36,000 on TikTok, was last seen leaving her home to go bowling with her friends at the Patio Olmos shopping center.
She reportedly sent an audio message to her boyfriend to let him know she was on her way, but when she didn’t show up or respond to her messages, her friends informed her family.
An Argentinian influencer was found dead on Wednesday night after being murdered by a “lovestruck” classmate who said she was the love of his life
Catalina Guitierrez, 21, was last seen on Wednesday when she left her home to meet her friends and boyfriend at a shopping mall
Guitierrez’s body was found later that night in her mother’s car in an empty parking lot. When police began questioning her friends and family, classmate Nestor Soto (pictured) broke down and confessed to killing the young woman. He has now been arrested and charged with manslaughter.
Her body was found the same night after her sister pinged her phone’s location.
Investigators began questioning her friends and family members to gather information about the gruesome murder, until one of her friends, architecture student Néstor Soto, reportedly broke down and confessed to the crime.
Soto, who moved from Bariloche to Cordoba in 2021 to attend the National University of Cordoba, studied architecture with Guitierrez. The two were part of the same group of friends, Guitierrez’s father Marcelo told the Argentine Press Agency The Doce that the man had been to the family’s home ‘a thousand times’.
According to local police, the man “suddenly admitted to killing her and said she was ‘the love of his life,’ even though they were not romantically involved.”
Soto was arrested and charged with murder.
Guitierrez, who had 100,000 followers on Instagram, shared her life on social media
An autopsy revealed that the woman’s exact cause of death was strangulation.
Guitierrez’s father Marcelo said he wanted Soto to “rot” in prison for the rest of his life
Guitierrez with her father Marcelo
The suspect stated that he had asked the victim to pick him up from his house on the way to the shopping center.
Investigators believe he assaulted Guitierrez in his home until she was unconscious, then placed her body in her car and set it on fire.
Investigators are still trying to determine if this was an attempt by the killer to erase evidence.
An autopsy revealed her cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation, according to Profile Cordoba. The woman was also found to have sustained multiple injuries from ‘multiple blows’ and burns on her body, which are believed to have occurred after her death.
The autopsy also revealed that the victim had been sexually abused.
Guitierrez’s distraught father told El Doce about his daughter: ‘I’m in pain, my heart is breaking and I don’t understand.
“All I want is justice and for him to waste the rest of his life in prison because she doesn’t deserve to live in this society.”
He also described the young woman as “an excellent daughter” who was “happy” and a “perfect student.”
He also said that his daughter never said anything about Soto behaving strangely toward her.