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San Diego, California – A Mexican beauty queen and social media influencer has been charged with murder in San Diego after authorities say she helped orchestrate a cartel-connected killing in the parking garage of a luxury apartment complex earlier this year.
Lydia Vanessa Gerola Pereira — known online as Vanessa Gerola — was arrested Oct. 9 and charged in connection with the February shooting death of 30-year-old Christian Espinosa Silva at the Palisade UTC Apartments in University City. Gerola Pereira, 32, is being held without bail at the Las Colinas Detention and Re-Entry Facility in Santee. She pleaded not guilty during her Oct. 13 arraignment and is due back in court Nov. 19.
Investigators say Espinosa was shot multiple times around 10 p.m. on Feb. 17 while pulling his BMW into the parking structure of the upscale complex. A second man in the car survived after being struck by gunfire. Witnesses told police the gunman was dressed in camouflage and black clothing and fled the scene immediately after the shooting.
According to court filings and reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune, Espinosa — who went by the nickname Elado — was allegedly affiliated with the Tijuana Plaza cartel and had ties to Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno, known as Flakito, a reputed cartel leader extradited to the U.S. earlier this year on federal trafficking charges. Investigators believe Espinosa’s killing may have stemmed from an ongoing turf war between rival groups operating along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Gerola Pereira, a former beauty queen from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, rose to online fame through her Instagram account, which boasts more than 1.4 million followers. Her feed often featured luxury travel, designer clothes, and international photo shoots — though prosecutors now allege her real-life connections reached deep into cartel networks.
Authorities believe Gerola Pereira was romantically involved with Espinosa and may have played a role in planning his murder. Her name reportedly surfaced on a set of flyers circulated in Tijuana that listed several individuals allegedly connected to Espinosa’s death. Those flyers, which investigators described as “narco propaganda,” helped point authorities toward Gerola Pereira months before her arrest.
The San Diego District Attorney’s Office has not said whether Gerola Pereira is suspected of pulling the trigger or coordinating the attack, but officials confirmed the investigation involves cooperation with Mexican authorities and federal agencies.
The murder shocked residents of the Palisade UTC Apartments, a luxury complex near La Jolla known for its proximity to UC San Diego and the high-tech corridor. One resident who asked not to be named said the shooting “felt surreal for this part of town.”
If convicted, Gerola Pereira faces up to life in prison.
