Authorities say evidence points toward a suspected murder-suicide involving content creator Cinthia Abigail Tamez Rivera, though the investigation remains open.
MONTEMORELOS, Mexico — Prosecutors in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León are investigating whether social media creator Cinthia Abigail Tamez Rivera killed her partner and three children before dying by suicide, an account authorities say is supported by preliminary ballistic evidence but remains under investigation.
The five deaths occurred Sept. 30 in Montemorelos, south of Monterrey. Nuevo León Attorney General Javier Flores Saldívar said investigators believe Tamez Rivera, 33, first attacked her partner, Leodegario Moya Garza, 28, and two of her children inside a home before leaving with her youngest child. Tamez Rivera and that child were later found dead in a vehicle at another location. Prosecutors have stressed that investigators are still working to establish the full sequence of events and what preceded the deaths.
The case drew international attention after reports connected Tamez Rivera to a TikTok account followed by tens of thousands of people. She regularly posted videos about her daily life, family outings and other personal activities. A social media post uploaded shortly before the deaths contained language about retaliation and harming herself while seeking revenge against others. Authorities are reviewing her online activity, but investigators have not publicly established that any individual post explains why the family died.
Flores Saldívar said early forensic work linked evidence recovered from the two locations. Investigators found a .38-caliber handgun, and the attorney general said shell casings recovered where Tamez Rivera was found were consistent with ballistic evidence connected to the victims at the family residence. Authorities are also reviewing surveillance footage, witness information and evidence collected from the home. The prosecutor has described Tamez Rivera as the principal suspected perpetrator while emphasizing that the case remains open.
Investigators are examining an apparent disagreement between Tamez Rivera and Moya Garza during the hours before the deaths. N+ reported that prosecutors believe a gathering had taken place at the home beforehand and that evidence of alcohol consumption was found during a search. Officials have not announced a confirmed motive for the killings, and no reliable evidence released publicly establishes what caused the reported dispute.
A separate development emerged when local reporting revealed that a 14-year-old boy was inside the residence during part of the violence and survived. El Financiero, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that the teenager hid inside the home and was not shot. The outlet reported that the boy was not the biological child of any of the five people who died but was connected to a former partner of Tamez Rivera and had been in her care at the time.
The teenager could provide investigators with important information about what happened inside the residence. Because he is a minor, authorities have not publicly released his identity. El Financiero reported that he was placed under protective care after the deaths. Investigators are expected to evaluate any statement from him under procedures designed for a juvenile witness.
The investigation continued into Oct. 6. Local outlet Posta reported that officials with a specialized prosecution unit searched another Montemorelos residence connected to the surviving teenager. Forensic personnel took part in the search, according to the report. Authorities had not publicly disclosed what evidence, if any, was recovered from that property, and no arrests tied directly to the search had been announced.
Reports about the exact ages of Tamez Rivera and her children have varied between news organizations, so authorities’ broader description of the victims as Tamez Rivera, her partner and her three minor children provides the clearest confirmed account. The family members were found at two locations only a short distance apart. Moya Garza and two children were discovered at the residence, while Tamez Rivera and her youngest child were found in a Jeep in the Los Fresnos area.
The social media material has become one of the most widely discussed aspects of the case, but prosecutors have not said that the posts themselves establish a motive. Investigators are also examining the family’s activities in the period before the deaths and other possible factors. Some reports have raised questions about Tamez Rivera’s financial dealings, but authorities have not publicly determined that those activities caused or contributed to the killings.
The tragedy initially generated conflicting descriptions in local coverage as investigators worked through two separate scenes. Some early reports referred to Tamez Rivera as a victim alongside the other family members. Subsequent statements from the Nuevo León attorney general outlined the current theory that she was responsible for four deaths before dying by suicide. That remains an investigative conclusion rather than the result of a court proceeding.
As of Oct. 6, prosecutors continued collecting forensic and witness evidence and had not announced a final motive. The latest investigative activity involving a property connected to the surviving teenager indicates that authorities are still working to reconstruct the events surrounding the five deaths and determine whether the evidence supports their principal theory.
Author note: Last updated October 6, 2026.