She was found dead in a motel after going out with friends and leaving messages for help on social media

An investigation full of unknowns is underway in Quilicura, Santiago, Chile, after a young woman was found dead inside a motel. The victim had shared videos on social media shortly before her death.

Estefanía Fernanda Maturana Alvarado, 27, was found dead last Sunday, June 1, inside the Motel Jardín de Eros, located in Quilicura, Metropolitan Region. Her body was found by hotel staff inside the jacuzzi of room 18, with a sheet wrapped around her neck and tied to the handrail.

Hours before the tragic discovery, Estefanía had arrived at the scene in a vehicle with two other women, at approximately 6:50 a.m. However, at 12:30 p.m., the same car left with only two occupants, leaving the young woman alone in the room.

It was then that the motel staff, noticing that the stay time had been exceeded and receiving no response when they knocked on the door, decided to enter. There they found Estefanía lifeless.

The news caused a stir not only because of the circumstances of the discovery, but also because of the strange social media posts the young woman had posted hours earlier. According to local press reports, Estefanía broadcast live and shared a reel-like video from inside a vehicle. In it, two women—one of them driving—and an unidentified man as the co-pilot can be seen.

The victim's mother, Fabiola Alvarado, has been key to the investigation. She reported that her daughter sent her distressing audio recordings shortly before her death, in which she warned: "They're trying to strangle me," and "Mom, they're going to kill me, come find me." In one of the messages, Estefanía claimed to have had problems with a still-unidentified person, who could be linked to a photograph of her with other naked women.

Fabiola also indicated that she knew the two women who accompanied her daughter to the motel and that one of them confessed that she couldn't return because she had "an outstanding warrant," without providing further details. According to the mother, a fight may have broken out between her daughter and the companions over the photograph, which could have been seen by the partner of one of them, sparking a heated argument.

The Public Prosecutor's Office and the Carabineros have already initiated the corresponding investigation, including taking statements from people close to the young woman. Estefanía's cell phone was seized in the hope that its contents could shed light on the case. In addition, the Forensic Medical Service confirmed that the cause of death was "asphyxiation due to external neck compression."

While the investigation continues, authorities remain tight-lipped about the possible perpetrators, the identity of the man seen in the video, and what happened in the hours leading up to the death.