Glam influencer shot useless as she left funeral after paying respects to murdered footballer
A glam content creator was found dead in the middle of a road, riddled with gunshot wounds, after paying her respects to murdered footie ace Mario Pineida, who himself had been gunned down
A glam influencer was murdered in a drive-by shooting as she left the funeral of an international footie star who was himself gunned down in cold blood.
Karen Grunauer Franco, 39, was gunned down by a group of armed men who opened fire at the car she was travelling in from another vehicle, killing her instantly. Her dead body was found lying on the road with multiple gunshot wounds on Saturday.
Her motor was riddled with bullets as she and a male companion left the ceremony of star Ecuadorian player Mario Pineida, who was shot and killed outside a butcher’s last week in Guayaquil in the north of the country.
The 33-year-old defender – who played for Barcelona SC – was shot dead as he went to the shop to buy meat for a Christmas meal with his mum and his new partner Guisella Fernández Ramírez, understood to be a new pal of Karen’s.
Karen’s male friend, who was driving the car, managed to escape and drive to a nearby police station. He was later hospitalised in a stable condition.
Karen, who had 2,500 Facebook followers, leaves behind two young children. She was buried in Guayaquil the day after her murder.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Luis Obando López said they are investigating possible links between the two shootings. The police confirmed that Karen did not have a criminal record. No arrests have been made yet as the police probe continues.
Former Ecuador international Pineida – who played for his country nine times between 2014 and 2021 – was shot dead alongside Guisella. His mum miraculously escaped serious injury.
Pineida could be seen in shocking footage putting his hands in the air before one of the two assassins started firing at him from close range. The other, who had a motorcycle helmet on to cover his face, targeted Guisella Fernandez.
The double murder occurred around 4pm local time on Wednesday outside a butcher’s in the north of the port city.
Pineida, a full-back for Ecuador’s Serie A side Barcelona Sporting Club whose previous teams have included Brazilian top-flight team Fluminense where he played on loan in 2022, drove the two women to the shop to buy a pork shank for a family Christmas meal.
Pineida is the fifth footballer killed already so far this year in Ecuador, which is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. His killers remain at large.
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