Arrest Warrant Issued for Mother-in-Law of Ex-Beauty Queen Carolina Flores in Feminicide Case

A judge has issued an arrest warrant for the mother-in-law of former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gomez in connection with her killing, which investigators are treating as a femicide, according to Mexican judicial authorities.

Carolina Flores Gomez, 27, a former Miss Teen Universe titleholder for Baja California state in 2017, was found shot dead in her luxury apartment in Mexico City’s Polanco neighborhood last Thursday. She suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and authorities believe she was killed a day before her body was discovered.

The state prosecutor’s office is investigating the crime as a femicide, meaning it believes the killing was motivated by gender-based violence. Building staff reported no gunshots or unusual activity at the high-end residential complex, raising questions about how the shooting went undetected.

Forensic teams have processed the apartment for evidence. Flores Gomez’s husband, Alejandro Gomez, did not contact authorities until the following day, despite being present in the apartment at the time of the murder, according to investigators. Her mother-in-law, Erika Maria, has been named as the prime suspect in the case.

Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila has called for an urgent investigation, stating that “no crime against a woman should go unpunished.” Activists and campaigners are demanding the case be formally classified as femicide, citing broader concerns about violence against women in Mexico, where official statistics show approximately 10 women are murdered each day, with only 1% of cases resulting in sentencing.

The arrest warrant marks a significant development in the case, signaling judicial approval of the prosecutors’ theory that Erika Maria planned and carried out the killing. Authorities allege she traveled to Mexico City after years of allegedly harassing Flores Gomez, though specific details of the alleged harassment have not been publicly verified in official statements.