Former Miss Ecuador candidate killed while dining at restaurant—report
Warning: This story contains graphic content.
Former Miss Ecuador candidate Landy Párraga suffered a tragic fate on April 28 after she was murdered while dining at a restaurant in the city of Quevedo, Los Ríos province.
In a translated report by CNN en Español, authorities are still trying to determine the cause of Párraga's death, which is referred to as "one of the most violent from the country."
Police told journalists that are now collecting information and gathering evidence on the incident to find those responsible for the gruesome act.
Vox News Albania meanwhile detailed that Párraga had been eating breakfast in the establishment when two people entered and shot her several times until she died.
As seen in a video posted on social media, the killers also shot dead her male companion that she was with.
The 23-year-old beauty queen had previously been under investigation over her alleged involvement in the "Metastasis" drug trafficking and corruption case, which was headed by drug kingpin Leandro Norero.
According to one of the chats published by the Prosecutor's Office within the Metastasis case, Párraga's name came up in a chat conversation between Norero and his lawyer Helive Angulo.
"Párraga's name appeared in a prosecutor's investigation for money laundering and stated that [Norero] did not want that the former candidate was related to him," the report read.
"Norero would have paid money, according to the Prosecutor's Office, so that he would not be linked to the former beauty queen in that case," it added.
Norero had since died while he was imprisoned at Latacunga prison in 2022. Párraga has not spoken publicly about the drug trafficking and corruption case in recent months.
The model represented the Los Ríos Province in the 2022 edition of Miss Ecuador.