Former drug addict and influencer Nicol Rescata was found dead next to a bottle of petrol in an Ecuadorian factory and leaves behind a four-year-old daughter
- Nicol Montenegro was found shot dead next to a rice milling machine near a warehouse in Guayas, Ecuador on Saturday
- Known on social media as Nicol Rescata, the 23-year-old had recovered from drug addiction and used her experience to motivate other addicts
- The young woman, who is survived by a four-year-old daughter, announced in June that she was pregnant
An influencer who changed her life after falling into drug addiction was murdered in Ecuador.
Nicol Montenegro, 23, was found shot dead near a warehouse in Yaguachi, a town in the Pacific Coast province of Guayas, on Saturday.
According to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, the young woman was found lying face down and shot several times in the head.
Warehouse workers told authorities they were sleeping inside when they heard multiple gunshots around 3:30 a.m.
Workers found Montenegro’s lifeless body next to a rice milling machine about 1,600 feet from the building on Saturday afternoon.
Nicol Montenegro, mother of a four-year-old girl, was found shot dead in Guayas, Ecuador on Saturday. The 23-year-old used her recovery from drug addiction as a social media influencer to motivate young people to stay away from drugs
Nicol Montenegro was known on social media as Nicol Rescata for her work with drug addicts
According to authorities, the suspects left a bottle of gasoline and a box of matches near the body.
Workers are believed to have stopped the suspects from setting fire to Montenegro’s body after turning on the lights.
As of Thursday afternoon, police had not reported any arrests.
Montenegro became a social media darling after recovering from its battle with drug addiction a few years ago.
Nicol Rescata pictured a few years ago on his way to a drug addiction treatment center
Montenegro, who leaves behind a four-year-old daughter, announced in June that she was pregnant
Nicol Montenegro is building a following on her social media by posting videos of her visits and motivational talks with young people recovering from drug addiction
She later used her own experiences to discourage young people from following the same path.
She developed a strong following on YouTube and TikTok, where she had more than 80,000 followers and posted videos of her visits and motivational conversations with recovering addicts.
Montenegro was a mother to a four-year-old girl and announced on Facebook in June that she was pregnant.
Her family identified her body at a local morgue and transported her to Los Rïos province, south of the state capital Quito, and held a memorial service in her hometown of Babahoyo on Sunday.
Ecuadorian artist Jeyder Rescata, who had also recovered from drug addiction, mourned the death of Montenegro.
“You don’t know how this news affected me,” he wrote on Instagram. “You changed so much for the better my girl what happened.”