AN INFLUENCER has allegedly been killed by a classmate who became obsessed with her.
Argentinian social media star Catalina Gutiérrez, 21, was found dead in a Renault Clio in a car park on Wednesday night.
Catalina Gutiérrez was allegedly killed by a besotted friend
The classmate conceded he was madly in love with her, cops said
She had 100,000 Instagram followers
Suspect Néstor Soto allegedly confessed to the shock killing
Her lifeless body was reportedly found burnt in the back seat.
Catalina was last seen on July 17 when she left home to catch up with pals at the Patio Olmos shopping centre in Córdoba City.
Upon leaving, she sent a voice message to her boyfriend, telling him she was on the way.
But the influencer – who had 100,000 Instagram followers and 36,000 TikTok followers – never showed.
Cops initially ruled out a homicide but the case flipped on its head when they started interviewing her friends.
Architecture student Néstor Soto – a classmate of Catalina’s – allegedly buckled under questioning and confessed to the horror crime.
He conceded he was infatuated with the influencer, calling her the “love of his life”.
Detectives believe Nestor beat Catalina in the car until she was unconscious.
Suspecting he’d killed her, he drove to a car park and reportedly set the vehicle alight.
Nestor is said to have reeled Catalina in by asking her to pick him up on her way to the shopping centre, before the alleged deadly beating took place.
Local cops said: “As he made his statement, he contradicted himself.
“From one moment to the next, he suddenly admitted that he killed her.
“He said she was ‘the love of his life’.”
Catalina’s body was tragically found after her sister identified her phone’s location.
Nestor started studying at the National University of Corboda in 2021, becoming classmates with Catalina in their architecture courses.
Catalina’s dad Marcelo told local media Nestor had been invited into the family home “a thousand times”.
He was arrested and charged with homicide.
The cause of death was asphyxiation by strangulation, an autopsy revealed, according to Perfil Cordoba.
She was also injured by “several blows” and suffered burns from her body with Nestor believed to have set the car ablaze.
It’s unclear if the car was set on fire in a bid to kill Catalina or erase the evidence.
HEARTBROKEN DAD ‘IN PAIN’
Catalina’s dad told El Doce: “I am in pain, my heart is breaking and I don’t understand it.
“The only thing I want is justice and for him to rot in prison for the rest of his life because she doesn’t deserve to live in this society.”
He said Catalina never raised concerns regarding Nestor.
He is remembering his daughter as “excellent”, “happy” and a “perfect student”.
Detectives say she was beaten in the car
Cops said Nestor contradicted himself in his statement
Catalina’s classmate became obsessed with her despite the fact she had a boyfriend