A 22-year-old social media influencer was brutally killed after being stabbed multiple times while livestreaming.

A 22-year-old social media influencer was brutally killed in Japan. Credit: Philippe TURPIN / Getty

Airi Sato, a popular online personality, was broadcasting on the app WhoWatch while walking alone near JR Takadanobaba Station in Shinjuku Ward around 9:50AM when she was ambushed, Kyodo News reported.

As the attack unfolded, horrified bystanders heard Sato screaming for help. Viewers of her livestream also reacted in real time, with her feed suddenly cutting to black as sirens blared in the background. 

Concerned followers flooded the chat with frantic messages, asking, “Where did she go?” and “Someone help,” per The New York Times.

Police in Tokyo have arrested a 42-year-old man named Kenichi Takano in connection with the fatal attack on Sato.

Local reports suggest that Takano was able to track the influencer's location by analyzing the background of her livestream. Jiji Press reported that he had learned the day before that she would be in Tokyo, seemingly using that knowledge to confront her.

Shocking images of Sato, who had more than 2,600 followers, lying motionless on the ground after the attack quickly spread online.

When authorities arrived, they found the 22-year-old with multiple stab wounds to her face, neck, chest, and abdomen. She was rushed to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Police arrested Kenichi Takano at the scene. He was allegedly found standing next to the late influencer's body. Officers discovered two knives in his possession - a bloodied survival knife and another tucked inside his backpack.

Witnesses reported that Takano not only stabbed Sato but also struck her as she lay on the ground. Disturbingly, he appeared to take photos or record video of her after the attack.

Although he admitted to killing Sato, Takano insisted he didn’t mean to take her life. He was initially charged with attempted murder, though local outlets reported that authorities plan to upgrade the charge to murder.

Investigators believe the attack was premeditated rather than random. Reportedly, Takano has been following Sato since 2021 and started financially supporting her in 2022. He allegedly told police he had lent her around $13,500, which she never repaid.

Local reports also suggest there had been prior tensions between the two. Takano and Sato had reportedly consulted with police outside Tokyo at some point, though the details of those interactions remain unclear.

While Japan is known for its low crime rate, Sato’s killing is eerily similar to a previous case in which a 33-year-old female influencer was fatally stabbed by her 26-year-old ex-boyfriend. That attacker was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Featured image credit: Takashi Aoyama / Getty

A 14-year-old girl has taken her own life after a video of her getting attacked by bullies at her school was shared online.

Adriana Kuch was found dead at her home just two days after the sickening attack by other girls from her school which took place on February 1.

The teen had been a student at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, New Jersey, and her father believes her death was fueled by long-term bullying.

A video had circulated showing Adriana being attacked by several other teens, who hit her in the face with a water bottle before kicking her as she walked with her boyfriend in a school hallway, per Patch.

In the 20-second clip, a person is heard yelling: "That’s what you get, you stupid a** b****!", as others are seen laughing, pulling her hair, and kicking her.

Adriana's father Michael Kuch told ABC7 that his daughter was more hurt by the humiliation she felt from the bullying than the physical attack, which is what he believes led to her taking her own life.

He told the station: "They think it’s fun to attack people and take videos and post them. Getting hit with a water bottle didn’t hurt Adriana, what hurt her was the embarrassment and humiliation, they just kept coming at her.

"My daughter actually blacks out and they don’t call an ambulance, they take her to the nurse’s office."

He added that Adriana had "never been in a fight before" and "loves everybody."

Following Adriana's death, three girls have been charged with third-degree felony assault while a fourth was charged with disorderly conduct, per News 12 New Jersey.

Schools Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides told the outlet police were not called after the attack, as it is the school's policy to suspend those involved, and any criminal charges are down to whether the parent wishes to pursue them or not.

He said: "I don’t believe a police report was done. We normally just suspend. If a parent wants to press charges, they can with the police. We’re not going to double-whammy a kid where they are suspended and then police charges as well."

The Superintendent added to The New York Post: "If a situation warrants it we’ll call (police), but in this case, the students were suspended immediately.

"We address every incident of bullying, but some of it is on the internet and we aren’t privy to that. We’re not the internet police but we don’t put our heads in the sand."

Adriana's father responded, telling NBC New York: "A kid is assaulted with a weapon and their policy is not to call the police or file a report."

He added on Facebook: "These 4 girls planned and executed an attack. If you watch the videos I have, they are laughing while talking about what they are going to do at the start of the video."

Her father added: "I had to take my daughter covered in blood to the local police station. If the school contacted the police and filed a report and conducted an investigation, these videos could have been discovered immediately."

Adriana's father also vowed to pursue litigation against the ones who attacked his daughter and those who filmed and shared the videos, adding: "I want the entire world to know what these animals did to my daughter. I will not sleep until their family has to watch them stand in front of a judge and plead guilty."

Over 200 pupils at Central Regional High walked out of class on Wednesday in protest of the handling of the incident and demanded the school district take action over what they described as a pattern of bullying which they claim is being ignored, per ABC 7.

Students and parents have claimed that Adriana is not the only victim of bullying at the school, alleging that another student was attacked in the cafeteria last April, per Patch.

The district shared a statement on its website saying: "We fully understand that students, staff, and the community are hurting for the loss of such a young lady with a bright future."

It added that a moment of silence was held outside before the rally, continuing: "To ensure the health, safety, and well-being for all students, there will not be any rallies in the future without prior administration approval otherwise action will be taken in accordance with policy.

"It is time to start the healing process and we want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family."

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Featured image credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera/Bob Daemmrich Photography / Alamy

Pheebs had been experiencing online abuse for a year before she attempted to take her own life in December 2020. At its peak last year, the 19-year-old was receiving around 100 death threats a day, and was forced to block nearly 10,000 accounts.

"I wanted to speak about what happened, because a lot of the stories we hear about online abuse come from celebrities and famous figures – but it also happens to normal people like me or you," she tells me. "I haven't said or done anything awful, I became a target because I was trying to love my body, and people don't like that. I can't tell you why they troll me, they just do."

Now, Pheebs is bravely committed to sharing her story in order to destigmatise suicide and to draw attention to the damaging effects that internet trolling can have.

'I didn't want to be alive'

While the third national UK lockdown has been difficult time for us all, Pheebs' mental health was pushed past breaking point.

After the government's announcement meant that she was unable to see loved ones over Christmas, she turned to social media as a form of escapism. But the teenager was hit by a tidal wave of abuse after she shared pictures of herself promoting body positivity.

"Something slipped into my head when I saw those comments, and I couldn't do what I normally do," the co-founder of The Speak Up Space explains. "It stayed with me that night. It felt like I had all of these people in the room shouting at me. And at that moment, I just didn't want to be alive."

Pheebs tells me she uses Instagram to post candidly about her mental health and share messages of body positivity. But sadly, she has been repeatedly attacked for sharing images of her plus-size body online. And she's not alone.

According to recent statistics, internet trolls are most active on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. And worryingly, 61 per cent of teens who report being bullied online say it was because of their appearance.

On the road to recovery

It's now been three months since Pheebs tried to take her own life – and she tells me she's making strides in her recovery.

"I'm so happy that my parents found me," she says. "I can't say I'm never going to feel like that again, because no one can say that. But I'm very confident in the steps I'm making now."

Pheebs goes on to tell me that she has just finished a 10-week group therapy course for handling and managing distress. Soon, she'll be starting another four-month-long course. Opening up about how therapy has benefitted her mental health, she says: "It's been very helpful, and I've been noticeably calmer in situations that are out of my control. It was so important to gain a bit more knowledge and insight into how my brain works."

Pheebs is in a position where she has access to therapy – which she says has been so "powerful" – but stresses that not everyone has the same privilege. "It's very sad because it's not accessible to everyone. I think it could benefit so many people, and we all have a right to the help we need."

Fighting online abuse

Even though Pheebs is still recovering from the events that took place in December, she says that they have only further galvanised her to protect her "online space".

"I was very angry at the fact that the trolling led to my suicide attempt, and it's one of the reasons that I wanted to do something about online abuse," she states, adding that she wanted to do so on her own terms.

This was something that was underscored after The Daily Mail published an article about her suicide attempt and experiences online without her permission. Pheebs claims she was not contacted by the site prior to publication, and it only resulted in more trolling, which impacted her mental health further.

The article was not removed until Pheebs started a petition that went viral. Speaking about the experience, she says: "The Daily Mail knows its readership. They were aware that people weren't going to respond well to the story, especially with me being larger and outspoken on things."

For her, this was an issue of consent, which she says doesn't end with sex. "It was a big violation of my own personal experience. It was the most vulnerable thing that I've ever been through. I have a choice in sharing everything I post on my platform. You should be able to have control over your lived experiences, and the way that you share them with people."

Supporting others

Ultimately, she is thankful that it happened, as it can serve as a reminder that individuals can triumph over big corporations. In fact, three people in Pheebs' online circle have had the same experience recently.

"Now we know that if we get a petition up to a certain amount, it will do something. And I want to support people who are going through what I did."

Still, Pheebs is now making conscious strides to put herself first before any kind of content. "I should obviously be able to say whatever I want, but when there are so many people who are just waiting to send hate, I really have to think before I post now."

One thing, however, that she will not shy away from speaking about is suicide.

"I'm very, very passionate about talking about it," she says. "It's not something that should be this scary word. It affects people, and many have sadly died from it. We need to talk about it to try and make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else. There's a lot that comes into it – like access to help – but we need to talk about it to get rid of the stigma. Conversation is the first step."

And as Pheebs stresses throughout our conversation, for many people, this begins on social media. Voices like her own will undoubtedly prove invaluable.

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A 23-year-old beauty influencer has been shot dead on a TikTok live stream while filming content in her salon.

Valeria Marquez, who had amassed nearly 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, was livestreaming from her Blossom Beauty Lounge in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, when a man entered the salon and opened fire, as reported by PEOPLE.

The horrific shooting took place around 6:30PM local time on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.

In the moments leading up to her death, Marquez was seen seated at a table holding a stuffed toy during the live broadcast.

Seconds before the fatal shot, she can be heard saying: “They’re coming,” after someone in the background asks: “Hey, Vale?” She replied: “Yes,” before muting the stream.

Moments later, the fatal blow was delivered.

The stream did not end immediately. A person appeared on camera, briefly showing their face, and picked up her phone to stop the recording.

The prosecutor’s office said that Marquez was killed by a man who fired a gun at her.

Local media reports claim the shooter posed as someone delivering an “expensive gift” — something Marquez had mentioned earlier on the stream, noting she wasn’t planning to wait for them to return.

Authorities have not yet identified a suspect, but the case is being investigated as a femicide — the killing of a woman due to her gender.

In Mexico, femicide often includes factors such as degrading violence, a relationship with the perpetrator, or public display of the victim’s body.

At the scene, police and forensic experts responded to 911 calls, confirmed Marquez’s death, and transported her body for an autopsy and official family identification.

The Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences also collected evidence for further investigation, per BBC News.

The footage of the livestream has since circulated widely on social media, showing Marquez clutching her ribcage after the gunshot before collapsing.

Her final social media posts included selfies and modeling shots — a mirror selfie shared on Instagram Stories expired shortly before news of her death broke.

The tragedy has once again spotlighted the deadly gender-based violence epidemic in Mexico.

According to the UN, 10 women and girls are murdered every day in the country, often by family members or intimate partners, as reported by the Guardian.

Mexico ranks alongside Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia with the fourth-highest femicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, at 1.3 per 100,000 women.

Jalisco itself ranks sixth out of Mexico’s 32 states — including Mexico City — for homicide, with 906 murders recorded since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, according to the TResearch data consultancy.

Featured image credit: v___marquez / Instagram

Perez Hilton is reportedly recovering in hospital after a disturbing self-harm incident that was broadcast live on TikTok, but sources say the celebrity blogger is now struggling with shame over what happened.

A person who has known Hilton for almost two decades told the Daily Mail: "As I understand it, he is mortified."

Hilton makes surprising request

Perez Hilton has been hospitalized after allegedly self-harming on a livestream. Credit: Denise Truscello/Getty Images for BOA Steakhouse Las Vegas

Despite that, the 48-year-old has reportedly asked to see the footage of the incident for himself.

"He wants to watch it to see what everybody else saw, but his family knows that would be really bad right now," the source claimed.

Hilton has apparently not watched the roughly 15-minute livestream, with relatives deliberately keeping the footage away from him while he recovers.

"The family is now protecting him from himself," the insider said. "He doesn't need to see his lowest point of his life, especially not this soon afterwards."

Hilton was hospitalized in Florida last week under the state's Baker Act, which permits people experiencing a mental health crisis to be temporarily detained for treatment.

He currently has no access to his phone, the internet or other electronic devices. However, the source said he has "asked about" the livestream and is "worried" about what was said and shown online.

"As I understand it, he asked what people are saying," the insider said.

His loved ones are reportedly trying to shield him from negative reactions while he remains vulnerable.

"Right now, everyone is telling him that the world is very supportive of him," the source explained. "We don't want him to see any negative commentary, or what happened. That would be the worst thing possible."

Perez Hilton remains in hospital. Credit: David Becker/Getty Images

They added: "What Perez needs is to feel like there are people in his corner. That will give him the strength to go on."

Hilton's reception online has reportedly been mixed. Some public figures have expressed sympathy for him despite his controversial history, while others have pointed to his past treatment of celebrities.

One person who has spoken compassionately about Hilton is former America's Next Top Model contestant Adrianne Curry, despite previously alleging that the blogger had targeted her for years.

The source said exposing him to hostile reactions could be particularly damaging while he is recovering.

"If he sees the comments that he brought it on himself, or people who wish him harm, that will do more harm than good with him," they said. "He really needs support right now."

The events that led to Hilton's hospitalization

On August 4, Hilton harmed himself during a TikTok livestream, with emergency responders sent to his address by horrified viewers.

His family later revealed that his three children, Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, eight, had been inside the home shortly before the incident.

It was later confirmed by his family that he had sustained "significant blood loss" and additional injuries that required surgery.

The insider said Hilton understands at least some of what happened, although he reportedly does not remember the incident itself.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

Featured Image Credit: Denise Truscello/Getty Images for BOA Steakhouse Las Vegas