A fitness influencer, who made a name for herself by creating content for her many social media followers, died right in front of her young family. There was no warning.
Luanne Murta Jardim dos Santos Martins, a Brazilian fitness influencer more commonly known as Luanne Jardim, made a name for herself on social media, where she frequently shared exercise and weight loss tips.
The self-proclaimed “ex-obese” “fit-fluencer” became a prominent fixture in the online health sphere, amassing 350,000 followers on Instagram, after she documented her weight-loss journey, which resulted in her losing over ninety pounds, according to Daily Mail.
Sadly, Luanne Jardim’s family, friends, and fans would all soon find themselves devastated by the woman’s untimely, senseless, and tragic demise when the fitness influencer fell victim to what authorities said was an attempted carjacking at the young age of 30.
However, Luanne’s father believed something much more sinister was at play when the fitness influencer was killed in cold blood right in front of her young family.
Tragedy struck when Luanne Jardim, her husband, and their two-year-old son were out in Rio de Janeiro on the evening of May 21, 2023, according to the New York Post. While on the family outing, several suspects approached their vehicle and started shooting.
Luanne was struck in the shoulder by a bullet that passed into her heart. The mother of two was subsequently rushed to the Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital in Méier, but it was too late.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Luanne Jardim reportedly succumbed to her injuries after being shot in front of her family during a robbery gone wrong. The influencer’s family confirmed her passing in a statement posted to her Instagram page.
“Our dear star Luanne passed on to shine brighter,” Luanne’s family wrote on Instagram in Portuguese. “Is in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of the whole family, we thank you for all the messages of affection we are receiving. And we know Lu is getting all this love too.” The bereaved family added, “The path of our little girl will not be marked by a tragedy, she was a light wherever she went. We will continue to honor your name and your life.”
The incident was immediately investigated as an attempted robbery, but Atanael Jardim, the victim’s father, believed his daughter was murdered, calling the incident a targeted attack and claiming his daughter was followed prior to the shooting.
“This was not just a theft, a robbery. It was [a] homicide,” the victim’s father told the local news. “No one shoots at another car with the windows closed.”
According to initial reports following Luanne’s death, unidentified suspects initially shot at the rear of the car, before coming around to the side and firing again. While Luanne was struck by a bullet, both her husband, João Pedro Farche, and her toddler son, Miguelzinho, emerged from the incident largely unscathed aside from minor injuries suffered by the boy, who reported got shrapnel in his face.
“I’m fine, Miguelzinho is also fine,” João Pedro Farche wrote in an update to Luanne’s Instagram page. “Miguelzinho hurt his face. Some pieces of shrapnel went in his face, but he’s okay,” he added. “I was in the back seat. But that’s it. As soon as I have more information, I’ll write it here.”
In addition to being survived by her husband and two-year-old son, Luanne is also survived by a ten-year-old child. She also left behind hundreds of thousands of fans who were devastated over her loss.
“So sad. It’s hard to believe. Rest in peace,” one crestfallen Instagram fan wrote, while another gushed, “May God receive you with open arms, friend,” and yet a third lamented, “My God, I can’t believe it, one of my biggest inspirations in my weight loss process.”
Indeed, Luanne Jardim’s death is heartbreaking. A woman, who welcomed strangers into her journey in hopes of helping others, was gunned down simply because someone else wanted the material things she had. While robbery itself is despicable enough, killing takes the already disgusting crime to a whole other level.
So many people were robbed during this tragedy — not just the victim herself. The world was robbed of an inspirational woman while two children were robbed of a mother. A toddler was robbed of his innocence, having witnessed his mother’s murder. And, a husband lost his wife. If that isn’t tragic, I don’t know what is.
