Mexican Beauty Queen and "Double of Emma Coronel", El Chapo's Wife, Faces First-Degree Murder Charges in California

Lidia Vanessa Gurrola Peraza, better known online as Vanessa Gurrola and often dubbed "la doble de Emma Coronel,"El Chapo Guzmán's wife, was arrested in San Diego on accusations of first-degree homicide in connection with the killing of Christian Espinoza Silver, alias "El Chato," an alleged operator linked to the Arellano Félix Cartel.

According to Boderlandbeat, Gurrola, 32, is being held at the Las Colinas detention center and is scheduled for a judicial hearing on October 20.

Before the arrest, Sinaloa-born Gurrola had already built a public persona. She participated in beauty contests in Sinaloa, winning the Festival de los Juegos Florales in Mazatlán in 2011. She later ventured into digital entrepreneurship, launching a line of weight-loss products and gathering a sizable social media following.

Her resemblance to Emma Coronel Aispuro, spouse of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, brought her additional attention. Since 2018, several media outlets and Instagram accounts have compared her appearance to Coronel's, leading to the moniker "double of Emma Coronel." In 2018, she told Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo that the comparison "did not bother me" and denied any personal or familial connection to Coronel or the Guzmán family.

Alleged Link to El Chato and Cartel Operations

The homicide case centers on the killing of El Chato, fatally shot in San Diego on February 17, 2024, as he entered a parking garage in the University City area. At the time of the attack, Espinoza was driving a BMW SUV; he died later at a local hospital. A 39-year-old passenger survived. San Diego authorities have described the shooting as a targeted attack.

El Chato was tied to El Flaquito (Edwin Huerta Nuño) and the Arellano Félix network. Borderland Beat reports that Gurrola had been romantically linked to him since 2017, and at the time of his death, they were reportedly engaged.

Moreover, Gurrola's name has appeared in narco flyers dropped over Sinaloa in September 2024, labeling her "La Sapa" (slang for "snitch" or "gossip"). The flyers accused her of links to Los Chapitos, Allegations tied her to laundering operations, real estate investments, and funding of a luxury lifestyle through illicit means.

The case has attracted intense public interest partly because of Gurrola's influencer status and her past association as a "double" of a high-profile narco figure. Her social media presence included images from Bali, European vacations, and private retreats, posts that now draw scrutiny as investigators examine whether any of those assets were financed by criminal networks.