The TikTok Killer is currently streaming on Netflix and tells the shocking case of the murder of Esther Estepa, 42, and how the social media platform helped piece the tragedy together
The TikTok Killer is on Netflix(Image: Netflix)
Netflix’s chilling true crime documentary The TikTok Killer tells the horrifying story of 42-year-old Esther Estepa, whose final days were pieced together through TikTok videos, messages, and digital clues. It’s the kind of nightmare ripped straight from a thriller film – but Netflix ’s chilling true-crime documentary The TikTok Killer tells a story that is horrifyingly real.
The two-part series explores the murder of 42-year-old Esther Estepa – and the suspect at the centre of it, convicted killer-turned-TikTok influencer José Jurado Montilla. What unfolds is a disturbing case of deception, digital footprints and a man who appeared to be hiding in plain sight.
At the heart of the story is Esther – a free spirit with a love of travel. Raised in Seville, she left her hometown in 2013 to “spread her wings,” living a nomadic lifestyle across Spain while remaining incredibly close to her family – especially her mother, Josefa “Pepa” Pérez. They spoke every single day.
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By 2022, Esther was trying to rebuild her life after leaving an allegedly abusive relationship. For a time, she stayed in women’s shelters across Spain, determined to start again. In August 2023, Esther met Montilla.
According to his account, the pair met at a hostel in Alicante and bonded over their shared nomadic lifestyle. They travelled together along Spain’s east coast, hiking for days and eventually reaching Gandía, near Valencia, around August 20.
He claimed their hiking journey ended when Esther became unwell, suffering from a swollen leg and severe headache, and that he accompanied her to a health centre before she left to meet friends. He insisted that was the last time he saw her.
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On August 23, 2023, Esther’s mother received a string of bizarre WhatsApp messages. The texts claimed Esther was broke, living on the streets in Argentina and planning a new life in Buenos Aires. But Pepa immediately sensed something was wrong.
“She didn’t have any friends there,” she says in the documentary. “It made me doubt that it was her writing it.” When she tried to call, Esther’s phone went straight to voicemail.
Even more chillingly, Esther had left behind her beloved dogs – something her family insist she would never have done voluntarily. Suspicious and frightened, Pepa demanded a voice note; otherwise, she would go to the police. None came.
After that, contact stopped completely. On August 26, Esther was officially reported missing. Then came the phone call that would change everything. Out of the blue, Montilla contacted Esther’s family, claiming he last saw her on August 21 when she left to meet friends for a job in Castellón.
But instead of stepping back, he did something deeply unsettling. He kept calling. Asking about the investigation. And, most bizarrely of all, he began retracing their journey – posting videos about it on TikTok.
To Esther’s family, alarm bells rang. What ultimately began to shift the case was something distinctly modern. Investigators began analysing Esther’s digital footprint, alongside Montilla’s own online activity. TikTok videos, messages and geolocation data allowed police to reconstruct her final movements in remarkable detail.
Crucially, his own posts placed him with Esther – effectively documenting key moments himself. Director Héctor Muniente describes becoming transfixed by the footage, noting Montilla’s ability to switch emotions instantly – from warm and engaging to cold and detached.
“It feels like watching psychopathy unfold in real time,” he suggests. For months, the case appeared to go cold. Then came a grim breakthrough.
Partial human remains – including a skull – were first discovered in a remote area near Gandía, close to Bairén Castle and a canal junction in February 2024. At the time, their identity was unknown.
It wasn’t until June 21, 2024, when further remains were found in the same location, that the full horror became clear. DNA testing later confirmed they belonged to Esther Estepa. Medical experts concluded she had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
As suspicion grew, a far darker picture of Montilla emerged. The man who had presented himself as a reflective travel influencer had, in fact, spent decades behind bars for a string of brutal killings in the 1980s in the Málaga region.
Between 1985 and 1987, he carried out four murders. For these crimes, he was sentenced to 123 years in prison. However, he was released in December 2013 after serving 28 years, following a European Court of Human Rights ruling on Spain’s “Parot Doctrine,” which changed how sentencing reductions were applied.
By the time Esther’s remains were identified, Montilla was already in custody. He had been arrested in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old student in Málaga, who was found shot in the back and neck on a family farm. DNA found on the victim’s backpack ultimately linked back to his family tree.
Prosecutors now allege that evidence recovered from his phone connects him to Esther’s assault and murder, including chilling photos and videos of a woman’s body hidden inside a sleeping bag in a remote field.
Despite this, he denies any involvement. Investigators also relied heavily on digital evidence throughout the case – not just Esther’s data, but Montilla’s own social media activity, which helped place him with her.
As of March 2026, José Jurado Montilla remains behind bars in Spain, awaiting trial for the murders of Esther Estepa and a 21-year-old man in Málaga — allegations he continues to deny.
It is a case study in manipulation — and a chilling warning about trusting online personas. A man who appeared calm, reflective and charismatic on screen, while allegedly committing acts of extreme violence, and someone who built a false, carefully curated online identity.
Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of The TikTok Killer is how ordinary everything appeared on the surface. He wasn’t hiding. He was posting videos. Gaining followers. Telling stories. All the while, investigators allege, concealing a far darker reality.
For Esther’s loved ones, this is more than a documentary. It’s a fight for answers. They became investigators themselves – analysing footage, tracking movements and refusing to let her story disappear.
But questions remain. What really happened in those final hours? And could there be more victims? Because while José Jurado Montilla documented his journey online, Esther Estepa was unknowingly living out her final days.
And for her family, the truth that followed was more devastating than they could ever have imagined.
The TikTok killer is available to stream on Netflix now.
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