Who was Helenn Guilianna Silva Padilla? Peruvian lawyer's shocking caught-on-camera execution by hitman sparks fear

Helenn Guilianna Silva Padilla, 43, was sitting at a restaurant-bar in Pacasmayo, Peru, with her friends when a gunman approached from behind and shot her.

Updated on: Aug 18, 2026, 12:11:18 IST

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A shocking surveillance video doing the rounds on social media shows the cold-blooded execution of a lawyer in a restobar in Peru. The video shows Helenn Guilianna Silva Padilla sitting at a restaurant-bar in Pacasmayo, Peru, with one woman and two men when the attacker approaches from behind and shoots her in the head.

The attacker, a man in a helmet, is seen pulling out a gun and shooting Padilla in the back of the head and fleeing. Her friends immediately panic and duck for cover. The shocking video of her execution sparked fear on social media.

According to social media posts, Padilla was having lunch with friends at a restobar in San Martín de Porres, Pacasmayo, when the attacker approached her. The suspect is believed to be a hitman.

Who was Helenn Guilianna Silva Padilla?

According to Peruvian media, Padilla, 43, was a lawyer and a mother of two. She reportedly died instantly.

Social media posts said Padilla was a member of the La Libertad Bar Association. After her murder, local police launched an investigation, Local police launched an investigation into the targeted shooting, exploring potential motives including personal or financial disputes.

Despite the immediate mobilization of the police, the suspect, who fled the scene on a motorcycle, remains at large. The motive for the killing remains unknown.

According to information being circulated on Facebook, Padilla had stepped in and offered to help a young man who lost his leg after a reckless incident involving three police officers. According to these posts, on the night of May 30, 2024, a young Peruvian man named Junior Alexander Acosta Tuñoque was struck by an unmarked police vehicle during a controversial law enforcement intervention in La Libertad, Peru. His leg had to be amputated after he sustained severe injuries.

Prosecutorial authorities initially archived the case after concluding that the officers in question acted within their duties. This sparked local outrage.

Padilla later took up the victim’s defense, publicly challenging the police narrative and pushing back against the case's dismissal before her shocking caught-on-camera execution. Tuñoque’s family and legal representatives moved forward with formal complaints to overturn the fiscal archiving and demand a complete and transparent investigation.

.com could not independently verify the information surfacing on social media about Padilla’s involvement in Tuñoque’s case.

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