Where is Esther Estepa’s Family Now?

It was on August 23, 2023, that Esther Estepa disappeared without a trace left behind, leaving all her loved ones baffled to the core. As explored in Netflix’s ‘The TikTok Killer,’ the 42-year-old was hoping to start afresh at the time after having gotten out of an allegedly abusive relationship, but everything soon turned upside down. Her biggest supporters in her journey were her family – mother Pepa Estepa, father Antonio Estepa, and sister Raquel Estepa Perez – so they unsurprisingly also became her voice after she went missing.

Esther Estepa’s Family Ensured Her Case Never Really Went Cold

Since Esther Estepa was born in the early 1980s in Seville, Spain, as one of Pepa and Antonio’s two daughters, she grew up in a devout religious household filled with love and care. She felt the same from her sister Raquel, too, so they always managed to maintain a tight-knit bond even as they all grew up, set out on different paths, and established lives of their own. As per the show, she was closest to her mother because her father was quite stoic by nature, and her sister had ended up having her own family to care for.

In fact, Esther and Pepa spoke every day, and it was reportedly only the latter in whom she had confided about her allegedly abusive relationship, according to the series. Therefore, when Pepa suddenly received messages from Esther at around 5:3 pm on August 23, 2023, indicating she was going off the grid for a while, she knew something was wrong. Not only was this behavior very out of character for her, but her sister also realized that Esther could not have been the one to send the texts, as there were several grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Pepa subsequently asked Esther to reply to her, send a voice note, or pick up her call, which she never did. Therefore, after 3 days of failed attempts to make contact, the family officially reported her missing, resulting in the start of an extensive search for her. Pepa continued to text her daughter’s phone in hopes of a miracle before deciding to garner attention on the matter by doing interviews and investigating the matter herself by talking to her friends. Her husband, Antonio, supported her efforts from afar because he knew he might lose control if asked needless questions, whereas Pepa followed in her mother’s footsteps to be a voice for her missing sister.

Esther Estepa’s Family Continues to Fight for What They Believe to Be Justice

In Pepa’s quest to backtrack her daughter’s steps, she had come across a man named José Jurado Montilla who claimed to have been with Esther in the days preceding her disappearance. She thus established frequent contact with him before growing suspicious owing to his behavior, driving him to look him up online in January 2024 and realizing he was a serial killer. She was terrified, so were Raquel and Antonio, but they did their best to maintain contact with him until May, until after they were certain he was involved in the matter.

The Estepas were heartbroken when it was Esther’s decomposed remains that were eventually found in a secluded wooded area across a trail, but it only confirmed their suspicions. Thus, they continued to be vocal about the matter until José was arrested on charges related to her kidnapping, rape, and murder. Pepa, who had continued to message her missing daughter every day, sent her last text to her on the day she was laid to rest, in which she promised her to continue fighting until they receive what they believe to be justice.

Coming to their current standing, from what we can tell, Pepa and Antonio are now seemingly enjoying retired life in their hometown of Seville, Spain. That’s where they are also surrounded by former custodian Raquel, who has been in a happy, healthy relationship with a man named and is the proud mother of 2 daughters. For them, Esther was and continues to be alive in their hearts, so they honor her memory and legacy by living their lives to the fullest and telling the next generation all about her. They have been shattered to learn some of the details of her case, but they are also still determined to attend court whenever José goes on trial.

Read More: José Jurado Montilla: Where is the TikTok Killer Now?