A Colombian bodybuilder and social media personality known as the “She-Hulk” has been found brutally murdered in her holiday home in Spain, in what authorities suspect is a tragic case of domestic violence. Zunilda Hoyos Mendez, 43, who also went by the name “Amy,” was discovered dead on Thursday afternoon inside a rented property in Fuengirola, a resort town along Spain’s Costa del Sol.
The reigning bodybuilding champion, also described locally as an OnlyFans model, appeared to have suffered fatal injuries inflicted by a hammer. The body of her 46-year-old American husband, Jarrod Gelling, was found in a nearby bathroom with what police described as “apparent self-inflicted stab wounds.” Authorities suspect the case may be a murder-suicide, though autopsies are still pending confirmation, told Daily Mail.
Zunilda’s family is devastated. Speaking to local media outlet Sur, her niece Yuleydis said the trip to Spain was meant to be the couple’s final one together, as her aunt had decided to leave the marriage due to ongoing “aggressive” behavior.
“For my aunt, it was the last trip, a goodbye,” Yuleydis said. “She had taken the decision to split from her husband because of his aggressive behaviour. They had broken up already once and were apart for quite a while, but then got back together again to try to resolve things, although the mistreatment continued.”
Zunilda had reportedly traveled from Dubai to Spain with her husband following a bodybuilding competition. According to her niece, she had planned to help care for Gelling after a knee operation before continuing on to Portugal and eventually returning to Colombia alone.
The alarm was raised when a friend and gym companion in Fuengirola reported Zunilda missing on Wednesday, stating he hadn’t seen her since June 14. Police officers entered the residence in the upscale Higueron West development around 1:45 p.m. Thursday and made the grisly discovery.
A spokesperson for the National Police in Malaga confirmed the details: “In the absence of official identification of the bodies, initial inquiries are pointing to them being those of a 43-year-old woman of Colombian origin and her 46-year-old partner of American origin.”
The statement added: “Her body showed obvious signs of violence, and that of the man’s signs indicating a suicide-type death, which is something an autopsy will have to confirm.” If officially ruled as a case of gender-based violence, Zunilda’s death would mark the third such killing in Malaga province this year and the fifth in Spain’s Andalucia region.
