In December 2023, a clown known to many as “Miss Jujuba” embarked on a solo bicycle journey across the Amazon region of Brazil toward her native Venezuela. Along the way, she vanished—and as investigators later learned, her kindness toward children and a struggling family would lead to her tragic end.

**A Journey of Joy and Art**

Julieta “Miss Jujuba” Hernández Martínez, a Venezuelan performer and activist, had lived in Brazil for eight years. She worked as a clown, puppeteer, and educator, becoming a beloved figure in community art circles and children’s programs. When she set out from Rio de Janeiro toward Venezuela, her goal was to bring laughter and art to children in remote towns along her route.

Hernández Martínez often shared photos and messages from the road, showing her small bicycle loaded with gear and her unmistakable red nose. However, just before Christmas 2023, her messages abruptly stopped.

**Disappearance in the Amazon**

When Miss Jujuba disappeared, she had reached Presidente Figueiredo, the capital of Brazil’s vast Amazonas state—a frontier town surrounded by wilderness. Two weeks later, residents discovered pieces of her bicycle in the nearby forest, prompting a police investigation.

According to authorities, while staying at a roadside inn, Hernández Martínez met a struggling couple with five children. Moved by their situation, she used the little money she had to buy them food and spent the night with the poor family.

Tragically, the man and woman she had helped turned on her. Investigators reported that the man sexually assaulted and robbed her, while the woman, allegedly in a fit of jealousy, strangled Hernández Martínez, set her remains on fire, and buried the body.

**A Legacy That Resonates**

The case shocked both Brazil and Venezuela, sparking outrage among feminist organizations, artists, and cycling groups. Supporters held vigils and performances across Latin America in her memory.

“She had a knack for making people smile,” one fellow artist told *The Guardian*, “and she carried that joy even into the hardest places.”

In October 2025, a jury convicted Thiago Agles da Silva and Deliomara dos Anjos Santos, sentencing Da Silva to 80 years and four months and Dos Santos to 57 years in prison.

Human-rights groups have pushed to have the crime legally recognized as femicide rather than simple homicide, citing the brutality of the attack and Hernández Martínez’s vulnerability as a migrant woman traveling alone. As of 2025, activists continue to demand that the case be reclassified and prosecuted accordingly.

**Remembering Miss Jujuba**

Miss Jujuba’s bicycle journey was meant to bridge borders with laughter. Though her trip ended in tragedy, her legacy continues to move forward—one performance, one protest, and one memory at a time.
https://wegotthiscovered.com/true-crime/a-clown-on-a-solo-bicycling-trip-across-the-amazon-disappears-her-kindness-toward-children-was-her-fatal-mistake/