French authorities have launched a murder investigation after an agricultural worker discovered the partially charred, naked body of a woman in a vineyard last week near Nîmes. While official identification remains pending, the victim is believed to be 29-year-old Sonia Bellina, a popular social media influencer who went missing on Aug. 10.
Bellina, who lived between Paris and Nîmes, built a following of nearly 380,000 users across two TikTok accounts and 13,000 followers on Instagram.
🇫🇷🔴JUST IN: The body of 29-year-old French TikToker Sonia Bellina has been discovered naked and charred in vineyards in Saint-Gilles.
"She ran into the wrong guy at the wrong time. I never thought this would happen to our family, to us. Especially since she was a sunny, kind… pic.twitter.com/WHBAq7GMNt
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) August 18, 2026The Nîmes public prosecutor’s office opened the homicide inquiry following the Aug. 12 discovery in Saint-Gilles, located roughly 12 miles outside Nîmes. The investigation has been assigned to the Gard gendarmerie group and the Nîmes gendarmerie research section.
Speaking to reporters, a woman identifying herself as the victim’s older sister, Mia, said Bellina vanished after leaving for a date the night before the body was found, according to French news outlet Le Dauphine.
“She told us she was going out one evening, she never came back,” Mia said, adding that her sister was scheduled to meet someone she had been seeing. “She ran into the wrong guy at the wrong time.”
La jeune influenceuse gardoise, Sonia Bellina disparue le 10 août, retrouvée carbonisée à Saint-Gilles le 12 août. Sa famille, convaincue de son identité, dénonce le harcèlement en ligne et les commentaires haineux qui persistent même après sa mort.#SoniaBellina #meurtre… https://t.co/UPEklp591x pic.twitter.com/Bjqcy8OkKY
— Kamelia (@Elissamaiss) August 18, 2026Family members have pushed back against online speculation regarding Bellina’s personal life and background, pleading for privacy as the investigation unfolds.
No arrests have been announced, and French authorities have not officially named a suspect in the ongoing investigation. The family is pleading for witnesses or people with information about the murder to come forward.
The Nîmes prosecutor’s office assigned a dedicated criminal task force of up to 40 gendarmes to comb the vineyards for microscopic forensic evidence and map out her final movements.
