It had always been her dream, but it didn't last long.
Just months after being crowned Miss Honduras, Maria Jose Alvarado and her sister Sophia
were murdered by Sophia's boyfriend, a known drug trafficker.
But the 19-year-old beauty queen was only one of more than 500 women killed in Honduras last year.
From a nation's sweetheart to those with nothing, families are losing mothers, sisters, daughters.
Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a woman. Murdered by boyfriends,
husbands, and strangers; sometimes even hired hitmen, willing to kill for as little as $60.
I went to meet Maria Jose's family, three hours from the capital, Tegucigalpa.
Under watchful eyes, soldiers now stand guard outside their home.
Authorities have charged Sophia's former boyfriend with the murder of both women.
The family fears a revenge attack by his drug gang, so their armed custodians are taking no chances.
Finally, I'm cleared to go in.
A small shrine to Teresa's two daughters now sits in the corner of the living room.
Her only remaining child, Cory, is by her side. They know their tragic story is far from unusual.
They showed me the girls' bedroom. It hasn't changed since their last night here in November.
Maria Jose's victory sashes remain proudly on display.
Honduras is the world's murder capital. As the Mexican drug cartels moved in, gang violence
has spiralled out of control. Many women are killed in revenge attacks, often involving
sexual violence. In 2014, nearly two women a day were killed in Honduras, a country of
just eight million.
The government says a military crackdown has brought down the murder rate, but human rights
groups argue that while homicides have dropped, the number of unexplained deaths has soared.
Gangs control this neighbourhood in San Pedro Sula, the world's most violent city outside a war zone.
Here, it didn't take long to find a man who killed for a living and was proud of it.
We're near a barrio controlled by the Mara Salvatrucha, one of the most brutal
criminal organisations in the world. We've come here to speak with a man that has killed
more than 100 people, many of them women.
He's wanted by authorities, but was not afraid to tell us about his brutal profession,
as long as we didn't show his face. For him, it's just a job.
Many of the dead just vanish; others turn up in rubbish sacks.
In Honduras, 95% of homicides go unsolved.
Besy's 13-year-old daughter, Abigail, has been missing for three days.
She was last seen being forced into a car, two blocks from their home in San Pedro Sula.
Despite several witnesses, no-one has come forward.
The lethal vortex of poverty, drug trafficking, and macho culture has created a savage environment
where life is cheap and brutality everywhere.
Finally, she went to the authorities, but now she is terrified the gangs will come for her too.
So many women disappear for no reason, it's difficult to comprehend.
In her poor neighbourhood, Besy's family has little protection.
Suddenly, she receives a phone call. It's a relative warning her to get out of her house,
because men from the local gang are on their way.
Government troops have been spotted nearby, and now the whole family is in danger.
Gang members will know she told the authorities about her daughter's disappearance.
They don't know if it will ever be safe to return.
Her daughter has been missing for three days, and now she has to leave with the rest of her kids.
Every Saturday, the Alvarado family make a short trip to the local cemetery;
their armed shadow never far behind.
For this family, government protection came too late, and won't last forever.
Yet for thousands of others, it will never come at all.
Thanks very much for watching. If you want to see more videos like that, then click the
button to subscribe to Channel 4 News. You can also watch another of my films from Honduras,
a week in the most dangerous city in the world.