How Did “Human Barbie” Influencer Barbara Jankavski Die? Cause of death explored

Brazilian social media sensation Barbara Jankavski, also known as the “Human Barbie,” was found lifeless on November 2, 2025, under mysterious conditions that puzzled her family and authorities.

The content creator, 31, who famously wore dozens of cosmetic procedures along with her unique doll-like look, was discovered unresponsive at the São Paulo residence belonging to public defender Renato Campos Pinto De Vitto on Wednesday.

Jankavski had become popular on social media, with more than 55,000 followers on Instagram and more than 340,000 on TikTok. Frequently sharing posts about her surgeries and beauty transformations, she had become a known figure in Brazil’s online influencer community.

Influencer Bárbara Jankavski -- known as "Human Barbie" due to her several plastic surgeries -- has died.

Read more: https://t.co/xBptFZVmJN pic.twitter.com/McNSLFiUpc

— TMZ (@TMZ) November 6, 2025

São Paulo’s Technical-Scientific Police and Civil Police have released their findings stating that Jankavski died due to accidental cocaine intoxication. Toxicology reports indicated that a chemical substance was found in her system associated with her death, according to the state’s Public Security Secretariat.

Renato Campos Pinto De Vitto alerted emergency services after finding that she had stopped breathing, and told authorities that he attempted to perform CPR for several minutes before medical teams arrived and pronounced her dead.

De Vitto reportedly told investigators that he had paid the influencer for “s*xual services” on the night she was killed, and that the two had taken drugs.

He also said that Jankavski had slipped and injured her eye while falling asleep. They discovered her in a nearby pool house wearing only underwear with marks on her back and an apparent injury near her left eye, details that initially caused officials to treat the case as suspicious.

Barbara Jankavski's family expresses dissatisfaction with the ruling

Though authorities determined the death to be accidental, Jankavski’s family strongly disagrees. Their lawyers have insisted that the evidence suggests the possibility of a homicide.

They point to the injuries, on her face and neck, as possible evidence of violence and say they have doubts about the thoroughness of the investigation.

Local reports indicate that the family questioned why tests were never done on everyone in the home at the time, and also alleged that investigators failed to collect possible DNA evidence from under her fingernails or seize cell phones for forensic analysis.

Since then, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested that the case should be analyzed by the Jury Court (where homicides are examined) and have it sent to Departamento de Homicídios e Proteção à Pessoa (DHPP).

It will be up to a judge whether to proceed with the case under that designation. Barbara Jankavski’s attorneys say they might also seek a second autopsy of hers, or exhumation, on grounds that the amount of cocaine purported to be in her when she died might have been insufficiently lethal.

De Vitto subsequently took a medical leave from his job with the Public Defender's Office for post-traumatic stress. While the legal fight drags on, fans of the influencer have flooded her social media pages with condolences and expressions of surprise at her death.