‘Love & Hip Hop’ Star Salomé ‘Betty Idol’ Jackson Alleges Sister’s Shooting Death Was No Accident, Calls for Justice
While protests and uprisings against police violence are sweeping across the country, one reality star is also hoping to call attention to her sister’s death. Salomé “Betty Idol” Jackson, known for being on Love & Hip Hop and Cartel Crew, both on VH1, is calling on police to further investigate her sister’s murder, which she says was not an accident.
Who is Salomé “Betty Idol” Jackson?
Jackson is a singer and television personality who first garnered mainstream attention for her recurring role in the fifth season of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta. She played a role in a storyline with Tammy Rivera and Waka Flocka Flame. A couple of years before appearing on the show, she sang the hook on Rick Ross’ 2014 single featuring Lil Wayne, “Thug Cry.”
In 2019, three years after her Love & Hip Hop stint, she began appearing on VH1’s Cartel Crew. According to VH1, the series “takes a deep look into the lives of eight descendants of the Cartel life as they navigate adulthood and the effects the legacy has had on their upbringing.” Jackson has appeared on the show as a supporting cast member since its second season.
The network also said when Jackson joined the show, ‘[She] came from a family affiliated with the Cali cartel. Despite trying to escape a life of crime, her father’s prison transfer to Miami has brought her back to where her drug life began.”
She says he sister’s death was not an accident
Last month, Jackson’s 17-year-old sister, Giselle “Gigi” Rengifo, was shot at an Airbnb and was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Miami Herald, the shooting was deemed accidental, though a 17-year-old was charged with manslaughter. He said in his affidavit that he weapon was accidentally discharged and other witnesses corroborated that.
According to the paper, Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said. “Honestly, I wish it would have occurred to me sooner. The truth is you have a lot of kids at home that normally would be at school and doing other things. We’ve had two horrific incidents in the past week. It’s just brutal.”
However, Jackson says that the death was not an accident and is working to prove it. Nearly every post on her Instagram is now dedicated to her sister and her death, in an effort to pay tribute to her and shine a spotlight on what she says actually happened.
In a lengthy post on Instagram on May 26, she wrote in part, “This was no accident at all. My sister was found in PRONE position when the police found her. Being shot in the head is NO ACCIDENT. Especially since he knew how to check the barrel. Especially since he had time to record the bullet in the barrel and take pics for snap after he murdered my 17 year old sister.”
In another post this week, after the latest development in the case, posted a video with the caption, “So we’ve been waiting and finally the State Attorney called us yesterday and NOW THIS. We woke up to this news that the person who killed my sister is no longer behind bars but is now on HOUSE ARREST!”
She continued, “What kind of system is this? He NEEDS TO BE BEHIND BARS. This isn’t FAIR what we are going through. This isn’t FAIR FOR MY SISTER. How dare these people. THEY HAVE NO HEART THEY HAVE NO SOUL. We pray everyday [sic] for my sister and for STRENGTH to continue to fight for JUSTICE FOR HER.”
