Inside Jenni Rivera’s dark past before the pop superstar died in a mysterious plane crash linked to a drug smuggler.

The Mexican superstar lived a busy life before she died in a mysterious plane crash a decade ago.

The singer was 43 when the luxury jet she was traveling in crashed outside of Monterrey, Mexico on December 9, 2012, prompting much speculation about her alleged links to drug cartels.

3

3

3

Jenni was born Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra in Long Beach, California to a family of Mexican descent.

The mother of five experienced hardship throughout her life, including early in her career.

Jenni was raped off a California highway after filming her first music video by a man she had previously rejected, she wrote in her autobiography Unbreakable: My Story, My Way, as reported by Billboard.

The book, which was published after her death, also recounts the abuse she experienced at the hands of her ex-husband Jose Marin, with Jenni writing that she attempted suicide as a result.

In addition, her sister and eldest daughter Chiquis were sexually abused by Marin, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crimes.

In her own memoir, Forgiveness, Chiquis described Jenni as a disciplinarian who would dish out cruel punishments.

She claimed Jenni once gave her a cruel haircut after dropping out of class.

“The longest strand I had left in the patchy and ragged handwork was two inches!” wrote the daughter.

Chiquis was 27 at the time of her mother’s death and later launched a successful singing career in her mother’s honor.

Jenni has long been rumored to have ties to drug cartels.

Her second husband, Juan Lopez, was sentenced to prison in 2007 – years after their divorce – for his involvement in drug trafficking.

He later died in 2009 while serving his sentence.

The Grammy-nominated star sold more than 25 million records prior to her tragic death.

Four of Jenni’s companions, as well as the two pilots, were also killed in the crash, for which investigators have never given a cause.

Shortly after the tragic crash, the US Drug Enforcement Administration launched an investigation into the company that used the plane, USA Today reported in 2012.

Weeks after Rivera’s death, multiple outlets reported that a witness had exposed the singer’s alleged working relationship with a Mexican drug cartel, Fox News reported.

A lawyer for the Beltrán Leyva cartel told Mexico outlet Reforma that he used to hire artists to perform at events for the criminal organization and claimed Rivera was one of them.

Rivera denied any connection to cartels after she was arrested at Mexico International Airport in 2009 for bringing $50,000 in cash with her from Los Angeles.