A woman dubbed ‘The Butt Lady’ has been convicted of the murder of a television celebrity following a failed silicone injection procedure. Libby Adame, who was already serving probation for a case of unintentional manslaughter related to buttocks injections, administered the fatal injection to Cindyana Santangelo, a 58-year-old actress known for her roles in ER and Married … with Children.
The 55-year-old Adame was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license after Santangelo passed away from a fatal embolism resulting from the silicone injections given by Adame at the star’s residence, according to The Independent.
In California, second-degree murder carries a minimum prison term of 15 years, practicing medicine without a license can lead to an additional three years, and causing significant bodily harm can add three to six years to Adame’s sentence.
Adame’s defense attorney J. informed the jurors that Adame was merely advising on behalf of licensed physicians and did not directly perform the fatal procedure on Santangelo, as reported by the LA Times.
The attorney also suggested that someone else might have carried out the fatal procedure since Santangelo already had bandages on her buttocks when Adame consulted her, as stated by NBC4 Los Angeles. Adame denied administering the injections.
At the time of Santangelo’s demise, Adame was under probation for a 2019 case of unintentional manslaughter related to the fatal buttocks injections of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul.
Rajpaul’s death was determined to be a homicide caused by acute cardiopulmonary dysfunction and silicone injections. Investigators revealed that the women, presenting themselves as specialists, mixed safe cosmetic substances with harmful chemicals.
Although Santangelo, known for her roles in Married… with Children and ER, had a history of substance abuse, she had been sober for several years.
Her husband, Frank Santangelo, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Adame, alleging that his wife was “taken in the prime of her life in her own residence.”
During the trial, Frank Santangelo testified that his wife seemed to be breathing normally before meeting with Adame but later had difficulty breathing on the massage table and was bleeding from both buttocks.
He claimed that Adame mentioned she might have something in her car to help when his wife experienced distress but then left without returning.
The Mirror has been advocating for stricter regulations to prevent unqualified individuals from endangering lives with cosmetic procedures. Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced that new regulations will be introduced by ministers to address misconduct in the UK.
