A Riverside County woman who for years administered risky and potentially dangerous silicone butt injections was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life after an actor died following the procedure, prosecutors said.
Libby Adame was convicted in October of second-degree murder in the death of Cindyana Santangelo, whose credited television appearances included “Married … With Children,” “ER” and “CSI: Miami.”
Adame was also convicted of practicing medicine without a certification after prosecutors said she injected silicone into Santangelo’s buttocks, resulting in a fatal embolism.
Adame’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors argued that Adame performed the dangerous procedure despite being convicted of involuntary manslaughter just last year for giving an ultimately fatal silicone butt injection to 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul in 2019.
At that time, L.A. Superior Court Judge George Lomeli warned Adame that “she was on notice of the dangers that could result” from the procedure.
Adame was sentenced to three years in state prison in that case, according to court records, but was released for time served.
But Adame, 55, continued to perform silicone buttocks injections, authorities said.
Prosecutors said that Adame administered the injection to Santangelo on March 24 at her Malibu home and Santangelo began to go into medical distress. Her husband, Frank Santangelo, told police the name of the “nurse” who performed the injection was “Libby,” according to court filings.
Court records show Frank Santangelo called 911 after Adame said Cindyana was having trouble breathing.
Video from the home, introduced as evidence in the trial, showed Frank Santangelo seeing his wife bleeding from injection sites on her buttocks and running to get material to clean them. He called 911 as his wife was drooling, lying on her side and having trouble breathing, the video showed.
Adame, according to court records, left and took her bag with her.
Adame’s lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, told jurors that his client, known as “the butt lady’’ or “La Tia,’’ was working as a consultant for doctors who can legally perform buttocks injections in Mexico but was not practicing in California, according to City News Service.
Adame’s attorney argued she did not personally administer the injection, and that Santangelo might have already had the silicone injections but hidden them from her family.
An examination of Santangelo after her death indicated the injections had been done recently, authorities said.
Prosecutors argued that Adame had been conducting the procedure for years, citing previous cases where clients required emergency care.
During the trial, prosecutors pointed to messages between Adame and Cindyana Santangelo discussing the procedure, including timing and price, according to court filings.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about silicone buttocks injections as the cosmetic procedure has gained popularity. The agency warns that the procedure is not FDA approved and can lead to long-term negative affects, such as pain, infections, scarring and, in some cases, embolism and death.
After she was convicted, Adame’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial. The motion was denied.
