'Butt lady' sentenced for second fatal silicone injection case

'Butt injections lady' sentenced for murder

Libby Adame was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison for the second-degree murder of Cindyana Santangelo, who died after a silicone oil injection.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - A Riverside County woman convicted of second-degree murder for injecting silicone oil into a client's buttocks, resulting in her death, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison.

What we know:

Libby Adame, 55, was found guilty on October 9 of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without certification in connection with the March 24 death of 59-year-old Cindyana Santangelo of Malibu. 

Jurors deliberated just over a day and also found true an allegation that Adame personally inflicted great bodily injury on Santangelo. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta -- who ordered Adame to be held without bail after the jury's verdict -- rejected a defense motion for a new trial before handing down the sentence.

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Authorities determined the victim's cause of death was an embolism caused by a silicone injection.

Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were previously found guilty in March 2024 of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the October 15, 2019, death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul following buttocks injections.

Adame was sentenced in April 2024 to four years and four months in state prison for the Rajpaul case, while her daughter was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison, with Judge George G. Lomeli subsequently agreeing with an argument by Galaz's attorney that the two were entitled to additional credit for the time they underwent electronic monitoring while out of custody following their August 2021 arrests at the home they shared.

The backstory:

During closing arguments in the latest case, the prosecutor reminded jurors that the judge in Adame’s first trial had warned the defendant in April 2024 that she was "on notice of the dangers that could result" from her actions. 

The judge had warned her she could be charged with murder if it occurred again.

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Despite her prior conviction, Adame "freely admitted that she still does the injections in Mexico" during her testimony in her own defense. 

Her lawyer stated Adame, known as "the butt lady" or "La Tia," was working as a "consultant" for doctors who legally perform buttocks injections in Tijuana, Mexico.

Adame was arrested on May 12 and has remained behind bars without bail since the jury’s verdict.

What they're saying:

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan wrote that the motion is a "statutory remedy by which the defendant may seek a re-examination" of the case by the judge. 

He also noted that the judge has "the power to modify the verdict rather than grant a motion for a new trial if it believes the defendant to be not guilty of the crime charged, but guilty of a lesser degree of the same crime, or of a lesser included offense."

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However, Deputy District Attorney Lee Cernok countered the defense's motion, stating there was "substantial, credible evidence" that Adame is "solely responsible for (the) second-degree murder of victim Cindyana Santangelo."

The defense attorney, who maintained his client "wasn't there" when Santangelo received the injections, said after the verdict, "This is a travesty."

He added that Adame plans to appeal her conviction. 

Adame herself testified, denying that she was the one who gave Santangelo any injections the day she died. "It's not my work," she said. 

Frank Santangelo testified that his wife was "struggling to breathe," squirming on the massage table, and "had blood coming from each butt cheek" after meeting with Adame. 

He testified that Adame told him, "This has never happened to a client of mine before," before packing her bag and leaving. The husband alerted authorities after accessing messages and photos his wife had taken of Adame.

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The prosecutor told jurors to hold Adame "responsible" and tell her that "she is not above the law.