Unlicensed Injector Sentenced to 15 Years in Actress's Death

Libby Adame, a 55-year-old Riverside County resident known for performing unauthorized body enhancement procedures, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder in the death of actress Cindyana Santangelo. The sentencing followed Adame's October conviction on that charge and an additional count of practicing medicine without certification. The fatal incident occurred on March 24 at Santangelo's Malibu home, where Adame administered a silicone injection into the actress's buttocks, leading to a pulmonary embolism that caused her death later that day at a hospital.

Santangelo, 58, had sought the procedure to address lumps from prior hormone treatment, according to testimony from her husband, Frank Santangelo. He described how his wife began struggling to breathe shortly after the injection, with blood emerging from the sites on her buttocks. Frank Santangelo captured the medical emergency on video, showing him attempting to stem the bleeding and calling 911 as she lay on her side, drooling and gasping for air. Adame was present during the onset of symptoms but left the home with her belongings before emergency responders arrived, court records...