Woman labeled 'butt lady’ who killed ER actress with botched injections receives prison sentence
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: NBCLA
A woman has been jailed after killing an actor by administering botched silicone injections.
Libby Adame was convicted of second-degree murder on October 9 following the death of actress Cindyana Santangelo.
Santangelo, who was known for her roles in Married... With Children, ER, and CSI: Miami, died in March aged 58 after receiving the injections from Adame.
The actor had asked Adame for help regarding lumps in her buttocks she'd noticed after hormone treatment.
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In the court case, prosecutors said that Adame had injected silicone oil into Santangelo's buttocks which would later lead to a fatal embolism.
Embolisms are a risk with any injection, and are one of many reasons why injections should be administered by someone who is trained to perform them safely.
Santangelo's husband heartbreakingly described how his wife was 'struggling to breathe' and 'had blood coming from each butt cheek'.
In an interview with NBC Los Angeles, he claimed Adame told him: "This has never happened to a client of mine before."
Lawyers representing Adame argued that she did not perform the injection herself but had only provided a consultation.
But prosecutors countered this claim by highlighting messages between the two women which they said showed that Adame did in fact carry out the procedure, according to a report by ABC 7.
Adame was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in a hearing on 5 November, with her crime seeing her given the nickname 'the butt lady'.
Judge Sam Ohta said in court: "Unbeknownst to the victim, the silicone oil had migrated from the injection site to the bloodstream. The victim's circulatory system thereafter moved the silicone oil into her lungs, which prevented the lungs from providing oxygen to her body, which led to her death."
The tragic case was also not the first time that Adame had been convicted of an offence related to administering silicone injections.
In 2024, Adame was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after administering a botched injection to Karissa Rajpaul in 2019.
The injection would ultimately prove fatal to Rajpaul, who was just 26 years old, according to the LA Times.
At the time Adame and her daughter Alicia Galaz were handed a prison sentence, but were released due to having already served time in custody.
Speaking in court, Santangelo's son Dante Santangelo said: "I didn't expect this to happen in my wildest dreams. I'm all for the law and everyone to get a fair chance, but I just don't think someone who has no regard for human life or anything like that should be allowed back on the street, because clearly this is something that's happened multiple times."
Silicone injections are used to alter the body's appearance, and the FDA has previously warned about the risks of using them.
The FDA previously issued a statement in 2017, in which it warned 'consumers and health care practitioners about the serious injuries and disfigurement that can result from using injectable silicone or products being falsely marketed as FDA-approved dermal fillers for the purpose of enhancing the size of their buttocks, breasts and other body parts'.