Libby Adame is a convicted killer from California who was convicted of murder for a fatal butt injection that would kill Cindyana Santangelo
According to court documents Libby Adame, who is not a doctor nor does she have a medical license, was doing butt injections using silicone. Cindyana Santangelo would undergo the procedure and would later die from silicone embolism
Libby Adame would argue that she did not perform the procedure and that she was only there on a consultant basis however the jury would ultimately find her guilty of second degree murder and operating without a medical license
This story is not quite over though as previously Libby Adame and her daughter Alicia Galaz were previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter after another client, Karissa Rajpaul, would die following a procedure by silicone embolism. The two women were sentenced to prison however a judge would later free them saying they served their time under electronic monitoring
Libby Adame Case
A Riverside County woman was found guilty of murder in the death of Hollywood actress Cindyana Santangelo following silicone injections into the woman’s buttocks during a procedure that resulted in the victim’s death.
A jury on Thursday found Libby Adame guilty of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license. Adame’s sentencing in this case is set for Nov. 5.
In March, she administered the injection that killed Santangelo, an actress who appeared on “Married … With Children” and “ER.” She also appeared in Young MC’s “Bust a Move” music video. Santangelo died of silicone embolism.
Adame’s defense attorneys say they will be filing an appeal, arguing that she did not do it. They suggest that the procedure was done by someone else, and Adame was only there for a consultation. They argue that the timeline of events does not provide enough time for the procedure to have been done.
Meantime, prosecutors and investigators point to inconsistent statements from Adame and messages between her and Santangelo discussing their upcoming appointments as evidence that she was there to administer the injections.
In 2024, Adame and her daughter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for illegally injecting silicone into another woman, Karissa Rajpaul. Rajpaul died after developing an embolism.
Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were sentenced to prison, but a judge subsequently ordered their release after determining they had already completed their sentences with credit for time they spent under electronic monitoring. In that case, jurors acquitted the two of the more serious charge of murder.
Silicone injections into the buttocks are not FDA-approved. The agency warns it can lead to serious side effects and even death.
Following the verdict, Santangelo’s husband Frank told Eyewitness News that Santangelo — a mother, wife and actress — received justice. He described his wife as beautiful inside and out, and said she saved lives through their drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
Libby Adame Sentencing
A Riverside County woman who was convicted of second-degree murder for injecting silicone oil into a woman’s buttocks just over a year after being found guilty of a lesser charge stemming from another woman’s death under similar circumstances was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison.
Jurors deliberated just over a day before finding Libby Adame, 55, guilty Oct. 9 of the murder charge, along with a count of practicing medicine without certification. The charges stemmed from the March 24 death of 59-year- old Cindyana Santangelo of Malibu.
Jurors 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 the defense’s motion for a new trial before handing down the sentence.
Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan argued that the timeline of events that day “shows that there was no opportunity to do this act” and
contended that authorities focused all of their attention on Adame.
“This was not an investigation. This was a rush to judgment,” Adame’s lawyer told the judge.
Deputy District Attorney Lee Cernok countered that the evidence “established without a doubt that Adame was there,” and also supported that she did indeed perform the injection.”
The prosecutor noted in a written court filing that during Adame’s testimony in her own defense that the defendant “freely admitted that she still does the injections in Mexico despite her 2024 conviction for the involuntary manslaughter of Karissa Rajpaul.”
In denying the defense’s new trial motion, the judge said he found “sufficient probative evidence to sustain the verdict.”
Ohta noted that he did not find the defendant’s testimony to be credible, saying the evidence showed that Adame injected the silicone oil.
Santangelo’s husband, Frank, cited “the damage done by this woman” and said family members have had their lives “turned upside down.”
One of the couple’s two sons, Dante, said he was in Thailand at the time — a 16-hour flight away.
“I did not expect this to happen in my wildest dreams,” Dante Santangelo told the judge.
Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were found guilty in March 2024 of involuntary manslaughter — but acquitted of the more serious charge of murder — stemming from the Oct. 15, 2019, death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul following buttocks injections administered at a Sherman Oaks home.
Adame was also convicted last year of three counts of practicing medicine without a certification, while her daughter was found guilty of two counts of practicing medicine without a certification.
Adame was sentenced in April 2024 to four years and four months in state prison, 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 prosecutor told Ohta that she believed Adame has “earned” the 15-year-to-life prison sentence, saying the defendant has “refused to show any responsibility” and had been warned that she was “on notice” about the danger of the injections.
“Three hundred forty one days later, she does it again,” Cernok said.
In her closing argument in the latest case, the prosecutor told 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 after her conviction for involuntary manslaughter for Rajpaul’s death and that Lomeli had warned her that she could be charged with murder if it occurred again.
“Did she know better?” Cernok asked jurors of Adame, saying the answer was a resounding yes.
Santangelo died after being rushed from her home to a nearby hospital in Ventura County, with authorities subsequently determining that her cause of death was an embolism caused by a silicone injection, the prosecutor noted.
“There is no reasonable doubt in this case, ladies and gentlemen,” the deputy district attorney said.
Woman sentenced to prison for silicone buttocks injection – NBC Los Angeles
