Black Market Silicone Injections Kill
In March, 2011, Shatarka Nuby died from a respiratory failure triggered by a massive migration of industrial-grade silicone. Nuby underwent treatment for four years, paying $1,000 per treatment for approximately 10 treatments. She paid a man, Oneal Ron Morris. aka Duchess, to inject the silicone into her hips and buttocks.
Morris, 31, was allegedly giving injections to multiple women in South Florida. He pumped their bodies with silicone, mineral oil, or Fix-A-Flat tire sealant and sealed the wounds with Super Glue. Sounds fake, doesn’t it? Unfortunately it isn’t.
According to the Society of Plastic Surgeons, Americans spent more than $26 million last year on legal buttocks augmentation. But, despite the dangerous consequences, many people are turning to black market versions of cosmetic surgery.
Silicone has been a central part of plastic surgery since the 1960s. However, because it has been shown that silicone can migrate, the FSA banned direct injections of silicone in 1992. Silicone can cause major artery blockage in the lungs, strokes in the brain, and tumors everywhere else.
Do the supposed benefits really outweigh the risks associated with illegally injecting ‘silicone’ into your body? Since 2002, authorities across the country have investigated more than a dozen deaths related to illegal buttocks injections. Eight people were convicted of practicing medicine without a license or similar offenses. Two others were convicted of negligent homicide or manslaughter.
Past Silicone Injection Cases
Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42, also known as the “black Madam,” was charged with third degree murder. Windslowe ran a silicone injection business out of airport hotels. Claudia Aderotimi, 20, read about Windslowe’s services online, flew to the US for a procedure. After paying $1,800 for injections in her hips and buttocks, she immediately started feeling chest pains. She dies days later.
Morris Garner, 52, was charged with depraved-heart murder in the death of Karima Gordon, 37. Silicone-like injections caused blood clots that killed her, according to investigators.
In January 2011, a young woman in Detroit in came in with pain in her chest, shortness of breath and coughing up blood. X-rays showed silicone scattered across her lungs. This happened at a “pumping party” in a hotel room, where her girlfriends negotiated a group discount on silicone injections.
An Atlanta woman, Kimberly Smedley, ordered 4,920 pounds of centistokes dimethyl siloxane fluid, often a furniture polish additive, which she called medical-grade silicone. She then dispensed it from a Poland Spring water jug at $500 to $1,600 a shot. She did this over the course of nine years. Smedley did notify clients that what she was doing was “illegal” and that she was not a “doctor” or a “nurse.” Regardless, she allegedly made $1.3 million. She pleaded guilty to illegally transporting liquid silicone from Atlanta to at least four states. She was fined $25,000, sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $8,106.02 in restitution to one of the victim’s hospital and insurance company.
My son died May 21, 2011 from silicone injection and caused him to have a pulmonary anabolism and his heart stopped and he died in the emergency room. they first told me he had pneumonia and i asked how and what are they doing about it, but when he died they told me he had injections in his penis. I so not wanted him to be at that hospital. I did some research and I was asked all kinds of questions as far as what procedures the hospital took. I can go on and on and on, but we are still going to court as they caught the woman that was accused of this crime named Kasia Rivera. I’m so exhausted and find it not fair that these people are living large off of our deceased family members. My only son is gone and left two 4 yr old boys for us to take care of and will never know their father.