Libby Adame, 52, and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, 24, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the September 2019 killing of Karissa Rajpaul at an LA court hearing Tuesday.
The pair, whose mugshots suggest that they are no strangers to surgery and injectables themselves, are also charged with three counts of practicing medicine without license to do so.
The operation occurred in a private home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles in September 2019, with Adame and Galaz allegedly saying they only accepted cash. Neither of the women had the proper medical training.
Karissa Rajpaul, 26, received three separate operations and died of a heart attack immediately following the third procedure on October 15, 2019.
The victim shared a video of herself to social media during one of the operations, which was meant to help her with her work in the adult film industry after moving to California from South Africa.
When complications arose during Rajpaul’s surgery, the mother and daughter dialed 911 and fled the scene, leaving the victim to die of her injuries, it is claimed.
Libby Adame, 52, has been charged with the muder of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul, who died during an illegal Brazilian butt lift performed by Adame and her daughter
‘The suspects fled the scene without identifying or informing the paramedics of the cosmetic procedure for proper life-saving protocols to be initiated. As a result, the victim died in an emergency room with tending physicians unaware of the silicone injection,’ said the police in a statement.
Coroner’s records indicate that Rajpaul’s death was ruled a homicide and that she died from acute cardiopulmonary dysfunction and intramuscular/intravascular silicone injections.
Adame and Galaz are currently free on bond but will head back to court November 3, when a hearing is scheduled to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to head to trial.
They were previously photographed by DailyMail.com during an earlier court hearing.
Alicia Galaz, 24, was part of the mother-daughter duo who left a dying patient to convalesce after an illegal procedure went wrong in 2019
Karissa Rajpaul, 26, underwent three butt augmentation procedures and died immediately after the third in October of 2015
Galaz appears in court on Tuesday whhere she pleaded not guilty to the murder charge
A mother and daughter were arraigned on murder charges Wednesday in connection to the death of a woman who received an illegal operation for a butt lift in Los Angeles
Libby Adame and Alicia Galaz appeared before Judge Anne Hwang at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles
The operation occurred in a private home in Encino neighborhood Los Angeles in September 2020. Neither of the women had the proper medical training
Adame and Galaz have both been charged over the operation, which happened at a private home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles in September 2020.
Both women were wearing ankle monitors during their appearance in front of Judge Hwang
Police say that Adame and Galaz were not trained or licensed in any way to perform these operations.
‘These individuals have no medical training,’ said LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton. ‘They’re not experienced and they’re putting people’s lives at risk.’
Authorities are worried that there could be more victims of these lawless procedures that come from individuals who advertise low-rate, cash-based procedures on their social media pages.
‘As we looked into this investigation, we did find that it is occurring a lot,’ Detective Bob Dinlocker said. ‘The internet is filled with these horror stories where they’re cutting the medical grade silicone with the stuff that you would caulk your windows with.’
Dinlocker adds that some of the chemicals aren’t even intended to be used in humans and can attack your heart, brain or kidneys.
She shared a video of herself to social media during the operation, which was meant to help her with her work in the adult film industry after moving to California from South Africa
The detective said Adame and Galaz would take supplies to private houses specifically to perform medical procedures.
If anything went wrong, Dinlocker alleges that the suspects would disappear, leaving paramedics to arrive to an unknown medical emergency.
‘I have seen patients like this,’ says Board Certified Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Dr. AJ Khalil. He says injecting liquified silicon into the buttocks us not only illegal, but that it can be deadly.
‘There are implants that go in the buttocks but they’re solid,’ Khalil says, adding that even those types of implants aren’t a common practice. But as for injecting liquified silicon – which he says is often mixed with motor oil – is against the law.
Rajpaul’s treatment was performed by Adame and Galaz without any prior medical training or licensing
Adame and Galaz charged Rajpaul $3,500 to $4,000 for her operation, whereas a board-certified butt lift would run her anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000, according to NBC4.
Brazilian butt lifts have increased in America around 77 percent between 2015 to 2019, according to a survey from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
However, they have some of the highest mortality rates among routine cosmetic plastic surgeries, because of the highly-invasive and dangerous manner of treatment.