Dangers Of Buttocks Injections Known By RivCo Pair Accused Of Murder

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — A mother and daughter from Riverside who are accused of killing a young woman by giving her silicone injections to enlarge her buttocks, knew the procedure could cause death because they witnessed it before.

That is what prosecutors argued Tuesday in the trial of Libby Adame, 53, and Alicia Galaz, 25, who are charged with murder in the death of 26-year-old Los Angeles resident Karissa Rajpaul, according to media outlets covering the trial.

Defense attorneys countered that the silicone injections used to enlarge buttocks are not illegal in California and they called the deadly incident an accident, according to a report Wednesday from the Los Angeles Times.

On Oct. 15, 2019, Rajpaul allegedly had her buttocks injected by the two women at a home in Sherman Oaks. Rajpaul started to lose consciousness after the procedure, but Adame and Galaz fled the home before first responders arrived, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

"As a result, the victim died in an emergency room with tending physicians unaware of the silicone injection," police said. The mother-daughter team "performed these inherently unsafe, FDA unapproved, cosmetic buttocks augmentations. Neither are a licensed medical provider in California and their clients were recruited through Instagram."

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Rajpaul died the same day of the procedure from acute cardiopulmonary dysfunction caused by intramuscular/intravascular silicone injections.

It wasn't the first time Rajpaul allegedly used the services of Adame and Galaz. According to NBC Los Angeles, Rajpaul had undergone three procedures with the pair over several weeks and she posted a video of her buttocks augmentation to her social media account in September 2019. She died a month later.

The two women were arrested on August 5, 2021, in the 5700 block of Baldwin Avenue in Riverside. They are charged with one count of murder and three counts of practicing medicine without a license.

The duo knew how dangerous the "outlaw injections" were. About a year before Rajpaul’s death, they were allegedly at the scene of a South Gate salon where another woman lost consciousness after getting an injection, according to prosecutors.

The victim, Karina Arias, died and the case remains under investigation, according to the Times report.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has issued warnings against silicone buttocks injections.

"Injectable silicone is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any aesthetic procedure including facial and body contouring or enhancement. Silicone injections can lead to long-term pain, infections, and serious injuries, such as scarring and permanent disfigurement, embolism (blockage of a blood vessel), stroke, and death," according to the agency.

"The FDA cautions you to never get injectable silicone or an injectable filler as a breast filler, buttocks (butt) filler, or filler for spaces between your muscles," the FDA continues.

Read the full FDA statement here.