A Los Angeles woman known locally as the “Butt Lady” has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after a second-degree murder conviction for performing unauthorized silicone injections that killed a Malibu actress.
On Tuesday, November 5, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta handed down the sentence to 55-year-old Libby Adame, closing a years-long case that exposed the dangers of black-market cosmetic procedures and the desperation that fuels them.
Adame was found guilty last month of murdering actress Cindyana Santangelo, 59, who died shortly after receiving the injections in March. Santangelo, whose acting credits included Married… With Children, ER, and CSI: Miami. Prosecutors said Adame’s use of silicone oil — injected directly into the tissue — caused a fatal embolism that led to Santangelo’s death within hours.
Jurors took just over a day to deliberate before convicting Adame on October 9. She was also found guilty of practicing medicine without certification. “She wasn’t a doctor, she wasn’t a nurse — she was someone chasing money through dangerous means,” prosecutors said during closing arguments.
Adame’s defense team insisted she did not perform the injections, claiming she merely provided a consultation. But prosecutors presented a series of text messages exchanged between Adame and Santangelo that they said proved otherwise. Those messages showed coordination around payment and scheduling, as well as follow-up communication about the procedure’s effects.
This was not Adame’s first fatal encounter with silicone injections. In 2024, she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul, who died in 2019 after undergoing the same procedure. Adame’s daughter, Alicia Galaz, was also convicted in that case. Adame served three years in state prison but was released on time served before facing new charges in Santangelo’s death.
Authorities say cases like these highlight an alarming underground market for cosmetic enhancement. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly warned against the use of industrial-grade silicone for body contouring, calling the practice both illegal and life-threatening. In 2017, the FDA issued a formal alert, warning consumers and medical professionals of “serious injuries and disfigurement” tied to such injections.
Experts say the danger lies in where the silicone travels once injected — often entering the bloodstream and causing clots, strokes, or cardiac arrest. But despite years of public warnings, black-market procedures have persisted, often marketed through social media as “affordable alternatives” to licensed cosmetic surgery.
Adame, now serving a life sentence, declined to make a statement during sentencing. Outside the courthouse, prosecutors said they hoped the case would serve as a deterrent.
