A woman and her daughter are to stand trial for murder in buttocks augmentation death
A woman and her daughter were ordered Thursday to stand trial for murder after the pair performed an alleged illegal buttocks augmentation procedure at a Sherman Oaks home in 2019 that killed the patient.
Libby Adame, 52, and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, 25, are charged with murder in the Oct. 15, 2019, death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul.
The woman died at the hospital from acute cardiopulmonary dysfunction and intramuscular/intravascular silicone injections.
Adame is also charged with three felony counts of practicing medicine without certification, while Galaz is charged with two counts of practicing medicine without certification.
Deputy District Attorney Lee Cernok told the judge, "This is something that's being done by two people without a medical license. ... To say this is clandestine is an understatement."
The prosecutor contended that the two were aware that there were problems injecting silicone into the human body based on complaints they had received from other women after the procedure was done, and said that they didn't stay to inform paramedics what substance had allegedly been injected in Rajpaul's buttocks.
Adame's attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, argued that the murder count requires an "intent to kill" and said that there was "certainly no intent to kill."
Adame and Galaz -- who were arrested in August 2021 at their home in Riverside in connection with Rajpaul's death -- are free on $1 million bail while awaiting arraignment March 23 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
