Cindyana Santangelo death: Libby Adame sentenced to 15 years in fatal silicone injection of ‘Married With Children’ actress
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A Riverside County woman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the death of Hollywood actress Cindyana Santangelo, who died after receiving silicone injections in her buttocks.
Libby Adame was sentenced Wednesday after she was convicted last month of second-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license.
Guilty verdicts were announced in the murder trial of the woman accused of administering the butt injection that killed a Hollywood actress.
In March, she administered the injection that killed Santangelo, an actress who appeared on “Married… With Children” and “ER.” She also appeared in Young MC’s “Bust a Move” music video. Santangelo died of silicone embolism. It happened at the actress’s home.
While Adame was there, Santangelo started experiencing difficulty breathing.
“Unbeknownst to the victim, the silicone oil had migrated from the injection site to the bloodstream. The victim’s circulatory system thereafter moved the silicone oil into her lungs, which prevented the lungs from providing oxygen to her body, which led to her death,” Judge Sam Ohta said in court.
Adame’s defense attorneys argued that she did not do it. They suggest that the procedure was done by someone else, and Adame was only there for a consultation. They argue that the timeline of events does not provide enough time for the procedure to have been done.
Meanwhile, prosecutors and investigators pointed to inconsistent statements from Adame and messages between her and Santangelo discussing their upcoming appointments as evidence that she was there to administer the injections.
In 2024, Adame and her daughter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for illegally injecting silicone into another woman, Karissa Rajpaul. Rajpaul died after developing an embolism.
Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were sentenced to prison, but a judge subsequently ordered their release after determining they had already completed their sentences with credit for time they spent under electronic monitoring. In that case, jurors acquitted the two of the more serious charge of murder.
“I didn’t expect this to happen in my wildest dreams. I’m all for the law and everyone to get a fair chance, but I just don’t think someone who has no regard for human life or anything like that should be allowed back on the street, because clearly this is something that’s happened multiple times,” the victim’s son, Dante Santangelo, said in court.
Silicone injections into the buttocks are not FDA-approved. The agency warns it can lead to serious side effects and even death.
Following the guilty verdict last month, Santangelo’s husband Frank told Eyewitness News that Santangelo — a mother, wife and actress — received justice. He described his wife as beautiful inside and out, and said she saved lives through their drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
‘We’ve had our whole lives turned upside down. I’ll never have my best friend or wife again,” Frank said in court on Wednesday.
Adame’s attorney filed a motion for a new trial.
“There is no direct evidence of her guilt. She has never admitted to anybody doing the injections. Nobody’s ever seen her do the injections,” defense attorney Michael Flanagan said.
The judge later denied the motion before issuing the 15 years to life sentence.
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