The husband of a television actress has shared harrowing details of her final agonizing moments before she died from a botched buttock injection administered by an unlicensed practitioner. Cindyana Santangelo, 58, known professionally as the "Latina Marilyn Monroe," writhed in pain and ultimately passed away on a massage table inside her luxurious $4 million Malibu mansion.
Fatal Procedure in a Malibu Mansion
In March of last year, Santangelo hired Libby Adame, infamously dubbed the "Butt Lady," to inject silicone into her buttocks for a fee of $3,500. This amount was significantly lower than the typical cost of legitimate procedures, which can reach up to $15,000. The actress, a mother of two who gained fame in the late 1980s and 1990s through roles on television shows like Married... With Children and ER, had been undergoing bioidentical hormone treatments that left her buttocks with an uneven, lumpy appearance. Desiring a smoother contour, she sought out Adame's services.
A Beauty Room Turned Death Scene
Frank Santangelo, her bereaved husband, recounted the tragic day to the New York Post, stating his heart remains shattered and issuing a stark warning about the perils of engaging unlicensed practitioners. Adame arrived at the mansion around 3:30 PM, and Santangelo, impressed by the injector's numerous tattoos, took photographs before they proceeded upstairs to a dedicated "beauty room." This space was furnished with a pink massage table, a wall of mirrors, and various mementos honoring Marilyn Monroe.
Approximately at 4 PM, Adame inserted a needle into Santangelo's buttocks and administered the silicone injection. Within mere hours, this procedure would prove fatal. Shortly after, Adame descended to the kitchen to request watermelon juice from Frank. Sensing immediate distress, he hurried upstairs to find his wife in severe pain on the massage table.
Desperate Final Moments and a Fleeing Injector
"When I got up to the room, I noticed that there was something wrong with her," Frank described. "She was struggling to breathe, my wife’s buttocks, there was blood dripping out of it, so there was something that wasn’t right." He promptly called 911 for emergency assistance. Meanwhile, Adame claimed she had something in her car that might help, but instead of providing aid, she seized Santangelo's mobile phone and fled the property.
Frank recalled his wife expressing that she believed she was experiencing a heart attack and had never endured such intense chest pain. When paramedics arrived, they attempted resuscitation efforts, including adjusting her position and administering oxygen, before transporting her to a hospital. Tragically, Santangelo was pronounced dead shortly after 6 PM.
Cause of Death and Criminal Prosecution
The official cause of death was determined to be an embolism resulting from the silicone injection. An embolism occurs when a blockage, in this case silicone entering the bloodstream, obstructs a blood vessel and restricts blood flow. Following a two-month investigation, Adame was arrested in May and subsequently charged with second-degree murder. In October, she was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years to life in prison.
A History of Fatal Procedures
During the trial, it emerged that Santangelo was not the first fatality linked to Adame's illicit activities. In a prior case, Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were convicted in March 2024 of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without certification for the 2019 death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul. Rajpaul suffered a fatal heart attack after receiving buttock injections at a residence in Sherman Oaks.
For that earlier conviction, Adame received a sentence of four years and four months in prison, while Galaz was sentenced to three years and eight months. Both had been credited for time served under electronic monitoring after their arrests in August 2021, meaning Adame was on probation at the time she injected Santangelo.
An Underground Cosmetic Ring
Prosecutors depicted Adame as operating an underground cosmetic ring, offering heavily discounted procedures for under $5,000—less than a third of the standard rate charged by board-certified professionals. These injections were frequently performed in homes and hotel rooms under unsanitary conditions. Additionally, prosecutors referenced a separate 2018 incident where Adame was captured on security footage fleeing a Los Angeles salon as paramedics attended to another patient who later died from injection complications, though no criminal charges were filed from that event.
Frank Santangelo poignantly summarized his wife's motivation, stating, "She wanted every part of her to be beautiful." This tragic case underscores the severe risks associated with seeking cosmetic enhancements from unlicensed individuals, leading to devastating consequences for families and highlighting ongoing issues in the regulation of such procedures.
