Couple pleads guilty in Las Vegas surgery death
Criminal Law
The teenage daughter of a Las Vegas woman who died after an illegal buttocks enhancement surgery said Thursday there will be no justice for her mother's death after prosecutors worked out a plea deal with the unlicensed doctor and nurse who performed the procedure.
Janet Villalovos told The Associated Press she begged prosecutors not to allow Ruben Matallana-Galvas and Carmen Torres-Sanchez to plead guilty to reduced charges to avoid a trial in the death of 42-year-old Elena Caro.
The husband and wife pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy and practicing medicine without a license Thursday in Las Vegas. They each face up to nine years in prison and fines of up to $12,000, but Caro's relatives expressed concern that the court would be lenient on the couple. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 6.
Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez were running an illegal cosmetic surgery business in the back room of a Las Vegas tile shop when they injected Caro with an unknown substance, then showed her out the door in April, prosecutors said. She was found hours later roaming the streets in agony miles from the makeshift clinic.
An autopsy showed Caro died from an allergic reaction to the anesthesia commonly used in cosmetic surgery procedures. Matallana-Galvas' lawyer Scott Coffee said the unlicensed doctor wanted to plead guilty to accept responsibility for not providing Caro with better care.
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