A fake California surgeon known as the “Pool Lady” has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murdering a TV actress who died after botched silicone injections.
Libby Adame, 55, was found guilty of second-degree murder of actress Cindyana Santangelo and practicing medicine without a license on Wednesday. She was best known for sex symbols on the TV shows ER and Married… with Children.
Santangelo, 59, died on March 24, 2025, after silicone injected into her buttocks entered her bloodstream, causing a fatal embolism.
Her husband, Frank Santangelo, testified that Adame left their Malibu home as soon as his wife started breaking out.
Santangelo was later pronounced dead at a Ventura County hospital. Frank Santangelo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Adame.
Adame was arrested on May 12, 2025 by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and has remained in custody since then.
The case marks the second fatality linked to Adame’s illegal proceedings.
In March 2024, Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and malpractice in the 2019 death of Karissa Rajpaul, 26, who suffered a heart attack after receiving injections in her buttocks at a Sherman Oaks residence.
Libby Adame, 55, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for killing a TV actress who died after botched silicone injections.
Adame was found guilty of second-degree murder actress Cindyana Santangelo, who was best known for sex symbols on the TV shows ER and Married… with Children
Adame was sentenced in April 2024 to four years and four months in prison, while Galaz was sentenced to three years and eight months.
Both were given credit for time served under electronic monitoring following their August 2021 arrests.
Prosecutors described Adame as running an underground cosmetic ring, offering discount procedures for under $5,000, well below the $15,000 board-certified professionals typically charge.
Injections were often given in homes and hotels without proper sanitary conditions.
Adame wooed Hollywood clients with a discounted version of a plank-certified butt lifter.
They charge clients less than $5,000 for the procedure, while off-board procedures could cost as much as $15,000.
Adame was previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving injections that led to a patient’s heart attack in 2019
Silicone injections are not approved by the FDA, and the regulator has warned that they can cause stroke, infections, embolism or death
At her trial, prosecutors also pointed to a separate incident from 2018, when Adame was caught on security footage running from a Los Angeles salon as paramedics rushed to treat a patient who later died of complications from her injections.
The injector did not face criminal charges in the 2018 incident.
Adame was sentenced to four years and four months in prison last year, but was given credit for time already served.
