Md. Woman's Death In Fatal Buttocks Injection Ruled A Homicide

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--The death of a Maryland woman found unconscious after a botched procedure has been ruled a homicide. The plastic surgeon who performed an illegal butt injection is still on the run.

WJZ's Gigi Barnett has more on the black market trend that has women craving curves.

Kelly Mayhew wanted the look. The voluptuous derriere made popular by Hollywood stars like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian.

Back in May the 34-year-old Prince George's County woman documented her trip to a house in Queens, New York to get illegal silicone injections from an unlicensed doctor.

It was much cheaper than costly implants from a certified doctor, but something went wrong and Mayhew has an allergic reaction, she couldn't breathe and later died at a New York hospital.

Now, the medical examiner is ruling her death a homicide.

Doctors are renewing their warnings to avoid the black market.

"If you look at the location, who was doing it and what was being injected. Those are all red flags," said one doctor.

But it's not just silicone in those needles. Sometimes phoney doctors add other dangerous chemicals and the damage can last a lifetime.

Baltimore prosecutors say Kimberly Smeadly cut the silicone she used on her patients with superglue. She's now serving a three-year sentence.

Experts say these are substances that go to the kidneys and liver and it destroys them.

Doctors say the number of legal buttock implants performed across the country increased by 98 percent from 2013 to 2014.