Story of the day
A US woman who wanted to work at a nightclub started searching for someone who could perform plastic surgery at a cheap price to give her a more curvaceous body.
What she found was a woman posing as a doctor who filled her buttocks with cement, mineral oil and flat-tyre sealant, Florida police say.
The suspect – who police say was born a man and identifies as a woman – apparently performed the surgery on herself, and investigators say she may have victimised others.
Oneal Ron Morris, 30, was arrested on Friday after a year on the run and has been charged with practising medicine without a licence with serious bodily injury.
Police photos show Morris as a small-framed woman with bee-stung pouty lips, arched eyebrows, oversized hoop earrings – and a large backside. She was released from jail on bond.
The victim, who is not being named due to medical privacy laws, paid US$700 ($702) for a series of injections in May 2010. She was referred to Morris by a friend.
Morris injected some type of tube in several sites around her bottom, pumping it full of a toxic concoction. Morris reassured the woman when the pain became too intense, police said.
Miami Gardens Police Sergeant Bill Bamford said Morris told the woman: “Oh don’t worry, you’ll be fine. We just keep injecting you with the stuff and it all works itself out.”
Bamford said the victim was reluctant to come forward. She quickly went to two hospitals due to severe abdominal pain and infected sores on her buttocks accompanied by flu-like symptoms. But she left each time, too embarrassed to tell doctors what she’d done.
Her mother eventually took her to another hospital, where alarmed doctors pressed her for information. They alerted the Department of Health.
“The doctors knew no licenced physician in his right mind would ever do this,” Bamford said.
The victim is still recovering from the surgery and says it’s too painful to work. She also has racked up numerous medical bills.
Authorities believe there are other victims who may be too embarrassed to come forward.
Be the first to comment