Vampire lift by a facialist leads to patient death.
A woman who died this week after going into cardiac arrest at a beauty salon had undergone a cosmetic medical procedure that involved a part of her body being "augmented by injection," Long Beach police said.
Long Beach police said that on Wednesday at about 12:20 p.m. they were called to Areli's Beauty Salon in the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue because someone was in cardiac arrest "under suspicious circumstances."
Authorities allege that 45-year-old Sandra Perez Gonzalez was renting space in the salon under the pretense of giving massages, but instead provided butt and lip augmentation and "vampire face lifts" -- a procedure in which a person's own blood cells are injected into their face -- without a license.
Authorities were first told that the woman who died, 36-year-old Hamilet Suarez of Long Beach, had come in for a massage but had medical issues before her session began. Detectives said they later uncovered that Gonzalez had been renting a room not just for massages, but for other purposes as well.
"We can confirm that the female who did pass ... did receive a cosmetic medical procedure ... in getting a certain part of her body augmented by injection," police Sgt. Megan Zabel told KTLA-TV.
It was not immediately clear which procedure Suarez received.
Gonzalez was arrested at 12:30 p.m. Thursday -- a day after Suarez died -- in the 2100 block of Pine Avenue for possession of controlled substances.
Gonzalez is only a licensed massage therapist and is not legally allowed to perform any of the cosmetic procedures she is accused of or administer any of the controlled substances that were found in her room, police said.
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