|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A San Mateo County jury on Tuesday found a Florida woman guilty of involuntary manslaughter after she administered an illegal, fatal silicone injection into a Kim Kardashian lookalike in 2023.
Palm Beach, Florida resident and unlicensed cosmetologist Vivian Gomez, 53, was also found guilty of practicing medicine without a license, and other crimes that led to the death of Christina Gourkani, 34.
Gourkani was a Bay Area resident and social media personality with thousands of followers who met with Gomez at a Burlingame hotel room on April 19, 2023, for an illegal gluteal silicone injection. According to prosecutors, such injections are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to health dangers.
Pictures of Gourkani on her Instagram account @ashtens_empire show a resemblance to Kardashian, albeit with even more exaggerated curves.
According to San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe, Gomez flew into San Francisco and met with Gourkani and her fiancé at the Marriott in Burlingame.
Gomez administered the injections into Gourkani’s rear end, and she “quickly fell very ill.” Gourkani’s fiancee called 911 and she was taken to the hospital, where she died the following day due to respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism.
Gomez is facing up to seven years in state prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, prosecutors said. She had been out on bail with restrictions but was immediately remanded to custody after the verdict, Wagstaffe said.
