In a horrifying Botox procedure failure moment, a mother of two named Maria Penaloza was left brain-dead after she went through an unauthorized $1,900 cosmetic procedure carried out by a fake doctor in the living room of his apartment in New York City.
37-year-old Felipe Hoyos Foronda, who planned to leave the city after the procedure went wrong and Maria Penaloza began slurring her words and eventually lost consciousness during a botched butt implant, was arrested by police at JFK Airport on March 28 just before he was about to board a flight to Florida en route to Colombia.
As per the New York Times, Hoyos Foronda kept Maria Penaloza on an IV of lidocaine when she began to deteriorate, and then her body went still as she slipped into cardiac arrest. As responders arrived, they tried to revive her for 30 minutes, and then she was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in Astoria, where she was kept on life support before being declared dead.
“I injected her in the ass,” Hoyos allegedly told police after being brought in for questioning. He detailed Penaloza’s state before slipping into cardiac arrest and said that she began murmuring strangely before she went silent.
He later added that slurred speech was reportedly normal during this type of procedure and tried to convince the investigators even as he admitted that, in the end, she stopped responding altogether. After the fatal mistake, the doctor hurriedly cleared the scene and reportedly drove to the airport in panic as he booked his flight to escape.
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Legal authorities, as per the outlet, found him waiting in a queue at a Starbucks inside the terminal. In addition, prosecutors found syringes, latex gloves, and an empty vial of lidocaine, which was allegedly taken from the scene where the incident happened.
As in the court, Queens Assistant District Attorney Gregory Lasak, Jr., stated that Doctor Foronda had performed a lot of procedures and gained clients through networking and word of mouth. “I’ve been practicing in that apartment for a few months,” he said, despite also fessing up that “I’m not a licensed doctor here. I understand that I’m not allowed to practice medicine.” Hoyos Foronda added. He posed as a doctor on the popular streaming site TikTok and attracted customers.
Meanwhile, the deceased Maria Penaloza’s family demanded justice as her mother, Gladys Cabrera, claimed that Hoyos was an ‘assassin’ and he was a danger to society. Similarly, her sister, Lucy Penaloza, said the whole family is now forced to bear the consequences of Foronda’s acts. “We’re waiting for him to suffer the full weight of the law,” she said. “How many women have been affected by him?”
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As Maria’s family mourns her tragic death, her niece also claimed that they are not okay with what happened to her and proclaimed the incident was a murder. Currently, accused Hoyos Foronda has been arrested on charges of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, and unauthorized practice of a profession.
Due to shocking cases like these, it’s been repeatedly said that only FDA- or CDSCO-approved Botox brands should be used, and people should be aware that they should not ask questions about the products (especially the injections) before use. Moreover, these common cosmetic procedures might look simple, but they have a lot of underlying effects; hence, they should be performed only in a licensed facility.
Penaloza left behind two children and her husband. This incident is a developing story, and we will update you on any further developments. Stay tuned.
