Unlicensed Houston woman gets 8 years in jail after plea deal for deadly 2018 cosmetic procedure

HOUSTON, Texas — A woman will spend eight years behind bars for a botched cosmetic procedure that killed another woman in 2018, according to records.

On Jan. 23, Lisa Fernandez was sentenced to eight years in a plea bargain agreement. Documents show she pled guilty to the death of Marja McClendon after allegedly administering silicone butt injections while being unlicensed.

On April 24, 2018, McClendon traveled to Houston to get silicone butt injections. After Fernandez administered half of the injections, McClendon began coughing and experiencing shortness of breath. Fernandez then had to stop the injections several times because McClendon reported not being able to breathe and was in pain.

Witnesses said they heard McClendon arguing with Fernandez for a refund, but Fernandez refused, saying she didn’t offer refunds.

The same day of the procedure, McClendon was taken to an emergency room in Houston and “left the emergency room before prior evaluation.”

Because she was not able to get a refund, McClendon went back to Fernandez the next day to finish the procedure.

After the second round of injections, McClendon began coughing up blood, witnesses said.

McClendon was hospitalized and died on April 30, 2018. An autopsy report stated her manner of death as a homicide, with the cause listed as complication of silicone pulmonary embolism.

According to court documents, Fernandez’s sentence will run concurrent.