PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman arrested in connection with an illegal buttocks-enhancement injection that left a patient sickened last month is considered a “person of interest” in the death of a tourist who underwent a similar procedure last year, police said Thursday.
Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42, was arrested Wednesday night as she prepared to host a “pumping party” where she was to illegally inject clients, according to police. She faces charges including aggravated assault and deceptive practices after one of her clients, an exotic dancer, suffered serious lung problems after an injection, Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker said.
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Windslowe is also considered a “person of interest” in the death of a 20-year-old London woman who died last year after receiving buttocks injections at a hotel near Philadelphia International Airport, Walker said. He said she will likely be charged with murder in that case if the medical examiner rules Windslowe’s injection caused the death of Claudia Aderotimi, who complained of chest pain and difficulty breathing following the procedure. No charges have been filed.
“We knew she was the injector back in the 2011 (Aderotimi) case,” Walker said, adding that the investigation has lingered as police awaited a ruling on the cause of Aderotimi’s death. A message left with the Delaware County medical examiner was not immediately returned.
Windslowe was arraigned Thursday morning and was being held on $10 million bail, the prosecutor’s office said. A message left for an attorney who has represented her was not returned, and she declined to comment as police escorted her to a waiting cruiser Wednesday night.
Investigators believe Windslowe has injected about 14 people, mostly advertising through word of mouth. As part of the operation, “recruiters” would go in search of people who wanted buttocks enhancement, reaching out to potential clients through email, blogs and conversations, Walker said. Then, they would set up a time and place to meet, usually at a hotel or private residence, Walker said. The procedures cost anywhere from $700 to $1,800 in cash. Windslowe allegedly moved her operation around to avoid detection.
“They don’t want to get caught,” Walker said.
As part of the procedures, authorities said, Windslowe would clean the site and then object a substance she described as silicone into the client’s buttocks. When the procedure was done, she would cover the wound with glue, Walker said.
During the arrest, police seized vials of superglue, needles, gloves, bottles and other items. Walker said police are conducting tests on the material that Windslowe was allegedly injecting into her clients, trying to determine what it is.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 13.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
