Massage Therapist Arrested After Woman Dies at Beauty Salon

The case involved the death of a 36-year-old woman who went into cardiac arrest Wednesday at Areli's Beauty Salon

A 45-year-old massage therapist who advertised that she also provided non-surgical facelifts as well as butt and lip augmentation procedures was arrested Thursday following the death of a woman at a Long Beach beauty salon where the suspect rented a room.

Sandra Perez Gonzalez of Long Beach was arrested about 12:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Pine Avenue, according to Long Beach police.

An investigation is underway into her possible involvement in the death of Hamilet Suarez, 36, of Long Beach, (pictured below) who went into cardiac arrest around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday at Areli's Beauty Salon at 2113 Pacific Ave, and died, according to Long Beach police. 

The family of the victim did not want to speak publicly, but told NBC4's Gadi Schwartz that Suarez leaves behind a 5-year-old child.

Officers were initially told that Suarez went to the salon for a massage, but before it began, she went into medical distress, police said.

Due to conflicting information, detectives were called in and learned that Gonzalez was renting a treatment room at the salon, where she advertised that she performed not only massages, but vampire (non-surgical) facelifts as well as lip and butt augmentations, police said.

Vampire facelifts are similar to botox. Plasma from your own blood is taken and injected into your face, according to online research done by NBC4's Gadi Schwartz.

"Gonzalez was not licensed to administer any type of medical procedure, cosmetic or not," Long Beach Police Sgt. Megan Zabel said.

Inside the room she rented, investigators found medical equipment and multiple vials of controlled substances allegedly used for the facelift and augmentation procedures, police said.

"We did find several vials of a substance we believe to be a controlled substance based on the way they were packaged and labeled," Zabel said.

Gonzalez is a recently licensed massage therapist but is not licensed to do the other procedures or administer any of the substances, according to police.

She was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances and is being held at the Long Beach city jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, police said.

Gonzalez appears to have been allegedly performing these medical procedures from that Long Beach location for about a month, according to a police statement.

Homicide detectives cooperating with the California Medical Board are investigating the case and the Los Angeles County coroner's office is investigating the cause of death, police said.

Anyone who may have received treatments from Gonzalez was urged to call Long Beach police homicide detectives Scott Lasch and Donald Goodman at 562-570-7244.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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