Brazilian woman Marcilene Soares Gama was due to face court over multiple charges that she pretended to be a surgeon and carried out illegal butt implant procedures, the BBC reports.
Now, Gama has been found brutally murdered in what police have deemed a revenge attack.
“Forensic experts concluded that she was shot in the face at close range, which is usually a sign of anger and hatred,” Chief Investigator Fabio Cardoso told Rio de Janeiro paper O Globo.
Police are hunting for a man caught entering Gama’s apartment on CCTV. Her body was discovered just hours later.
Gama was facing charges of carrying out illegal butt implant procedures using industrial silicone instead of medical-grade. The BBC reports that at least 10 women have come forward saying “their bodies were ruined” by Gama’s work.
Her family have now spoken to Brazilian press. “She never said she was a surgeon,” her brother-in-law Daniel Mofacto told O Dia newspaper. “People knew the risks but they went ahead anyway.”
Brazil is rife with backyard plastic surgery clinics touting procedures like butt implants, The Sun reports – often with disastrous effects.
