Beautician sentenced for cooking oil injection death

A former beautician who injected cooking oil into a client, killing the woman as a result of the botched anti-aging procedure, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Martha Mata Vasquez, 39, injected Mazola corn oil into the buttocks of clients claiming the ``French polymer'' treatment would reduce wrinkles. She charged up to $1,400 for each procedure, prosecutors said.

Vasquez, who pleaded no contest in October to involuntary manslaughter, practicing medicine without a license and fraud, apologized during Wednesday's sentencing hearing.

``I'm very sorry to my family, and I'm sorry to them (the victims and their families),'' the married mother of two said.

Maria Olivia Castillo, 46, of Castroville died in November 2005 of multiple organ failure caused by a fat blockage brought about by a cooking oil injection, prosecutors said.

Similar injections caused medical complications for others and put one patient into a coma, prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys said Vasquez didn't know of the dangers of the injections.

``That couldn't be farther from the truth,'' said Deputy District Attorney Steve Somers, noting Vasquez continued to perform the procedure after clients became ill.