British hairdresser is charged in New York with killing American woman, 34, when she injected her with liquid silicone in botched buttock enlargement procedure

  • Donna Francis was charged on Friday with killing a woman in Queens, New York
  • Francis, 38, of Loughton, Essex, injected Kelly Mayhew with liquid silicon in 2015
  • The buttock enlargement procedure fatally blocked blood flow to vital organs
  • Francis, who denies the charges, was remanded in custody in New York

Donna Francis, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates Court last year, was charged in Queens, New York on Friday

Donna Francis, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates Court last year, was charged in Queens, New York on Friday

A British hairdresser has been charged with killing a woman in New York when she injected her with liquid silicone in a botched buttock enlargement procedure.

Donna Francis, of Loughton, Essex, is accused of carrying out the injections on 34-year-old Kelly Mayhew in a Queens basement in May 2015. 

Ms Mayhew had attended the appointment with her mother after travelling from their home in Maryland.

The substance, which stays in the body permanently, caused systemic emboli, fatally restricting Ms Mayhew's blood flow to her vital organs.

Mother-of-one Francis is said to have been present as medical staff battled to save Ms Mayhew's life, but fled to the UK the following day. 

Queens Acting District Attorney John Ryan announced on Friday that Francis had been remanded in custody on charges including criminally negligent homicide. 

Her lawyers had argued separating Francis from her child could prove devastating.

However, US authorities provided assurances to a British judge last year that Francis would be jailed for no more than a year if convicted.

Kelly Mayhew (pictured) attended the appointment with her mother after travelling from their home in Maryland in May 2015

Kelly Mayhew (pictured) attended the appointment with her mother after travelling from their home in Maryland in May 2015

At Westminster magistrates in October 2018, Judge Robin McPhee recommended Francis should be extradited to the States.

His judgment said: 'Donna Francis then injected six syringes of silicone into an area on the right-hand side of Kelly Mayhew's buttocks.

'Donna Francis then repeated the same process into the left-hand side of Kelly Mayhew's buttocks.

'At this stage, Kelly Mayhew's mother, who had up until then whilst the procedure was ongoing held the hand of her daughter, noticed that Kelly Mayhew was no longer gripping her hand and was gurgling.

'As Kelly Mayhew was turned, her mother saw that her eyes were bloodshot and bulging.

'Paramedics attended and notwithstanding their efforts to save the life of Kelly Mayhew, she was pronounced dead at 7.42pm.'

Donna Francis allegedly injected liquid silicone into the rear of Kelly Mayhew on May 30, 2015 in the basement of a house in Queens, New York City

Donna Francis allegedly injected liquid silicone into the rear of Kelly Mayhew on May 30, 2015 in the basement of a house in Queens, New York City

It added: 'Undoubtedly the circumstances of the alleged offending are serious as a young woman lost her life, witnessed by her own mother in circumstances where it is alleged that the requested person was not focused on the young woman who died, but on fleeing the scene and the country the very next day.'

The defendant was arrested in 2017 after a warrant was issued for her in the US. 

Authorities say that Francis is not a licensed nurse or physician, and that Ms Mayhew died because the procedure wasn't done properly.

Illicit silicone injections have caused multiple deaths in the United States.

Francis denies the charges.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.