It has been almost five months since Brenisha Hall, 25, a transvestite from New Orleans died on New Year’s Day. She had been in a coma for two months after receiving black-market silicone injections in her hips and buttocks in early October. Within a few hours of the treatment she had become unconscious and was rushed to Interim LSU Public Hospital.
Her death had been originally declared to be from natural causes. But now, the Orleans Parish coroner has reopened the case and a transgender performer who goes by the name of Armani Nicole Davenport has been accused of giving Hall the injection.
Brenisha’s death has now been ruled a homicide.
The initial declaration (death from natural causes) had been given by the hospital and not the coroner’s office. It was only upon the re-examination by the Orleans Parish coroner that a new cause of death was declared.
According to John Gagliano, the coroner’s chief investigator, Brenisha had died because the chemicals from the illegal silicone injection had spread throughout her body and killed her.
“It was a foreign body, and it was injected into her body. You can’t just walk around and give anyone injections,” he said.
The “foreign body” that he is talking about has still not been identified, but there is a suspicion that a Fix-a-Flat tire inflator might have been used to inject the silicone. Authorities have said that the substance that is used in many illegal silicone injections comes right off of hardware store shelves, and needless to say, was never meant to be injected into the human body.
Davenport, 32, who travels through Texas, Louisiana and Georgia performing in pageants had surrendered to New Orleans police days after the incident, was booked for negligent injuring and remains free on a $25,000 bond.
(via The Medical Blog)
