A Florida woman accused in the death of a popular Kim Kardashian look-alike model was in a San Mateo County courtroom Monday.
Vivian Gomez is facing two felony counts for involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license after prosecutors say 34-year-old Christina Gourkani died from botched silicone injections.
Gomez's arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Gourkani found Gomez on social media and they agreed to meet up at a hotel room in Burlingame on April 19 so Gomez could administer silicone injections.
“We are alleging that she flew out to here, to Burlingame to meet the decedent Ms. Gourkani for the specific purpose of injecting substances into her gluteus,” said Shin-Mee Chang, San Mateo County assistant district attorney.
"At least two shots were administered to our victim," Wagstaffe said. "She immediately started having a negative reaction to it, then went into convulsions. 911 was called. They rushed her to Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame. Unfortunately, within a day, she died from those injections."
Gomez is an unlicensed cosmetologist. Using injectable silicone for body contouring isn't approved by the FDA.
Prosecutors say Gomez caught a flight back to Florida after that meeting at the hotel, but she was eventually arrested at an airport.
“She did not willfully evade and flee law enforcement. She got on a flight back to home in Florida and she was compliant and cooperated with police as soon as she got off that plane and they arrested her. She was compliant,” said Gomez’s attorney May Mar.
Her hearing was continued until Wednesday, when Gomez could enter a plea.
“She’s very upset. She’s a mother and has family obviously, children, and so she’s very upset at what happened and very upset with all of this,” said Gomez.
Gourkani was raised in Antioch and worked as an assistant at a plastic surgery clinic in Walnut Creek.
She had tens of thousands of followers on various social media platforms and admitted she enjoyed getting plastic surgery.
Last year, tweeting, “some of us fill our bodies with drugs or alcohol ... I fill my body with some plastic and a lot of love.”
But prosecutors say getting work done by unlicensed workers is a major gamble.
“So I think the risks speak for themselves. If you’re engaged in the unauthorized practice of medicine, this is the kind of fatality that can result,” said Chang.
Gourkani’s father said his daughter was obsessed with plastic surgery and looking like the socialite.
He said he’s living through a nightmare and wanted to warn people against getting these unlicensed injections or procedures.
Gomez's bail was doubled to $200,000 and she's been charged with involuntary manslaughter and causing great bodily injury by practicing unlicensed medicine.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of 12 years in prison.
