‘Black Madam’ found guilty of murder

A Philadelphia jury Monday found “Black Madam” Padge Victoria Windslowe guilty of third-degree murder for performing illegal butt-enhancing procedures that resulted in the 2011 death of 20-year-old Claudia Aderotimi.

 

 Windslowe, 45, stood straight-faced in a pastel pink skirt, matching blazer and black overcoat as she learned her fate. Her case is believed to be the first murder conviction in the country with ties to buttocks injections. 

The jury of six men and six women began deliberations late Friday afternoon after a days-long trial that included a four-day break due to Windslowe’s health and weather-related delays. 

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastas set sentencing for June 11. 

Windslowe injected Aderotimi, a British hip-hop dancer, in Feb. 2011 inside an airport hotel.

Almost immediately, Aderomtimi began complaining of chest pains and difficulty breathing. She was dead hours later after the silicone migrated to her lungs and brain,according to testimony. 

The following year, Sherkeeia King, a 23-year-old exotic dancer, landed in the hospital after attending a so-called “pumping party” in East Germantown.

King survived, but the silicone that migrated to her lungs still puts her life at risk.

“There is a ticking time bomb in her body,” said Assistant District Attorney Carlos Vega of King in his opening statement on Feb. 19. “They can’t say when she’s going to relapse, when she’s going to die.”

Windslowe was also found guilty of aggravated assault in connection to King’s case and possession of an instrument of crime — the needles she used to inject the liquid silicone.

Windslowe took the stand for several hours during trial, claiming she was the “Michelangelo” of such buttocks enhancements and boasting of the celebrity clients she has treated amid the “thousands” of procedures she’s performed since 1995.

During testimony, Windslowe made the case she didn’t think she was doing any harm with the injections, which were done using liquid silicone. This, despite the fact that she had no formal medical training.

“I would always say it’s been safe for me and my friends. We’ve been doing it since we were kids,” said Windslowe. “I thought I knew what I was doing.” 

Windslowe said until Aderotimi’s death, she never knew of anyone suffering health complications, let alone dying from her injections.

Prosecutors argued the opposite — that Windslowe was well aware of the harm she was inflicting and, what’s more, worked hard to keep her identity and location a mystery.

The dizzying number of cellphones, credit and debit cards with different names and a fake driver’s license and fake passport was proof, they said.

They said Windslowe’s decision to pick up the needle after Aderotimi’s death showed that Windslowe was not injecting women because she was trying to help them, as she told jurors, but because her enhancement work was, above all, about making money.

Following Monday’s verdict, Vega said Windslowe got what she deserved.

“What we saw through cross examination day-in and day-out was that she was a liar. It was a front. She preyed on people who weren’t educated, who were hoping to be beautiful and she tricked them and took advantage of them.”

Vega’s co-counsel, Assistant District Attorney Bridget Kirn, said she hopes the case serves as a warning to those looking into black market buttocks enhancements.

“The hope is that other people will hear the stories of the victims who survived, will hear about the woman who died, and will recognize how dangerous this procedure is,” said Kirn. “Even if someone promises they can do a procedure, they can’t. This silicone is deadly.”

Defense attorney David Rudenstein said he’s “disappointed” by the verdict and will likely appeal.

Windslowe faces up to 70 years in jail.