(KRON) — A Florida woman will be criminally charged in San Mateo County after a Kim Kardashian-lookalike model apparently died from botched silicone injections.
Christina Ashten Gourkani, 34, relied on aesthetic procedures to sculpt her body into an exaggerated version of Kardashian’s famous curves. The model posed for her OnlyFans page emulating the reality television star, and she attracted more than half a million followers on Instagram.
On April 19, Gourkani went to a Burlingame hotel room where she received several silicone injections for a buttocks enhancement, the Palo Alto Daily Post reported. She died the following day from cardiac arrest, according to her family.
“At approximately 4:31am on 4/20/2023 our family received a tragic phone call from a family member who was frantically screaming and crying (hysterically) on the other end of the line….Ashten is dying,” family members wrote on a GoFundMe page.
Her modeling website states, “Ashten passed away after complications from a cosmetic surgery procedure. Ashten’s charismatic presence and everlasting positive energy will be missed by her family, her friends, and her millions of fans across the world.”
Gourkani had hired Vivian Alexandra Gomez, 50, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to give her the buttocks enhancement injections at the Burlingame hotel, according to reports. Just hours after the OnlyFans star died, police arrested Gomez at an airport in Broward County, Florida.
Gomez was booked into a Broward County jail on charges of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without certification, inmate records show. She remained in custody as of Monday night.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Gomez will be extradited from Florida back to San Mateo County to face felony charges.
“The defendant has waived extradition and will be returned from Florida this coming week,” Wagstaffe wrote to KRON4. Gomez’s arraignment is scheduled for May 22 at 1:30 p.m. in the Hall of Justice in Redwood City.
Gourkani’s cause of death is still being investigated by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office.
FDA health officials strongly discourage the use of injectable silicone. “Beware of using injectable silicone for body contouring or any other unapproved products to achieve your goals. Injectable silicone is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any aesthetic procedure including facial and body contouring or enhancement. Silicone injections can lead to long-term pain, infections, and serious injuries, such as scarring and permanent disfigurement, embolism (blockage of a blood vessel), stroke, and death,” the FDA wrote.
Most FDA-approved dermal fillers are temporary because they are made from materials that the body eventually breaks down and absorbs. Silicone is not one of those materials.
