Thursday, 4:30 PM
Guilty plea in Framingham liposuction death
(Steven Senne/AP)
Ana Ribeiro speaks with her attorney after today's hearing in Middlesex Superior Court.
By Globe Staff
A 50-year-old Brazilian woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and drug charges for her role in an illegal liposuction procedure in July 2006 that killed a 24-year-old woman, Middlesex County prosecutors said today.
Ana Maria Miranda Ribeiro was sentenced in Cambridge Superior Court to serve a year in prison. She will receive approximately 11 months of credit for the time she has already served. Upon her release, she will be turned over to immigration officials for deportation proceedings because she has outstayed her visa, prosecutors said.
Ribeiro and her husband, Luiz Carlos Ribeiro, allegedly botched a liposuction procedure on Fabiola B. DePaula of Framingham on July 30, 2006 in the basement of a Framingham home. Neither of the Ribeiros was licensed to practice medicine.
Luiz Ribeiro is being held on $250,000 bail. His trial has been set for Nov. 5.
Ana Ribeiro "recklessly placed this victim in unnecessary danger -- performing an invasive medical procedure without the proper equipment, medications, or safeguards in the event that something went wrong," District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement.
Leone said prosecutors would "continue to move forward with our case against the co-defendant."
Ana Ribeiro pleaded guilty before Judge Wendie Gershengorn to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of distribution of a class A substance.
