How Florida Woman was Sentenced to Prison for Allegedly Giving Toxic Butt Injections

 

A Florida woman was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison after allegedly injecting a woman’s buttocks with cement, Super Glue and other deadly toxins, resulting in her death, PEOPLE confirms.

O’Neal Morris begged the court for mercy just before the judge handed down the sentence, which includes five years of probation, in the death of 31-year-old Shatarka Nuby, WSVN reports.

Morris pleaded no contest to a charge of manslaughter along with several counts of practicing medicine without a license and practicing medicine without a license resulting in serious bodily injury,

according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. (A no contest plea has the effect of a guilty plea, though the defendant does not admit guilt.)

In court on Monday, Morris, 36, continued to deny the allegations against her.

“I have never, ever, or would dare ever to inject, or have injected any human with any type of unknown substance, such as Super Glue, cement, Fix-a-Flat, concrete, nothing that comes from Home Depot, nothing that comes out of any hardware store,” Morris said, according to WSVN.

She said she pleaded no contest because she didn’t think her trial would be fair, the station reports.

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Nuby died in 2012 in federal prison after earlier paying Morris $2,000 for 10 butt injections - which officials claimed contained silicone, mineral oil, cement, Fix-a-Flat and Super Glue, according to the station.

Morris rebuked this, however, saying in court, “I would never do that, so please don’t listen to the lies. Please do not listen to what they’re reporting.”

Morris, also known as Duchess, allegedly posed as a doctor for years, delivering illegal injections to clients who paid her to enhance the appearance of their butts, the Sun Sentinel reports. The first charges against her were filed in 2011, according to the paper.

Many alleged victims have since come forward, announcing that they had been damaged or had serious infections as a result of the injections, according to the Sentinel.

Morris initially faced a manslaughter charge in Nuby’s death. A medical examiner determined she died of lung disease caused by “massive systemic silicone migration” as a result of the injections.

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Nuby’s family spoke out just after Monday’s hearing. Her mother, Sherri Pitts, reportedly called Nuby a “precious jewel.”

“There could never be justice for my daughter,” she said, according to WSVN, “but we’re just going to continue to be a voice for her.”

The judge reportedly ordered that Morris, who is transgender, serve her sentence in a men’s prison. But her attorney, who could not immediately be reached by PEOPLE, argued that puts her at “very high risk” of being abused by both inmates and guards.