What to Know
- Detectives say Donna Francis administered silicone injections in the basement of a home in Queens, New York
- In 2015, Francis allegedly gave an illegal silicone butt injection to a Maryland woman, who then died
- Francis has pleaded guilty to a homicide charge. As part of an extradition agreement, she's expected to be sentenced to only one year
A fake medical professional who admitted giving illegal silicone injections that killed a Maryland woman has pleaded guilty to the crime. The News4 I-Team has learned she'll serve only one year behind bars.
The formal sentencing won't happen until Nov. 14, and attorneys say they already know her sentencing will only be one year. That's the most prosecutors could get, because they had to make a deal to get the killer back to the U.S. to face charges at all.
On Friday, a judge in New York told Donna Francis, 39, her crime was reprehensible and said he would extend her sentence if he could.
Francis fled to England in May 2015, shortly after Kelly Mayhew died. Francis injected the Maryland woman with liquid silicone to enhance her backside at a makeshift "office" in the basement of a Queens apartment. She paid $1,600 for the injections. The silicone traveled through the 34-year-old BET producer's bloodstream and caused her death, according to prosecutors.
In 2017, the News4 I-Team tracked Francis down in London while she was fighting extradition. Ultimately, a British judge sent her back to New York, but prosecutors had to agree that she would not serve more than a year behind bars.
Francis on Friday pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. Her attorney told the I-Team she admits practicing medicine without a license and is wrought with guilt. He said Francis plans to apologize to Mayhew's family in person at the Nov. 14 hearing. At that point, with good behavior, she'll only have about five months left to serve on her sentence.
After Francis serves her time, she'll be deported back to England.
