Woman sentenced to prison in connection with butt injection death

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Friday, March 29, 2019
Queens woman sentenced to prison in connection with butt injection death
NJ Burkett reports on the sentencing of the woman involved in the death of Latesha Bynum.

HARLEM, Manhattan -- A woman was arrested in the silicone buttocks injection death of a 31-year-old woman in Manhattan was sentenced to prison Thursday.

Allison Spence, 44, was sentenced to 2 to 8 years for second-degree manslaughter in the July death of Latesha Bynum, of Harlem.

"You knew you wasn't no nurse," mom Bertie Bynum said in court to Spence. "You knew you didn't go to no medical school, so what right you had to shoot anything in my child and other people's kids?"

She spoke for nearly 10 minutes, but through it all, Spence never turned around to face her victim's mother. Instead, she looked down and apologized to Latesha Bynum's family, saying that she was truly sorry and mumbling that she regrets every moment of what she did.

Bertie Bynum, who covered her ears, chose not to listen.

Authorities say Bynum died after receiving the injection at an apartment building on July 15. She complained of dizziness and chest pains to officers responding to the 911 call before slipping into a coma.

According to medical examiner, Bynum died from complications of systemic embolization of silicone injections for cosmetic augmentation of the buttocks.

Spence pleaded guilty on March 7 to second-degree manslaughter and unauthorized practice of a profession.

Her co-defendant, Kevin Richardson, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges on May 10, 2018, and was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison on Sept. 20, 2018.