California masseuse re-arrested in client's suspicious 2014 death
LONG BEACH — A masseuse arrested three years ago in connection with the suspicious death of a customer at a Long Beach beauty salon is back behind bars, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Sandra Gonzalez, 48, is suspected of murdering Hamilet Suares at Areli’s Beauty Salon in 2014, police said.
According to a police press release, the 36-year-old victim went to the salon for a massage, but before the massage began, she went into cardiac arrest under suspicious circumstances and later died.
“It was kind of shocking for all of us,” said Suares’ cousin John Hernandez. “We have so many questions. We don’t have any answers. So we’ve got to deal with it.”
Detectives have not said what procedure Suares underwent or exactly what may have killed her. But they did find controlled substances at the salon used for cosmetic procedures that Gonzalez was advertising, but not licensed to perform including butt augmentation, lip augmentation and “vampire facelifts,” where a gel-like substance derived from the patient’s own blood is injected to reduce wrinkles.
Gonzalez was initially arrested soon after Suares’ death, but was later released. The station reports that investigators now say they have evidence to prove that Gonzalez committed murder.
Gonzalez is being held on suspicion of murder and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Long Beach Courthouse Thursday. Her bail is set at $2 million.
