NYC Doctor Charged With Murder After Patient Dies From Anti-Aging Injection
Unlicensed spa operator Luis Rojas Cabrera faces depraved indifference murder charge after Elizabeth Baron's death.
A New York City spa operator accused of giving a patient a fatal anti-aging injection has been charged with murder. Luis Rojas Cabrera, 55, faces an upgraded charge of depraved indifference murder after the city's medical examiner ruled the death of his patient, 27-year-old Elizabeth Baron, a homicide, the NYPD announced Tuesday.
Baron died on July 19 after Rojas Cabrera allegedly injected her with air during a treatment of NAD+ at his Bereshit Lifestyle Center in the Bronx. Cops said the young woman went into cardiac arrest immediately after the injection. In court documents, Rojas Cabrera is alleged to have admitted to a police officer at the scene, "I made a very big mistake."
The Bereshit Lifestyle Center offered "natural medicine" and therapies advertised as promoting healthy living. Rojas Cabrera had previously been charged with reckless endangerment and the unauthorized practice of a profession while authorities awaited autopsy results.
During his initial arraignment in July, prosecutors argued that administering NAD+ via IV requires a prescription from a medical professional. Rojas Cabrera pleaded not guilty to the initial charges. Because those charges were not bail-eligible, he had been free since his July court date.
When contacted by The Post last month, Rojas Cabrera claimed that air found in Baron's heart was a result of manual CPR, not the injection. He stated that he stopped the IV after Baron went into cardiac arrest and that both he and responding medics performed CPR. He suggested that prolonged CPR could introduce air into heart chambers and that underlying health conditions could have caused Baron's death. However, the medical examiner concluded Baron died from a cardiac air embolism and did not note any underlying conditions in the report.
NAD+ is a molecule promoted in some wellness circles and by celebrities for its purported anti-aging effects. Models Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber have previously spoken about their use of the treatment, contributing to its popularity.