A nurse has been arrested for posing as a plastic surgeon and causing the death of a young woman in October.

The victim, Cinthia Lizeth Vega, 22, visited the Elohim Integral Aesthetic Services Clinic in the city of Monterrey in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on 5th October.

During the ‘aqualipo’ (‘water lipo’) procedure, which consists of injecting water into the body to remove excess fat, the victim sustained a blow to the head that caused her death, according to the autopsy by forensic experts.

Prosecutors said the suspect carried out “a procedure called full-body aqualipo, without being a doctor, much less being a surgeon specialising in plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery”.

After the procedure, the suspect Nancy Deyanira Mireles Reyna, 36, reportedly took the patient to another clinic when she realised the woman was unresponsive.

The Prosecutor’s Office said: “She took advantage of the trust placed in her, as the suspect had been presented as a doctor specialising in plastic surgery, and took her lifeless to a public place, in this case the Camino Real clinic, and as a result of that action, said victim lost her life.”

Mireles, accused of carrying out the procedure without a licence or proper equipment, was arrested by the police in the city of Hacienda de Escobedo on 12th November.

She has been charged with femicide and impersonation.

The investigation continues.