'Pumping Party' Trial: 'Bizarre, Flamboyant, Unusual"
Transsexuals Testify Against Men Accused Of Deadly Silicone Injection
POSTED: Monday, May 12, 2003
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In the opening statements of a Fort Lauderdale murder trial, one lawyer told jurors to be ready for the "bizarre, flamboyant and unusual."

The trial is for two men, one who looks like a woman, both accused of killing a woman at a "pumping party" where they injected silicone to enlarge her buttocks.
Mark Hawkins and Donnie Hendricks, who prefers to use the name "Viva," are accused practicing medicine without a license, and of injecting so much silicone into Vera Lawrence (pictured, left) that it caused her death.
The pair is alleged to have injected 12,000 cc's of industrial strength silicone into each of Lawrence's buttocks.
According to witnesses in pre-trial hearings, Hawkins and Hendricks charged up to $1,000 per pumping party. Most of the witnesses are transsexual men who went to the parties for "body-sculpting."
Defense attorney George Reres said it was Lawrence's desire to have an "insane" amount of silicone injected into her body over the course of five years that over time caused her to essentially take her own life.
Reres also told jurors to be prepared to hear testimony from witnesses who are not just "drag queens, but are also drama queens."
More Information: Dying For Beauty: The Sordid History Of Silicone Injections Previous Stories: - July 26, 2002: Men Tells Judge Silicone Injections Were Nearly Deadly
- March 7, 2002: Plea Deal Accepted In Silicone Death Case
- November 1, 2001: No Deal Reached In Silicone Death Case
- November 1, 2001: Man Expected To Enter Plea In Silicone Death Trial
- June 25, 2001: Man Pleads Not Guilty In Silicone Death
- June 7, 2001: Third Arrest Made Following Silicone Injection Death
- June 1, 2001: Two Charged With Murder In Silicone Death
- May 30, 2001: Two Men Accused In Silicone Death Face Judge
- April 12, 2001: Man Arrested, Accused Of Giving Deadly Silicone Injection
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