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'Pumping Party' Murderer Sentenced

Man Gets 30 Years For Woman's Death

POSTED: Wednesday, November 26, 2003

A man who killed a woman by injecting industrial strength silicone into her buttocks was sentenced Wednesday.

A judge sentenced Mark Hawkins to 30 years in prison for third-degree murder, culpable negligence, and practicing medicine without a license. A jury convicted Hawkins in May.

Vera Lawrence, 52, died after Hawkins injected silicone into her in April 2001.

During the trial, the state said Hawkins and his partner Hendrix would buy a gallon of silicone for about $8, and then tour the country hosting so-called pumping parties. They allegedly injected women and transgender people who wanted cut-rate "body sculpting" or cosmetic enhancements.

Prosecutors say Lawrence's death was a direct result of the silicone injections. Hawkins and Hendrix injected 12,000 cc's of industrial strength silicone into each of Lawrence's buttocks.

Hendrix was given the maximum sentence of five years for operating without a license. He was given "time served" for a culpable negligence conviction.

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