MiamiHerald.com – Ashley Fantz
The conviction of a man sentenced to 30 years for third-degree murder related to a 2003 silicone injection party had been overturned in April.
A Broward man convicted in the silicone-injection death of a Carol City secretary has been granted a new trial by an appeals court that ruled a key witness — a former assistant medical examiner — had no experience with silicone cases.
Mark Hawkins was sentenced to 30 years for the March 2001 death of Vera Lawrence who sought the injections as a way to enhance the size of her buttocks.
Hawkins’ attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, vowed to file a motion contending that a retrial constitutes double jeopardy, the rule of law which prohibits someone from being tried twice for the same crime.
”Mark Hawkins was already tried in front of a jury with insufficient evidence and he cannot be retried,” said Schwartzreich.
In 2001, Hawkins had been living with former lover Donnie ”Viva” Hendrix in Greenville, S.C., and traveling to Miramar for silicone ”pumping parties” — back-alley cosmetic procedures favored primarily by South Florida’s male transvestite community as a way to enhance body parts like breasts and lips.
In March 2001, Lawrence went to the Miramar apartment of a transvestite named Corey ”Cookie” Williams to undergo injections. She died a day later.