Colombian pair arrested in woman’s surgery death

Two Colombian nationals were arrested Sunday in connection with the death of a woman who went to them for a cosmetic surgery procedure in the central valley, Las Vegas police said.

The identity of the woman, who was last seen alive on Saturday, was not released by authorities. The suspects were apprehended at McCarran International Airport.

Police said both Ruben Dario Matallana-Galvas, 55, and Carmen Olfidia Torres-Sanchez, 47, face murder charges and are being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. They are scheduled to make their initial appearance in court today.

Both Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez are from Medellin, Colombia, police said. They were preparing to board a flight back to the South American country when they were arrested.

At 5:58 p.m. Saturday, patrol officers were dispatched to 3310 E. Charleston Blvd., near Pecos Road, to investigate a report of a woman who went missing under "suspicious circumstances." Police said the unidentified woman had been dropped off at the address earlier Saturday for a cosmetic surgery procedure.

When people arrived four hours later to pick up the woman, the location had been abandoned, and the woman was missing, police said.

Police said they later learned that the woman had been transported by ambulance from a location near the 3500 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard, near Pecos, to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. That area of Lake Mead is lined with businesses, many of which cater to Hispanic clientele.

Neither Matallana-Galvas nor Torres-Sanchez was listed as a licensed physician or practitioner on the website for the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners.

A business, Tiles N More, is located at 3310 E. Charleston Blvd. The business was not open Sunday afternoon. A man who identified himself as the owner answered the phone Sunday afternoon but wouldn't comment on the arrests of Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez.

"I can provide no information," he said. "I'm sorry."

Maria Anguiano, who lives near the business, said Sunday afternoon that her mother-in-law had received a chemical peel on her face there about three weeks ago. Anguiano said her mother-in-law went to a small office in the back of the Tiles N More building labeled Suite A. Anguiano thought the owner of the tile store rented out the space.

Anguiano said her mother-in-law told her two men were performing the procedures and at least one claimed to be a licensed doctor from Colombia. She said in hindsight, her mother-in-law and other Hispanics were likely taken advantage of by those who provided cheap services and gained the trusts of other Hispanics.

While standing outside Suite A, Anguiano said she believed several procedures had been performed there, ranging from facial cosmetic surgery to breast enhancements.

Anguiano added she was shocked when her mother-in-law told her that a woman had died because of a procedure at the location. Anguiano also said she was upset that her mother-in-law, who only speaks Spanish, didn't ask for her help in finding a licensed physician.

"Why did you go get something without asking me to Google it first?" Anguiano recalled asking her mother-in-law.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.