A doctor facing accusation for the death of a patient due to a trendy anti-aging injection has now been charged with her murder, according to an announcement from the NYPD on Tuesday.
Luis Rojas Cabrera, a 55-year-old unlicensed spa operator from the Bronx, has been charged with depraved indifference murder following the medical examiner’s ruling that the death of 27-year-old Elizabeth Baron was a homicide in late September.
Baron, a resident of the Bronx, reportedly died after being mistakenly injected with air during a treatment involving NAD+ at Rojas Cabrera’s Bereshit Lifestyle Center on July 19.
After the injection, Baron went into cardiac arrest. Rojas Cabrera allegedly confessed to a police officer, stating, “I made a very big mistake,” as per court documents.
The wellness center run by Rojas Cabrera offered various “natural medicine” therapies and products aimed at promoting healthy living, as mentioned on its website.
Initially, Rojas Cabrera faced charges of reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of a profession while authorities awaited autopsy results to determine if the injection was directly tied to Baron’s demise.
During Rojas Cabrera’s first court appearance in July, Assistant District Attorney Ethan Reisbaum pointed out that administering NAD+ through an IV requires a prescription from a qualified medical professional. Rojas Cabrera pleaded not guilty at that time.
Since those initial charges weren’t eligible for bail, he had been free following the arraignment.
In a conversation with The Post last month, Rojas Cabrera claimed that the medical examiners found air in Baron’s heart not due to the injection, but rather because of manual CPR he performed. He explained that he stopped the IV once Baron collapsed and administered life-saving measures, which were also continued by the paramedics who arrived afterward.
He mentioned, “When I investigated with other doctors, they told me it was a possibility,” referring to the potential for CPR to introduce air into the heart. However, the medical examiner’s report stated that Baron died from a cardiac air embolism without mentioning any pre-existing health conditions.
NAD+ is a molecule that has gained popularity in health circles, especially among celebrities, for its claimed anti-aging benefits. Public endorsements from models like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber have contributed to its growing appeal.
