JACKSON — A Mississippi inmate convicted of giving fatal and illicit silicone buttocks injections to a woman has died at age 58.
An autopsy is to be conducted on the remains of inmate Tracy Lynn Garner, after she died Sunday, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a statement Monday announcing the death. Garner had served less than 3 ½ years of a life sentence.
Garner was convicted by a jury in 2014 of depraved heart murder in the death of Karima Gordon, a metro Atlanta resident who died eight days after receiving the injections in Jackson in 2012.
Depraved heart murder is a killing caused by reckless disregard for human life.
Prosecutors said the Georgia woman was referred to Garner by Natasha Stewart, an adult entertainer known as Pebbelz Da Model. Stewart was convicted of manslaughter in Garner’s death and received a seven-year sentence.
Authorities initially identified Garner as a man, Morris Garner, after the arrest. Her attorney subsequently said Garner was born male and had sex reassignment surgery.
Angelina Barber, Gordon’s best friend who traveled with her to Jackson, testified at Gordon’s trial that she decided not to receive injections after meeting Garner. Barber also testified that she and Gordon were led to believe Garner was a nurse. A nursing home administrator told jurors that Garner had been a cook at a nursing home where she wore scrubs.
Garner was taken from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to a hospital in Jackson, where she was pronounced dead Sunday morning.
The Department of Corrections did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the inmate’s death.
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