The suspect — who police say was born a man and identifies as a woman — apparently performed the surgery on herself, and investigators say she may have victimized others. Oneal Ron Morris, 30, was arrested Friday after a year on the lam and has been charged with practicing medicine without a license with serious bodily injury.
Police photos show Morris as a small-framed woman with bee-stung pouty lips, arched eyebrows, oversized hoop earrings — and a large backside. She was released from jail on bond. A phone listing for Morris could not be found, and it’s unclear if she has an attorney.
Miami Gardens Police Sgt. Bill Bamford said Sunday that Morris bounced from house to house for a year, driving a black Mercedes and staying out of investigators’ sight “like a ghost.” An officer drove by one of those possible houses nearly every day on his way to work and saw the car outside on Friday, and he arrested Morris soon after.
The victim, who is not being named due to medical privacy laws, paid $700 for a series of injections in May 2010. She was referred to Morris by a friend.
The Florida Department of Health was told by a victim in 2010 that Morris allegedly injected treatments into the victim's buttocks, which resulted in life-threatening injuries. That victim was treated at several hospitals, had to go through surgeries, and had to have 24-hour home health aides for care for a long time, said Jennifer Hirst, DOH deputy press secretary in an email statement. There was also permanent scarring at the injection points.
Lab results determined that the substances injected into the victim included "household and automotive products to include superglue, mineral oil and 'Fix-a-Flat," according to the statement.
Morris, who police say is a man, appears to look like a woman and sports an apparently enhanced rear herself in arrest photos. it was unknown whether she has an attorney.
The arrest report said the victim went to a Miami Gardens home to meet Morris and pay her $700 for six injections "in each buttock to improve its shape and cosmetic," appearance.
The pain was so intense, the victim could only bear to have half the number of injections, and within hours she began to feel sick, the report said.
After an investigation, an arrest warrant was issued and authorities spent some time trying to find Morris as she was associated with addresses in several cities and counties in Florida.
On Friday, Morris was arrested at a North Lauderdale home.
Due to the media attention on the case, several other possible victims have come forward saying Morris performed similar procedures on them, and that they sustained life-threatening injuries, Hirst said.
Hirst said additional arrests in the case are possible
Health officials are encouraging anyone with more information on the case to contact their local law enforcement or the DOH website to view license information. Complaints can also be filed anonymousy through the site or by calling 1-877-HALT-ULA (1-877-425-8852)
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