Silicon Injections Likely Killed Transexual

[NEW YORK, NY] - The death of a Brooklyn transsexual in August was caused by silicon injections [she] received 12 years ago by unlicensed practioners, according to a new ruling from the medical examiner's office that classifies the death as a homicide.

Carl Benton, a 43-year-old who suffered from AIDS, died on Aug. 27 at Kings County Hospital, police said.

An autopsy performed by the medical examiner's office discovered that silicon injections Benton had received in 1990 caused complications that exacerbated the effects of his AIDS. Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said that injections were made directly into Benton's chest by someone who wasn't a license physician.

Detectives in the 77th Precinct in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn where Benton died said details of Benton's sex change treatments were sketchy. Family members told police that Benton had gone to places in the Bronx, Manhattan's West Village and Philadelphia to receive various treatments at what one detective described as "real underground-type places."

The family said that Benton went alone on these trips and didn't provide them with details of who performed the procedures, police said.

"The detectives are really at a dead end on this case," said a police source, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "They have nowhere to turn in this one."