Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo, just 14 years old, passed away days after allegedly undergoing secret cosmetic surgeries performed by her mother’s boyfriend, a plastic surgeon who has since been suspended from practicing in Mexico.
The scandal has shaken the country, causing outrage and drawing the attention of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who promised to review the case personally.
Highlights
- Paloma Nicole, 14, allegedly underwent breast implants, liposuction, and a BBL as a birthday gift.
- Her father says he only discovered the surgeries when viewing her body at the funeral.
- The surgeon, her mother’s boyfriend, has been suspended and is under investigation for malpractice.
The girl’s grieving father, Carlos Arellano, broke his silence to reveal he was never informed of the procedures and only discovered the truth when he looked at his daughter’s body during her funeral in Durango.
“At the funeral, some relatives told me her breasts were larger than what she had before and when I mentioned it to her mother, she told me it wasn’t true, that she didn’t know anything,” he told officials.
The surgeon allegedly responsible for the passing of a 14-year-old girl in Mexico has been suspended
Image credits: Csaa Arellano
According to Carlos Arellano, the nightmare only deepened the more he examined his daughter’s body.
Feeling that something was deeply wrong, Arellano demanded his ex-wife and her family leave the room during the funeral. With the help of his own relatives, his sister, sister-in-law, and mother, he took a closer look into her daughter’s remains.
His suspicions were not only confirmed, they turned out to be worse than he imagined.
Image credits: Instagram
“They examined my daughter, and sure enough: she had breast implants. We have photographs of the implants and the scars. We immediately requested an autopsy,” he said.
The 14-year-old had not just been given a boob job, but also a Brazilian butt lift and liposuction, all performed without her father’s knowledge.
The girl’s mother arranged for her to get breast implants, a butt lift, and liposuction, then tried hiding the truth from her ex-husband
Image credits: Getty/Unsplash
The procedures were arranged by Arellano’s ex-wife, Paloma Escobedo Quiñónez, who presented them to their daughter as a secret “gift” ahead of her upcoming 15th birthday, which is an important milestone for girls in Mexican culture.
Escobedo, who worked as a nurse at her boyfriend’s clinic, was no stranger to cosmetic enhancement herself and, according to those close to the family, bore clear signs of being a recurrent client of plastic surgery.
Image credits: Csaa Arellano
For Arellano, the horrifying realization was not only that his teenage daughter had been operated on in secret, but that her own mother had led her into it, treating invasive procedures as a birthday present before the 14-year-old’s body and mind had even had the chance to fully mature.
A day before Paloma’s passing, Escobedo Quiñónez called him to say the teen had fallen ill with COVID-19.
The cause caught the attention of Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum
Image credits: veroohdez010_
In the week following the operations, Paloma suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and swelling in her brain. She was placed into an induced coma and connected to a ventilator, local media reported.
Her official cause of passing was listed as cerebral edema stemming from a respiratory illness. But Arellano rejects that explanation.
“My daughter, Paloma Nicole Arellano Escobedo, was the victim of an act of criminal negligence at a clinic on Phoenix Street,” he wrote.
Image credits: Instagram
“On her death certificate falsely put ‘illness’ as the cause, trying to cover up the truth. The complaint has already been filed with the Durango Prosecutor’s Office.
I demand that all responsible be investigated: the doctor, the mother, the hospital, their administrators and those who participated in this cover-up.”
Arellano’s suffering and calls for justice eventually caught the attention of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said she would personally review the case.
“Send us the case and we will gladly reach out to the family and see how we can help.”
The 14-year-old’s girlfriend went viral on social with a heartfelt tribute
Image credits: veroohdez010_
The Durango Prosecutor’s Office confirmed their involvement shortly after.
As a result, Rosales Galindo, the person responsible for performing the surgeries, and Escobedo Quiñónez’s boyfriend, was suspended from practicing.
As controversy over the case continues to ripple through Mexico, a heartbreaking video posted by Paloma’s girlfriend, Veronica, went viral on social media on September 24.
The emotional tribute shows tender moments between the two girls, with a caption that read:
“No one taught me to live life without you.”
As for her father, the battle is far from over. He continues to speak publicly, insisting that his daughter’s passing should not be swept under the rug.
“She was just a girl,” he said. “They took her life for the sake of vanity, and they thought they could hide it.”
"Vile woman." Mexican netizens are calling for both the surgeon and the mother to face legal consequences
