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A PhD student in Pennsylvania could be put to death if prosecutors prove she killed her friends' newborn child and injured the baby’s twin brother.
Allegheny District Attorney's Office said on Friday that it would pursue capital punishment charges against Nicole Virzi, who allegedly crushed the skull of six-week-old Leon Katz.
Virzi, 30, was babysitting Leon in June at his family's home when the incident occurred. She is a “longtime friend of the family,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, citing her attorney.
According to prosecutors, Ethan Katz and his wife Savannah Roberts asked Virzi to watch Leon on June 15 while they took his twin brother, Ari, to hospital after the child was injured. Virzi was later accused of causing those injuries as well.
While they were gone, Leon was injured, prompting Virzi to call 911 at around 11:15pm. She told emergency workers that the child had fallen and bumped his head and was unresponsive. Leon was taken to Pittsburgh Children's Hospital and was pronounced dead the following day, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Detectives investigating the incident noted in their reports that from the tallest point of the bouncer seat to the floor is only 18 inches.
Doctors also told detectives that Leon's brother, Ari, had small scratches all over his face, two bruises just below his belly button, swelling, bruising, redness, and scratches on his genitals. They noted to investigators that the injuries were unnatural and suggested abuse.
When questioned, Virzi told police that she was the one who first noticed Ari's injuries and informed the boy's parents. She said she saw the child scratch his own face while he was flailing in a car seat.
Prosecutors noted a number of aggravating factors in the case that they believe justifies pursuing the death penalty. Among those factors is an allegation that Virzi tortured the child, which resulted in the boy's death, according to the Post-Gazette.
When police questioned Virzi about the child's death, she claimed that the boy had fallen out of his bouncer chair when she had stepped away.
Doctors who examined the child's remains were skeptical of that explanation, determining that the injuries were "consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental," according to WTAE, which reviewed court and police records.
The child's cause of death was ruled as blunt force trauma to the head. A later CT scan showed that the child had suffered a severe skull fracture on the left side of his head, as well as multiple brain bleeds.
Virzi faces homicide, aggravated assault, and child endangerment charges.
She previously studied clinical psychology at UC San Diego's Joint Doctoral Program. She was temporarily living out of an Airbnb in Pittsburgh when the incident involving Leon occurred.
Virzi has maintainer her innocence and, according to her attorney David Shrager, was devastated by the child's death.
“If there was something that she would want to convey, it would just be the absolutely horrible pain that she’s feeling,” Shrager told the Post-Gazette. “These were her close friends.”
Despite the prosecutors' pursuit of the death penalty in this case, Governor Josh Shapiro has vowed to strike down any death warrants sought during his time in office.
