Ph.D. Student Charged with Killing Friend’s Infant While Babysitting

(ProsperNews.net) – A 29-year-old Ph.D. student has been charged with murder in Pittsburgh after allegedly killing a baby under her care. Nicole Virzi was a “trusted friend” to the parents of 6-week-old twin boys and volunteered to babysit on June 16. She later told law enforcement that Leon Katz fell from his bouncer chair when she left the room to get his bottle, but doctors contradicted her account, saying there was a skull fracture on the child’s head, consistent with “child abuse.”

Reports indicate that Leon’s twin Ari also sustained injuries, which prompted further charges of aggravated assault and two counts of child endangerment. Virzi denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, David Shrager, said the prominent cardiologist’s daughter comes from a loving and supportive family and has no criminal history.

Nevertheless, doctors who examined the children said their injuries were “natural and not accidental.”

Virzi is studying in San Diego and pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She was visiting Pittsburgh at the time of the incident, and while at the home of Savannah Roberts and Ethan Katz, she called 911 and said their 6-week-old was unresponsive after bumping his head.

First responders transported the child to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead the following day.

Dr. Arlel Goldschmidt of the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner performed an autopsy of the infant’s body and determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. He ruled the death a homicide.

The suspect is held without bond at a Pennsylvania jail and will appear in court again in July. A GoFundMe page was established to help the baby’s family. The fundraiser describes the infant as a “happy, smiley, goofy baby boy” whose loss is felt by the Pittsburgh community.

Days before the death, Virzi posted a video to Twitter discussing her research, which covered depression and stress and its impact on behaviors, particularly among women.