Featured Image Credit: Allegheny County Jail / GoFundMe
Topics: California, Crime, US News
Emily Brown
Topics: California, Crime, US News
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A California woman accused of killing a six-week-old baby could face the death penalty if convicted.
Nicole Virzi, of San Diego, was babysitting Leon Katz while his parents, Ethan Katz and his wife Savannah Roberts, took Leon's twin brother to hospital on June 16.
Virzi claimed Leon was in a bouncer chair when she left him momentarily to grab a bottle, and that he fell from the chair while she wasn't looking.
However, a criminal complaint cited by WTAE states that doctors found injuries 'consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse'.
Leon's cause of death was ruled by the medical examiner to be blunt force trauma to the head, with a CT scan revealing a severe skull fracture on the left of his head, as well as several brain bleeds.
"These are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental," the doctors said.
The doctors' comments also related to injuries suffered by Leon's brother, Ari, whose trip to hospital was prompted by an injury to his genital area after being in Virzi's care earlier in the day.
Virzi, 30, has been charged with homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment and in July waived her right to a hearing because she was friends with the child's parents.
Her lawyer, David Shrager, said: "They're her friends. When we analyzed the totality of the situation, she did not want to put them through that and have to hear everything and that was the decision she made and we respect that."
Shrager also described Virzi as being 'devastated' when he spoke in July.
“If there was something that she would want to convey, it would just be the absolutely horrible pain that she’s feeling,” Shrager said. “These were her close friends.”
The case continued in court on Friday (August 23), when the Alleghany District Attorney’s Office announced plans to seek the death penalty against Virzi.
Josh Shapiro, who is Pennsylvania Governor, has stated he would not sign any death warrants while he is in office. There are currently no women on death row in Pennsylvania.
Virzi was studying clinical psychology, specializing in research into depression's effect on human behavior in San Diego, but was staying in an Airbnb in the Pittsburgh-area when Leon died. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.