John Jefferson
Left: Nicole Virzi (Heart and Mind Journal). Center: Leon Katz (Law&Crime). Right: Virzi after her arrest (Allegheny County Jail).
A San Diego woman and psychology doctoral candidate charged with killing her friends’ newborn son while babysitting over Father’s Day weekend after the parents took the boy’s injured twin brother to a hospital could face capital punishment in Pennsylvania if the case goes to trial and ends with a conviction.
Pittsburgh-area prosecutors have reportedly filed a notice of their intent to seek the death penalty against Nicole Virzi, who turned 30 earlier in August, for the death of 6-week-old Leon Katz, the alleged aggravated assault of the victim’s twin brother, and for endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the notice from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office pointed to four different factors, including alleged torture of a child under the age of 12, in support of capital punishment.
The shocking case involves allegations that Virzi, in town staying at an Airbnb, babysat Leon Katz at his family’s Shadyside apartment on June 15, when the newborn’s parents went to the hospital with Leon’s twin brother so he could be treated for injuries, injuries that Virzi also allegedly caused, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Just before midnight on June 15, Virzi allegedly called 911 to say that Leon Katz fell from a bassinet and hit his head. Several hours later, on Father’s Day, the baby was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Investigators said they learned that Virzi was the only one taking care of Leon at the time, since the victim’s parents had taken their other son, Leon’s twin brother, to the hospital after Virzi “discovered” an “injury to the genital area.”
A doctor who examined the injuries of both of the twins determined that they were “consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental,” court documents said, noting that “all of Leon’s injuries were acute.”
After Virzi allegedly agreed to speak with detectives and was read her Miranda rights, she was “unable to provide any plausible explanation for the cause consistent with the extent of the injuries that Leon Katz sustained while in her care,” the affidavit continued.
According to her alleged version of events, Virzi “fell asleep for a period of time, while Leon was in the bouncer seat,” woke up, saw that the baby was not strapped into the seat, and got a bottle for him from the kitchen.
While in the kitchen, she heard screams, picked the baby up off of the floor, saw a bump on his head, called Leon’s parents, and then called 911, the documents described her account.
Authorities reportedly allege that this explanation didn’t match up with the severity of Leon’s injuries, since he would have only fallen 18 inches from the bouncer.
At the start of the case, Virzi’s defense attorney David Shrager emphasized that his client has “never been in trouble” with the law before and that he looked forward to finding out “what really happened” at trial.
“This case is going to take a good amount of time and we have to make sure that is done thoroughly and properly, versus quickly,” he said.
In more recent remarks, Shrager reportedly said Virzi is “absolutely devastated” by the death of her “close” friends’ son.
“If there was something that she would want to convey, it would just be the absolutely horrible pain that she’s feeling,” he said, according to the Post-Gazette. “These were her close friends.”
A GoFundMe started for the Katz family described Virzi as a “trusted family friend” and Leon as a “happy, smiley, goofy baby boy.”
An online profile for Virzi’s doctoral pursuit said that her research focused on the “complex interplay between psychological factors—such as depression, stress, negative affect, and trauma—and critical health outcomes and behaviors—such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity, eating behavior, and exercise.”
“I am particularly interested in exploring these relationships within female and trauma-exposed populations,” the bio said. “By concentrating on these relationships, my research aims to shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities for intervention within these vulnerable groups.”
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