Prosecutors seek death penalty for ‘trusted family friend’ accused of killing baby and attacking twins

Nicole Virzi, just 30 years old, was charged with manslaughter, three counts of grievous bodily harm and endangering the welfare of a child. The public prosecutor accuses her of killing her friend's newborn child while the parents were taking the boy's twin brother to the hospital – for injuries that she is also said to have caused.

Accordingly WPXIThe Allegheny County District Attorney's Office filed a notice of intent last week to seek the death penalty in this case. The notice cited four reasons for doing so. These reasons reportedly include: “The crime was committed by torture,” “the defendant has multiple prior convictions for serious crimes involving the use or threat of violence,” and “the victim was a child under the age of 12.”

Virzi was arrested on June 16 while visiting the Pittsburgh area for the weekend. In a GoFundMe Virzi was set up for the benefit of the victims' parents and was described as a “trusted family friend.”

According to the criminal complaint about The San Diego Union-TribuneVirzi was visiting the boys' family when she discovered blood in the diaper of one of the babies and an “injury in the genital area.” According to the parents, Virzi was alone with the injured baby before the discovery.

While the parents took the baby to the hospital, they left the boy's twin, Leon, at Virzi's home.

She allegedly told police she put Leon in a baby chair and cared for him all night – until she went out of the kitchen to get him a bottle around 11 p.m. and noticed he wasn't strapped into the chair. According to police, that's when she heard the baby crying from the other room, where she found him with a “large bump on his head.” Virzi then called 9-1-1 and said the baby was having trouble breathing; he died in the hospital after midnight – on Father's Day.

According to the complaintLeon suffered a fatal skull fracture. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and ruled homicide. A doctor who treated both children reportedly told police that the injuries they sustained were consistent with child abuse and were “neither accidental” nor “natural.”

The other child is said to have suffered scratches, bruises and swelling.

According to the complaint, Virzi was allegedly “unable to provide a plausible explanation for the cause consistent with the extent of the injuries Leon Katz sustained while in her care.”

Virzi, through her attorney, has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

“My client is devastated. If there was anything she wanted to express, it would be the absolutely terrible pain she feels for the family. It is heartbreaking,” said defense attorney David Shrager. in court last month.

“There is a general misunderstanding among the public about what happened. And we ask people to wait until they have heard all the facts to form an opinion on this matter,” he added. “And the facts will come out in due time and place. We ask people to reserve judgment.”

“My client is emotionally devastated as far as the family is concerned. They were her close friends and she is suffering greatly,” said Shrager, who had previously also pointed out that his client had never been in trouble with the law in the past.