24°
Nicole Virzi, 30, a PhD student who graduated from Northern Highlands Regional High School, was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment, and more in connection with the incidents last June.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in Virzi's case on Thursday, Aug. 22.
There are currently 109 defendants on death row in Pennsylvania. Only one is a woman, online records show.
Virzi was babysitting 6-week-old Leon Katz in a Pittsburgh apartment while the infant's parents were taking his twin brother, Ari, to a hospital for treatment of a bloody injury to his genitals, CNN reports.
Virzi had been a "trusted family friend" of the boys' parents, Ethan and Savannnah, according to a GoFundMe raised for the grieving couple.
While the Katz's were at the hospital, Virzi called them saying Baby Leon had fallen out of a bassinet and hit his head on the floor. He suffered a severe skull fracture and multiple brain bleeds, and an autopsy found they were consistent with child abuse and had been caused by blunt force trauma, CNN says. He died hours later.
Virzi's attorney, David Shrager, did not immediately respond to Daily Voice's request for comment.
News of accusations that Virzi is facing came as a shock.
She'd been close to completing her PhD, according to her attorney. Her LinkedIn, which has been removed, showed that she was a grad student at the University of California-San Diego. Redditors say that she was a Cyclebar instructor in the San Diego area.
The NY Post reports that Virzi's father is Peter J Virzi, an esteemed cardiologist at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Dauphin-Middle Paxton and receive free news updates.
