California PhD student says she felt the urge to hurt children, so she killed her best friend’s baby: ‘I couldn’t control’
The other twin was also hurt, but survived.
A PhD student, who was studying clinical psychology at UC San Diego, California, has been handed a sentence of 35 to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, child endangerment, and third-degree murder on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The sentence came after she admitted she killed her best friend’s newborn baby after feeling an urge.
In June 2024, 32-year-old Nicole Virzi visited her friends Savannah Roberts and Ethan Katz, along with their six-week-old twin sons, Ari and Leon, at their home in Pittsburgh, according to TribLive. During her visit, Virzi alerted the parents to bruises and scratches around Ari’s groin area, prompting Roberts and Katz to bring the baby to the hospital on June 15, 2024. It was later ruled that the injuries were caused by Virzi.
According to a victim impact statement from Roberts, Virzi allegedly insisted on watching Leon even though the couple had arranged for another babysitter, per People. At 11:17 p.m., 911 responded to a report made by Virzi, who claimed Leon had a lump on his head and had breathing difficulties. Leon was taken to the hospital, where he died the next morning after suffering multiple skull fractures.
Virzi initially denied she killed Leon
Virzi initially told investigators that the injuries were caused by Leon falling off his bouncy chair when she fell asleep. But Virzi reportedly admitted during a video-recorded 13-hour interrogation to shaking Leon a “couple of times,” flipping him upside down onto the floor, and dropping him hard repeatedly.
Virzi claimed she felt an urge to hurt children, a compulsion she said she has had for years and that started at a young age. “Something just came over me I couldn’t control,” the 32-year-old told investigators. “I’m telling you this because I can’t keep lying about it.”
What allegedly pushed Virzi off the edge to hurt the newborn was that his parents kept treating her like their nanny. “Something about that built up a lot of anger in me,” she said.
Virzi initially pleaded not guilty to the killing before the plea deal, with her attorney, Tina Miller, claiming the PhD student’s admission during interrogation was coerced due to a lack of sleep and food. She faced a potential death sentence if she was found guilty of first-degree murder.
Virzi accepts plea deal
Emma Schoedel, the Deputy District Attorney for Allegheny County, told the court that they made a deal with Virzi instead, as Leon’s family wanted to avoid a trial. “This office has decided to invest in their healing,” Schoedel added.
“This was a horrific case in which Virzi used her trusted relationship with the Roberts/Katz family to place herself in a situation where she could commit her horrendous acts,” the District Attorney’s office said, according to the NY Post. “Throughout the criminal justice process, the Roberts/Katz family has continued to endure crushing emotional pain and grief.”
Virzi remained silent during the Wednesday trial, with her attorney stating that “no words of apology would be sufficient to address the pain she has caused them.” She reportedly wrote a letter to Leon’s family, which they could choose to read or disregard.
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